Lisa Leslie left her mark on the Los Angeles Sparks franchise as one of the top players in its history. Recently, the organization honored her with a bronze statue outside the Crypto.com Arena, immortalizing the WNBA great.
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A Lil’ History About THEE Lisa Leslie & Statue Details
On Sunday (Sept. 20), she became the 16th person honored with a statue at Star Plaza in a ceremony featuring Magic Johnson, Candace Parker, Michael Cooper, and others. However, she is reportedly the first WNBA player and first Los Angeles Sparks player to be honored with a statue. Leslie starred for the Sparks from 1997 to 2009. The 11-foot statue, with a 4 1/2-foot base, depicts Leslie’s signature dunk, the first in WNBA history. She helped the Sparks win consecutive titles in 2001 and 2002.
Lisa Reacts To The Look Of The Statue
While speaking at the event, the three-time MVP expressed how happy she is with the outcome of her statue and the attention to detail poured into it. She said, “I am beyond happy with how beautiful The First Lady looks because they listened to me.” Adding, “She has her lipstick on, she has on earrings, she has my family’s names on my bracelets, which probably people can’t see because she’s so big. It’s gorgeous, and I just love that she has her ponytail, and when little girls walk around and get a chance to see it, they see a woman, The First Lady statue out there. That just means so much to me.”
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After the unveiling, she called the statue “cute” and admitted that she had some worried about the potential final look. Her look on the court was intentional throughout her career, she explained.
“First of all, she’s cute,” Leslie said of the statue. “I was so worried. I did not want to look like a linebacker up here. But she’s cute. I wanted to make sure that this statue was a perfect blend of fearlessness and the competitor that I was and I am and I’ll always be. But also … I wore my ribbons, I had my nails polished, which y’all can’t see, but the girl got her polish on because I never wanted the boys or the men to think that I was a boy.”
Social Media Gives The WNBA Star Her Flowers
The roommates quickly gathered in The Shade Room’s comment section following a post about Lisa Leslie’s bronze statue. Some reflected on the WNBA retiree’s record-breaking career, which ended in 2009 with her retirement. Others were stunned by her present-day looks, while majority gave their takes on how the statue of Leslie turned out. A couple of roomies even dropped jokey comparisons to Dwyane Wade’s statue at the same arena.
@krmethemc commented, “She been the goat, my first ever favorite player! The reason I picked up a basketball 🫂🔥”
“D Wade somewhere pissed,” @vibesofessence joked.
“Salute to a real one Inglewoods own 🔥 Lisa Leslie 🫡,” @russianrullet said.
“When I think of WNBA I think of her,” @quair_ramik commented.
“I don’t like it they could have done better congratulations 🎊 Ms Lisa,” @lakecoco28 weighed in.
“When I think of women’s basketball I think of Lisa Leslie!!! 🔥🔥🔥I love this for the history of women’s basketball,” @spunkybumper wrote.
“IMO the statues never look good, we just got overlook that and appreciate the honor lol, @ux2_dion commented.
“Congratulations to Lisa, but my girl doesn’t need a stepping stool to dunk. 👏🏾🔥,” @hartramon7996 said.
“Best most accurate statue I’ve ever seen of any ball player, especially African-American❤️😍,” @_liltizzy commented.
“She got the best statue out of everybody,” @demitritaughtme added.
“She a legend 🔥 but they should’ve eased up on the skin tone 😂,” @_kingtay94 wrote.
@aluberanon said, “She deserves it lol a lot of people probably didn’t even know what the WNBA was before her.”
“Whoever did hers needs to do everyone in the WNBA and NBA…and redo Dwyane Wade’s too 😂,” @som3bodysdaddy added.
