Hall of Famer Lisa Leslie didn’t expect to ever get a statue outside Crypto.com Arena. After all, it had been 15 years since her jersey retirement and no other Sparks player was featured among the Lakers and Kings heroes outside the area.
After years of hearing from fans that she deserve to be immortalized, Leslie learned she would join Sue Bird in Seattle as the second WNBA player to be honored with a statue at a franchise’s home arena.
“One thing I never had on my bucket list was a statue,” Leslie told The Times on Thursday. “I grew up seeing the statues of some of the amazing Lakers, so I’m just really grateful to be alive and to be one of the first, especially in the WNBA for L.A. Sparks. It means a lot to me, and I’m really hoping that our community will really rally around it.”
The Sparks announced Thursday morning that Leslie will receive a statue to be unveiled during a ceremony on Sept. 20 before a game against the Portland Fire.
During her 12-year career with the Sparks, Leslie won two WNBA titles and three league MVP honors. She also won four Olympic gold medals. She was the first player in WNBA history to dunk in a game and her No. 9 jersey was retired in 2010.
She was one of the Sparks’ original players in 1997 and is the franchise’s career leader in points, rebounds, blocks, field goals, free throws, offensive rebounds, defensive rebounds, minutes and games played, and is third in the WNBA in blocks and double-doubles.
“I’ve known Lisa for nearly three decades and believe that she is beyond deserving of this incredible honor,” fellow statue honoree and Lakers great Magic Johnson said in a news release. “She was the driving force behind bringing back-to-back championships to the Los Angeles Sparks franchise in 2000 and 2001, and Lisa’s hard work and commitment has made her one of the best to ever play the game.”
Johnson, who is part the Sparks ownership group, accepted responsibility for the team’s skid two years ago and promised to do more. The Sparks owners, who also own the Dodgers and Lakers, have responded to losing at a boom time in the WNBA by executing a coaching change, breaking ground on a new practice facility and installing the first Sparks statue outside Crypto.com Arena.
“Lisa’s legacy isn’t just measured by championships and accolades, though; it’s defined by the doors she opened and the standard she set for generations to come,” Johnson said in the news release. “More than an athlete, she is a pioneer, a cultural icon and a force who elevated women’s basketball to new heights. This statue celebrates her excellence, her leadership and the future she helped create, and it ensures her impact will forever be part of the fabric of this city.”
Leslie said that she noticed fans lobbying for her to get a statue beginning in 2019, and the timing for her and the Sparks felt right during the 30th anniversary season.
“It couldn’t be better with the new [practice] facility coming, the new CBA, everything is aligning so properly,” she said. “It’s more perfect than it would have been a few years before.”
The statue was created by sculptors Julie Rotblatt Amrany and Omri Amrany and will join 15 others outside of Crypto.com Arena, including Johnson, Wayne Gretzky, Oscar De La Hoya, Chick Hearn, Jerry West, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Luc Robitaille, Shaquille O’Neal, Bob Miller, Elgin Baylor, Dustin Brown, Kobe Bryant (2), Gigi Bryant and Pat Riley.
“I hope she looks good,” Leslie said of the statue. “People don’t realize how hard it is to make a statue look good. … They helped me to be super specific about every little thing down to my earlobe and fingernail tip. So I’m excited about all the little details that have been added that people can kind of find on their own as well.”
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