Lisa Deshaun Leslie (born July 7, 1972) is an American former professional basketball player. She is currently the head coach for

Triplets A multiple birth is the culmination of one multiple pregnancy, wherein the mother gives birth to two or more babies. A term most applicable to vertebrate species, multiple births occur in most kinds of mammals, with varying frequencies. Such bi ...

in the

BIG3 Big3 (stylized BIG3) is a 3-on-3 basketball league founded by hip hop musician and actor Ice Cube and entertainment executive Jeff Kwatinetz. The league consists of 12 teams whose rosters include both former NBA players and international play ...

professional basketball league, as well as a studio analyst for Orlando Magic broadcasts on

Fox Sports Florida Bally Sports Florida is an American regional sports network owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, and operates as an affiliate of Bally Sports. The channel broadcasts local sports coverage in the state of Florida, with a focus on professional sport ...

. Leslie played in the

Women's National Basketball Association The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is an American professional basketball league. It is composed of twelve teams, all based in the United States. The league was founded on April 22, 1996, as the women's counterpart to the Natio ...

(WNBA). She is a three-time WNBA

MVP In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

and a four-time Olympic gold medal winner. The number-seven pick in the 1997 inaugural WNBA draft, she followed her career at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

with eight WNBA All-Star selections and two WNBA championships over the course of 11 seasons with the

Los Angeles Sparks The Los Angeles Sparks (LA Sparks) are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Sparks compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The team was foun ...

, before retiring in 2009. Leslie was the first player to dunk in a WNBA game. In 2011, she was voted in by fans as one of the Top 15 players in WNBA history. All throughout her WNBA career, Leslie also played for USA Basketball in international competition, winning four

Olympic gold medal Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

s (1996, 2000, 2004, 2008) and two

FIBA World Championship The FIBA Basketball World Cup, also known as the FIBA World Cup of Basketball or simply the FIBA World Cup, between 1950 and 2010 known as the FIBA World Championship, is an international basketball competition contested by the senior men's nat ...

s (1998, 2002). In 2015, Leslie was inducted into both the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the

Women's Basketball Hall of Fame The Women's Basketball Hall of Fame honors those who have contributed to the sport of women's basketball. The Hall of Fame opened in 1999 in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. It is the only facility of its kind dedicated to all levels of women's ba ...

. Upon becoming coach of the Triplets in 2019, she led the team to the BIG3 Championship that year.

Early life

Leslie was born in Compton, California, the daughter of Christine Lauren Leslie, who stood , and Walter Leslie, a former professional basketball player. Christine started her own

truck driving A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construction ...

business to support her three children. Walter left the family when her mother was four months pregnant with her. Leslie has two sisters: Dionne, who is five years older, and Tiffany, who is eight years younger. She also has a brother, Elgin (named after

Elgin Baylor Elgin Gay Baylor ( ; September 16, 1934 – March 22, 2021) was an American professional basketball player, coach, and executive. He played 14 seasons as a forward in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lak ...

of the LA Lakers). She played on an all-girls team with the record 33–1.

Middle school

During the first few weeks of middle school, a classmate asked Leslie to help out the basketball team. On her first day of basketball tryouts, team members were told to split into two groups for layup drills:

lefties ''Lefties'' is a three-part 2006 BBC documentary series investigating some aspects of the left of British politics in the 1970s. ''Lefties'' was produced and directed by Vanessa Engle. It was produced as a companion series to '' Tory! Tory! Tory ...

and righties. Leslie was the only lefty in the group, so from then on, she decided to become right-hand dominant so she would not have to stand in a line by herself. That decision worked to her advantage, as she became ambidextrous.Leslie, Lisa, and Larry Barnett. ''Don't Let the Lipstick Fool You''. New York: Kensington Publishing Corp., 2008 In eighth grade, she transferred to a junior high school without a girls' basketball team, and joined a boys' basketball team. Her success there contributed to her confidence in her playing abilities.

High school

At the age of 14, before Leslie had started high school at Morningside, she received more than a hundred college recruiting letters, including some from top Division I programs at the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state, ...

and

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

. Leslie continued her education in 1986 by enrolling at

Morningside High School Morningside High School is a public high school in Inglewood, California. It is the second largest high school after Inglewood High School in the city. History In 1951, the first two classes of students came to the Morningside Park area of Ingl ...

