WNBA legend, Lisa Leslie, continues to make history as she is set to become the first female athlete to be honored with a statue outside of the Staples Center.
Los Angeles Times reported that the 11th statue will honor Leslie. Her statue will also be the first of a WNBA player outside of a team’s home arena.
Leslie was one of the stars that ushered in the WNBA. She averaged 17.3 points, 9.1 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game during her career, and held the league’s record for points and rebounds when she retired.
LA Times reporter, Arash Markazi, advocated for Leslie to receive a statue and noted she “isn’t just one of the greatest WNBA players of all time, she is one of the greatest athletes to ever come out of Southern California.”
Lisa Leslie played with the Sparks from 1997 to 2009. She won three league MVPs, two championships, four Olympic gold medals and three All-Star Game MVPs during her career. The iconic player was also the first WNBA player to dunk in a game.
She will now be immortalized alongside NBA greats like Magic Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal and Wayne Gretzky.
