Lisa Leslie

Lisa Deshaun Leslie (born July 7, 1972) was an All-Star basketball player, Olympic gold medalist and WNBA league MVP.

In 2001, Lisa Leslie was the first WNBA player to win the regular season MVP, the All-Star Game MVP and the playoff MVP in the same season. In 2002, she was the WNBA all-time leading scorer and was named MVP of the WNBA Championship. Leslie was a member of the gold-winning U.S. Olympic teams in 1996, 2000, 2004 and 2008. She retired from the WNBA in 2009.

Standing six feet tall in seventh grade, Leslie hated it when people would ask her if she played basketball. But after reluctantly picking up the sport in middle school, she was hooked. While at Morningside High School in Los Angeles, she led the team to two state championships. In college at the University of Southern California, she set several Pac-10 conference records for points and rebounds.

In her final year at University of Southern California, Leslie was named the 1994 National Player of the Year. She made her first trip to the Olympics in 1996 held in Atlanta, Georgia. There she helped the U.S. team take home the gold medal in women's basketball. That same year, Leslie also launched a modeling career.

Leslie landed a contract with the WNBA in 1997, becoming one of the new league's first players. She joined the Los Angeles Sparks and had an impressive career with the team. In 2001, she was the first WNBA player to win the regular season MVP, the All-Star Game MVP and the playoff MVP in the same season. Leslie also led the Los Angeles Sparks to two back-to-back WNBA Championships—in 2001 and 2002. In addition to her outstanding performance with the Sparks, Leslie returned to Olympic competition three more times. She helped the U.S. team win gold in 2000 and in 2004.

In 2011, she was voted in by fans as one of the Top 15 players in WNBA history. In 2015, she was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Leslie was also inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015.