Inglewood, California Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 107,762. It was incorporated on February 14, 1908. The city is in the South Bay ...

. She made an immediate impact on the basketball program, starting every game for the girl's varsity team. She also joined the volleyball team and competed in track and field. She ended up being a state qualifier in the 400-meter run and the high jump. By the time she was a sophomore in high school, she was able to dunk the ball in the open court, even though she was not able to palm the ball. She was her team's leading scorer and rebounder and led them to the 1989 California state championship. Leslie was invited to participate in the USA's Junior World Championship team. Entering her senior year, she developed into the top player in the country. She led her team to a state championship averaging 27 points and 15 rebounds per game. She tied the national record for points scored by a high school basketball player with

Cheryl Miller Cheryl D. Miller (born January 3, 1964) is an American former basketball player. She was formerly a sideline reporter for NBA games on TNT Sports and also works for NBA TV as a reporter and analyst, having worked previously as a sportscaster f ...

in 1990 with 101 points scored, all in the first half. She had scored 105 points but four of the points were due to a technical foul charged on the opposing team for a delay of game after halftime, which were later voided as the game was deemed to end after the first half.

College career

Leslie attended women's basketball powerhouse the

from 1990 to 1994. She graduated from USC with a bachelor's degree in communications and later completed her master's degree in business administration from the

University of Phoenix University of Phoenix (UoPX) is a private for-profit university headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. Founded in 1976, the university confers certificates and degrees at the certificate, associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree level ...

. Leslie played in a total of 120 college games, averaging 20.1 points, hitting 53.4% of her shots, and knocking down 69.8% of her free throws. She set the

Pac-10 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS; formerly Division ...

records for scoring, rebounding, and blocked shots accumulating 2,414 points, 1,214 rebounds, and 321 blocked shots. She also holds the USC single season record for blocked shots (95). During her college career, USC compiled a 89–31 record. They won one Pac-10 conference championship and earned four

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

tournament appearances. Leslie was honored with All-Pac-10 recognition all four years, as well as becoming the first player in Pac-10 history to obtain first team all four years and earn the Pac-10 Rookie of the Year award in 1991. Leslie was also honored on the national platform by earning the national freshman of the year award in 1991. In 1994, she won multiple national player of the year awards—the

Naismith College Player of the Year The Naismith College Player of the Year is an annual basketball award given by the Atlanta Tipoff Club to the top men's and women's collegiate basketball players. It is named in honor of Dr. James Naismith, the inventor of basketball. History an ...

award, the

USBWA Women's National Player of the Year The United States Basketball Writers Association National Player of the Year Award is an award that has been presented by the United States Basketball Writers Association since the 1987–88 season to the top women's college basketball player in NC ...

award, the Honda Sports Award for basketball, and the

WBCA Player of the Year The Women's Basketball Coaches Association Player of the Year award is presented annually to the best women's college basketball players in NCAA Division II and NCAA Division III, Division III as voted by the WBCA membership. From 1983 to 2000, the ...

award. In 1992, 1993, and 1994, she earned All-American Honors as well.

USC statistics

WNBA career

The WNBA was incorporated in 1996 and began playing in 1997. Leslie was drafted on January 22 by the

as part of the Initial Allocation phase of the

draft Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vesse ...

. She helped the Sparks make the playoffs five consecutive times, but the team did not win a WNBA title until 2001. That year, Leslie was named the 2001 Sportswoman of the Year (in the team category) by the Women's Sports Foundation. On July 30, 2002, Leslie became the first woman to dunk the ball in a WNBA game. That same year she became the first WNBA player to score over 3,000 total career points and contributed to the Sparks winning their second straight WNBA championship that season. Two seasons later, she became the first player to reach the 4,000-career point milestone. Leslie remains the Sparks' career scoring and rebounding leader. She is the 4th highest all-time rebound leader, after Rebekkah Brunson, Sylvia Fowles, and Tamika Catchings. Within that same season, she also became the third player in WNBA history to record a triple double, when she had 29 points, 15 rebounds and 10 blocks. In the 2005 WNBA All-Star Game, Leslie had also become the first WNBA player to dunk in an all-star game. On August 11, 2009, Leslie became the first player to score 6,000 points in a career. Earlier that month she was the first player to reach 10,000 career PRA (points + rebounds + assists), a statistic fundamental to the WNBA "Pick One Challenge" fantasy game. Leslie announced her retirement effective at the end of the 2009 season on February 4, 2009. The Sparks held a farewell ceremony for Leslie during their final home game of the season in September. She finished holding the league records for points (6,263), rebounds (3,307) and PRA (10,444). In 2011, she was voted in by fans as one of the Top 15 players in the fifteen-year history of the WNBA. In 2016, she was voted into the

