Lisa Leslie, Basketball Player, model, - Biography,
USA International Basketball player.
A picture of her Lisa Leslie
Height 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Weight 170 lb (77
kg)
Born July 7, 1972
Gardena, California
Lisa Leslie was the daughter of Christine, a 6 foot 3 woman in LA.
When still only a toddler her father left her mother, and her 2 also quite tall sisters.
Her mother became a long distance lorry driver, as her own business. when she bought a truck.
The sisters moved with her to places such as Compton, and Carson.
Her mother was away for weeks at a time, and a live on housekeeper would look after them
Lisa was apparently doing many maternal things by the age of 10, plus her aunt was too.
By the time she was in seventh grade, which is some time between 12 and 13, she was over 6 foot tall.
She did not much like the game, when young, despite still playing the game
Apparently she even wanted to quit the sport, as she found the question do you play basketball so annoying, but the star of her junior team kept her on in playing.
She became a centre, or center, a position she keeps to this day, and was so succesful the team went on a long winning run, she was soon as good at scoring, collecting rebounds, and passing.
She decided her height was not enough of a thing to have, so with a male friend of her's started to practice footwork, and shooting, plus sit ups and push ups daily.
When entering a school, in Inglewood in 1986 she started every game for the women's team. Also joining the volleyball and track teams, increasing her leaping ability and speed Winning the state titles in the high and triple jump.
In Lisa’s sophomore year, her school Morningside reached the state playoffs. In the semis, the team had a chance to win the game at the buzzer. Lisa missed. Soand worked even harder on her game. Lisa achieved her full height, 6-5, in her junior year, and became regarded as the best high-schooler player in the city. By this time, she could dunk the ball in open court. Her high-jumping technique enabled her to rise and jam-one handed, even though she could not palm
She was placed in the Team USA 1989, basketball team, and was top scorer that Summer for them.
In her senior year she became the top player in the country for schools., averaging 27 points and 15 rebounds a game. Even though her coach took her off in the second half at times, apparently so other teams would not have a grudge against the team, the year they played her team, the next year without her. Apparently?.
She was allowed as was tradition to try and break the record for scoring, in the final game, and needed to reach 69, to do this. As was tradition all players passed to her, and she scored 101 of 102 to go 102-24 up, at half time, hoping to break the Cheryl Miller School record. Only a few short of this, but the other team gave up.
Apparently she got good grades and chose to go to the University of Southern California.
As is the tradition in the US her time there was more about the sport, than the learning.
In her first game for USC, she scored 30 points and grabbed 20 rebounds V Texas, and went on to have a fabulous freshman year. Averaging 19.4 points and even 10 rebounds a game. And was picked freshman of the year. She unsettled opponents who tried to do the same to her, and did stuff before th game like dunki ng lay up drills, to do this too.
After that year, she toured with Team USA, helping them win Gold at the World University Games
She was sad to not be in the 1992 Olympic Team.
She as a collegian scored 20 points and 10 rebounds a night, and improved defensive skills.
lisa saw the team she played for rise from unranked to no 7 when she left university.
She played in the Goodwill Games, and won them with TEAM USA. in 1994. She was seen as the star player of her team, and the young players of the world.
As there was no big USA professional league at the time, she wanted to stay sharp, and join Sicilgesso a team in Italy. Who play in Alcamo in Sicily 22.6 ppg. and 11.7 rpg. Where she liked running on the beach and stuff. As a very tall figure. It was felt if the USA won the 1996 Olympics this would boost chances for US league. So many players pulled together to form a better team. They defeated Brazil 111-87, to win the Gold medal.
So the NBA backed the WNBA, with the not that big American Basketball League.
She with Swoopes, and Lobo were regarded as the top players in the start before the tournaments. With even female politicians posing with them to show progress of female blah blah etc., Lisa was placed in LA with the Los Angeles Sparks, all new franchises, at a time when many players were still earning less a year from the competition than a part time worker in Britain earns on the mininum wage. But many were earning big amounts of money, so like now many can become millionaires in their career, if platying for Russian or Korean teams in the off season and such. (Annoying many people) The other big name stars were sent to Houston and New York. But it was Cynthia Cooper at the Houston Comets who was the major force in winning the first title. From that year top female basketballers from around the world started to go to the US league, lauded by the NBA, and others, so it became the biggest league. With still some playing outside the US. Houston won the first 4 WNBA titles, but Lisa stayed in LA.
In 2000 Leslie played and won the Gold at the Australian Olympics. Leslie started her great rivalry with Lauren Jackson, who before the Olympics had said she saw Leslie as a role model, but now had a rivalry.
Then in 2000 her team beat the Charlotte Sting 2-0 in the series and won the Competition. They then repeated the taking of the title the next year, and then just lost it the next year after that. In 2002 against Miami Sol, she became the first WNBA player to score a dunk.
In 2004 in Greece she won her 3rd Gold Medal
1997 Houston Comets 1-0 New York Liberty
1998 Houston Comets 2-1 Phoenix Mercury
1999 Houston Comets 2-1 New York
Liberty
2000 Houston Comets 2-0 New York Liberty
2001 Los Angeles Sparks
2-0 Charlotte Sting
2002 Los Angeles Sparks 2-0 New York Liberty
2003
Detroit Shock 2-1 Los Angeles Sparks
2004 Seattle Storm 2-1 Connecticut Sun
2005 Sacramento Monarchs 3-1 Connecticut Sun
2006 Detroit Shock 3-2 Sacramento
Monarchs
In 1996 she signed for the Wilhelmina modeling agency. And she has appeared not just as a model, but in amny photo shoots, and in many tv shows. Like one where she was with a short, or normal ehight man, and she was doing the DIY with him, interviewers are usually impressed or worried by her height. Even when only a bit shorter. And has appeared in many sit coms etc., She even had a episode of the Simpsons, have her.
First WNBA player to reach the 3,000 point plateau
Led the WNBA in rebounds in 1997 (9.5 rpg) and 1998 (10.2 rpg)
First player ever to garner regular season, WNBA Championship and All-Star Game MVP awards in the same season.
MVP of the WNBA Championship and All-Star Game in 2002
Three-time Olympic Gold medalist 1996, 2000, 2004
MVP and All-Tournament team honors, USA World Championships, 2002
First player to dunk in a WNBA game
She used to be emabessed about her height till basketball became useful for her, so stopped being so about it.
In late 2006 she announced she was preganant and would have to miss the upcoming WNBA season.
This website was last updated in January 2007
http://www.wvu.edu/~physed/blacksports/class2004/Leslie_Lisa/Lisa%20Leslie_files/image001.jpg
http://www.usabasketball.com/images/2002/02_leslie_lisa_mvp.jpg
http://www.athleticscholarshipbook.com/images/Leslie_Lisa2.jpg
Looking Magnificent, playing basketball
http://www.wnba.com/media/allstar2006/LisaLeslie_400_060711.jpg
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