WNBA Top 20@20 WNBA Top 20@20 are the Women's National Basketball Association's Top 20 Players of All Time, chosen in 2016 on the occasion of the twentieth season of the WNBA from amongst 60 nominees compiled by the league. The group was to comprise the 20 best a ...

, in celebration of the league's 20th anniversary.

National team career

United States women's national basketball team

Leslie was named to the USA Basketball Women's Junior National Team (now called the U19 team). She was 17 at the time, the youngest player on the USA team. The team participated in the second Junior World Championship, held in

Bilbao ) , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = 275 px , map_caption = Interactive map outlining Bilbao , pushpin_map = Spain Basque Country#Spain#Europe , pushpin_map_caption ...

, Spain in July 1989. The USA team lost their opening game to South Korea in overtime, then lost a two-point game to Australia. After winning their next game against Bulgaria, behind 22 points and nine rebounds from Leslie, the USA team again fell in a close game, losing by three points to Czechoslovakia. After beating Zaire in their next game, the USA team played Spain, and fell three points short. Leslie led the team in scoring, rebounds, and blocks, averaging 13.3 points and 7.0 rebounds per game and recording 21 blocks over the course of the event. The USA team finished in seventh place. Leslie was a member of the USA team competing at the 1991 World University Games held in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

, England. Leslie was the second leading scorer on the USA squad, averaging 13.0 points per game, and helped the

Tara VanDerveer Tara Ann VanDerveer (born June 26, 1953) is an American basketball coach who has been the head women's basketball coach at Stanford University since 1985. Designated the Setsuko Ishiyama Director of Women's Basketball, VanDerveer led the Stanf ...

-coached team to a 7–0 record and the gold medal. She competed with USA Basketball as a member of the 1992 Jones Cup Team that won the Gold in

Taipei Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the n ...

for the first time since 1987. Leslie has made four consecutive Olympic appearances, and has earned four gold medals. She was the second female basketball player ever to earn that many gold medals, after

Teresa Edwards Teresa Edwards (born July 19, 1964) is an American former women's basketball player and four time Olympic gold medalist. In 2000, ''Sports Illustrated'' magazine placed her as 22nd of the "100 Greatest Female Athletes of the 20th Century". She ...

. Leslie has also made appearances with the United States national women's basketball team where she won gold medals in 1996 and 2000, and has also earned a world championship. Leslie scored 35 points against Japan in the semifinals of the 1996 Olympics to set an American Olympic women's scoring record. Leslie is one of seven USA Basketball's three-time Olympians, and one of two players with four gold medals. She led the U.S. team in scoring during the 2004 Olympic Games. During her third Olympic completion, she became the USA's all-time leading scorer, rebounder, and shot blocker in Olympic competition. Every time she has competed in a major international event, she has compiled double-digit scoring averages. Leslie, at age 20, was also the youngest player to participate at the USA Olympic Trials in 1992. Leslie has had a rivalry with Lauren Jackson ever since the 2000 Olympics, when the Australian star ripped out Leslie's hair extensions during a game.

WNBA career statistics

Regular season

, +Lisa Leslie WNBA regular season statistics , - , style="text-align:left" , 1997 , style="text-align:left" ,

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, 28 , , 28 , , 32.2 , , .431 , , .261 , , .598 , , style="background:#D3D3D3" , 9.5° , , 2.6 , , 1.4 , , 2.1 , , 3.89 , , 15.9 , - , style="text-align:left" , 1998 , style="text-align:left" ,

, 28 , , 28 , , 32.1 , , .478 , , .391 , , .768 , , style="background:#D3D3D3" , 10.2° , , 2.5 , , 1.5 , , 2.1 , , 3.64 , , 19.6 , - , style="text-align:left" , 1999 , style="text-align:left" ,

, 32 , , 32 , , 29.1 , , .468 , , .423 , , .731 , , 7.8 , , 1.8 , , 1.1 , , 1.5 , , 2.94 , , 15.6 , - , style="text-align:left" , 2000 , style="text-align:left" ,

, 32 , , 32 , , 32.1 , , .458 , , .219 , , .824 , , 9.6 , , 1.9 , , 1.0 , , 2.3 , , 3.22 , , 17.8 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;", 2001^† , style="text-align:left" ,

, 31 , , 31 , , 33.3 , , .473 , , .367 , , .736 , , 9.6 , , 2.4 , , 1.1 , , 2.3 , , 3.16 , , 19.5 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;", 2002 , style="text-align:left" ,

, 31 , , 31 , , 34.2 , , .466 , , .324 , , .727 , , 10.4 , , 2.7 , , 1.5 , , 2.9 , , 3.48 , , 16.9 , - , style="text-align:left" , 2003 , style="text-align:left" ,

, 23 , , 23 , , 34.4 , , .442 , , .324 , , .617 , , 10.0 , , 2.0 , , 1.3 , , 2.7 , , 2.83 , , 18.4 , - , style="text-align:left" , 2004 , style="text-align:left" ,

, 34 , , 34 , , 33.8 , , .494 , , .273 , , .712 , , style="background:#D3D3D3" , 9.9° , , 2.6 , , 1.5 , , style="background:#D3D3D3" , 2.9° , , 3.24 , , 17.6 , - , style="text-align:left" , 2005 , style="text-align:left" ,

, 34 , , 34 , , 32.2 , , .440 , , .206 , , .586 , , 7.3 , , 2.6 , , 2.0 , , 2.1 , , 2.94 , , 15.2 , - , style="text-align:left" ,

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

, style="text-align:left" ,

, 34 , , 34 , , 30.7 , , .511 , , .400 , , .650 , , 9.5 , , 3.2 , , 1.5 , , 1.7 , , 3.71 , , 20.0 , - , style="text-align:left" , 2008 , style="text-align:left" ,

, 33 , , 33 , , 32.1 , , .463 , , .235 , , .661 , , 8.9 , , 2.4 , , 1.5 , , style="background:#D3D3D3" , 2.9° , , 3.61 , , 15.1 , - , style="text-align:left" , 2009 , style="text-align:left" ,

, 23 , , 21 , , 27.7 , , .518 , , .167 , , .722 , , 6.6 , , 2.1 , , 0.7 , , 1.4 , , 2.60 , , 15.4 , - , style="text-align:left" , Career , style="text-align:left" , 12 years, 1 team , 363 , , 361 , , 32.0 , , .470 , , .316 , , .695 , , 9.1 , , 2.4 , , 1.4 , , 2.3 , , 3.34 , , 17.3

Playoffs

, +Lisa Leslie WNBA playoffs statistics , - , style="text-align:left" , 1999 , style="text-align:left" ,

, 4 , , 4 , , 36.3 , , .483 , , .308 , , .778 , , 8.5 , , 2.8 , , 1.0 , , 1.5 , , 3.50 , , 19.0 , - , style="text-align:left" , 2000 , style="text-align:left" ,

, 4 , , 4 , , 34.8 , , .491 , , .000 , , .826 , , 10.3 , , 2.0 , , 0.2 , , 1.2 , , 3.25 , , 18.8 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;", 2001 , style="text-align:left" ,

, 7 , , 7 , , 37.1 , , .492 , , .429 , , .740 , , style="background:#D3D3D3" , 12.3° , , 3.0 , , 1.7 , , style="background:#D3D3D3" , 4.4° , , 3.71 , , style="background:#D3D3D3" , 22.3 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;", 2002 , style="text-align:left" ,

, 6 , , 6 , , 38.7 , , .535 , , .625 , , .731 , , 7.8 , , 1.8 , , 1.8 , , 2.8 , , 1.33 , , 19.3 , - , style="text-align:left" , 2003 , style="text-align:left" ,

, 9 , , 9 , , 36.3 , , .540 , , .333 , , .704 , , 8.9 , , 2.6 , , 1.3 , , 3.1 , , 2.67 , , style="background:#D3D3D3" , 20.8° , - , style="text-align:left" , 2004 , style="text-align:left" ,

, 3 , , 3 , , 36.7 , , .452 , , .000 , , .750 , , 8.7 , , 0.7 , , 0.3 , , 2.7 , , 2.67 , , 11.3 , - , style="text-align:left" , 2005 , style="text-align:left" ,

, 2 , , 2 , , 33.5 , , .357 , , .000 , , .615 , , 6.5 , , 3.5 , , 2.5 , , 1.5 , , 1.00 , , 9.0 , - , style="text-align:left" ,

, style="text-align:left" ,

, 5 , , 5 , , 32.6 , , .308 , , .333 , , .759 , , 7.2 , , 1.8 , , 0.8 , , 1.6 , , 3.40 , , 12.6 , - , style="text-align:left" , 2008 , style="text-align:left" ,

, 6 , , 6 , , 32.0 , , .516 , , .500 , , .625 , , 8.8 , , 2.2 , , 1.2 , , 2.8 , , 4.33 , , 13.8 , - , style="text-align:left" , 2009 , style="text-align:left" ,

, 6 , , 6 , , 34.6 , , .452 , , .000 , , .615 , , 9.2 , , 2.0 , , 1.3 , , 1.5 , , 2.17 , , 16.7 , - , style="text-align:left" , Career , style="text-align:left" , 10 years, 1 team , 52 , , 52 , , 35.4 , , .480 , , .390 , , .711 , , 9.1 , , 2.3 , , 1.3 , , style="background:#EOCEF2" , 2.5 , , 2.90 , , 17.5

Other professional endeavors

Apart from basketball, Leslie is also a fashion model and an aspiring actress. She has been featured in ''Vogue'' and ''Newsweek'', as well as many sports publications. She has been on

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

numerous times and has been a guest star on several television shows such as '' Sister Sister'', '' The Game'', and '' One on One''. She is a guest commentator for "Sports Zone" on

KABC-TV KABC-TV (channel 7) is a television station in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast of the United States, West Coast Flagship (broadcasting), flagship of the American Broadcasting Company, ABC network. ...

/Los Angeles and wears the Circle 7 logo from the channel when on the show. She has also acted in a variety of commercials. Early in her career she signed a modeling contract with the

Wilhelmina modeling agency Wilhelmina International Inc. (NASDAQ: WHLM), formerly Wilhelmina Models, is a full service modeling agency, modeling and talent agent, talent agency headquartered in New York City, United States. The company also has offices in Los Angeles, Ch ...

. Leslie appeared on the show, '' Superstars'', and she and her partner, David Charvet, took third place after David injured his wrist. Leslie also played herself in an episode of the TV-show ''

The Jersey ''The Jersey'' is an American comedy television series based on the '' Monday Night Football Club'' books by Gordon Korman. The series aired on Disney Channel from January 30, 1999, to March 23, 2004. Premise Nick Lighter, Morgan Hudson, Colem ...

'' called "Nick's a Chick", where she switched bodies with a boy named Nick Lighter (played by Michael Galeota). In addition, she played herself in one episode of ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...

''. She also appeared in the movie ''

Think Like A Man ''Think Like a Man'' is a 2012 American romantic comedy film directed by Tim Story, written by Keith Merryman and David A. Newman, and produced by Will Packer. It was based on Steve Harvey's 2009 book ''Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man''. The fil ...

'', and played as herself. Leslie is also a playable character in the original Backyard Basketball, alongside

Kevin Garnett Kevin Maurice Garnett ( ; born May 19, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player who played for 21 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed KG by his initials, and the "Big Ticket" for his emphatic dunki ...

. She was only the fourth female professional athlete in the Backyard Sports series, after Brianna Scurry, Brandi Chastain, and

Tiffeny Milbrett Tiffeny Carleen Milbrett (born October 23, 1972) is an American former professional soccer forward who was a longtime member of the United States women's national team. In May 2018 the National Soccer Hall of Fame announced Milbrett will be en ...

. She also appeared in the 2nd episode of ''All in with Cam'' with host

Cam Newton Cameron Jerrell Newton (born May 11, 1989) is an American football quarterback who is a free agent. He has played for 11 seasons, primarily with the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). Nicknamed "Super Cam", he is the NF ...

. In 2013, Leslie switched places with Downtown Julie Brown on the show ''Celebrity Wife Swap''. On January 28, 2016, it was announced that she would be a contestant in ''

The New Celebrity Apprentice ''The New Celebrity Apprentice'' (also known simply as ''The Apprentice'') was the eighth and final installment of the reality game show ''The Celebrity Apprentice'', thus making it the fifteenth and final installment of ''The Apprentice'' as a w ...

'' (also known as ''

Celebrity Apprentice ''The Celebrity Apprentice'' is an American television reality competition series. It was a variation of ''The Apprentice'' series, hosted by then real estate developer (later 45th president of the United States) Donald Trump from 2008 to 2015, an ...

8''). Recently, she played septuagenarian Betty Lou in ''

Uncle Drew ''Uncle Drew'' is a 2018 American sports comedy film directed by Charles Stone III and written by Jay Longino. It stars Kyrie Irving as the title character from his Pepsi Max advertisements that began airing in 2012, along with former NBA playe ...

'' which hit the theaters in June 2018. Since her retirement from professional basketball, Leslie has worked as a sports commentator and analyst for several sports networks, such as

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

and

Fox Sports Net Fox Sports Networks (FSN), formerly known as Fox Sports Net, was the collective name for a group of regional sports channels in the United States. Formed in 1996 by News Corporation, the networks were acquired by The Walt Disney Company on Mar ...

. She had also released an autobiography called ''Don't Let the Lipstick Fool You''. In 2011, she had become a co-owner of the

. In 2018, Leslie joined

as a studio analyst on Orlando Magic broadcasts. Leslie was named coach of the

- an expansion team of the

three-on-three league founded by

Ice Cube An ice cube is a small piece of ice, which is typically rectangular as viewed from above and trapezoidal as viewed from the side. Ice cubes are products of mechanical refrigeration and are usually produced to cool beverages. They may be produc ...

- on January 10, 2019, and that year led the team to a 7–1 record, and winning the BIG3 Championship.

Personal life

On November 5, 2005, Leslie married Michael Lockwood, who played basketball for the

United States Air Force Academy The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) is a United States service academy in El Paso County, Colorado, immediately north of Colorado Springs. It educates cadets for service in the officer corps of the United States Air Force and Uni ...

and is a

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

for

UPS UPS or ups may refer to: Companies and organizations * United Parcel Service, an American shipping company ** The UPS Store, UPS subsidiary ** UPS Airlines, UPS subsidiary * Underground Press Syndicate, later ''Alternative Press Syndicate'' or ...

. In 2007, she took a year's leave from professional basketball for a pregnancy, and her daughter was born in 2007. Leslie returned to the WNBA for the 2008 season. Leslie had her second child in 2010. Leslie is also a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

. In an interview, she spoke out about her faith by saying: "As a prayerful kid, I was always putting my faith and goals in the Lord’s name. That was always one of the things that helped me the most. I always wanted to fulfill His purpose. I think that’s really been the saving grace for me. When you have faith, you have to step out on it nd trust God" On February 4, 2020, Leslie was interviewed by

Gayle King Gayle King (born December 28, 1954) is an American television personality, author and broadcast journalist for CBS News, co-hosting its flagship morning program, '' CBS Mornings'', and before that its predecessor ''CBS This Morning''. She is ...

to talk about her friendship with Kobe Bryant. During the interview, Leslie was asked about Bryant's sexual assault case in 2003. Leslie responded that those accusations did not align with the person she knew. Leslie is now a realtor and co-founder of a sports and entertainment real-estate firm named Aston Rose. Leslie was initiated as an honorary member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. on July 15, 2021. Tracee Ellis Ross, Lisa Leslie among Alpha Kappa Alpha 2021 honorary members
/ref>

References

External links

*
Lisa Leslie
at Basketball-Reference.com

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at

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Leslie, Lisa 1972 births Living people African-American basketball players African-American sportswomen All-American college women's basketball players American women's basketball players Basketball players at the 1996 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 2000 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Basketball coaches from California Basketball players from Los Angeles Big3 coaches Centers (basketball) Los Angeles Sparks players Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in basketball Orlando Magic announcers People from Gardena, California Universiade gold medalists for the United States Universiade medalists in basketball University of Phoenix alumni USC Trojans women's basketball players Women's National Basketball Association All-Stars Participants in American reality television series The Apprentice (franchise) contestants Medalists at the 1991 Summer Universiade 21st-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American women 20th-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American women