Lisa Leslie

Lisa Leslie is a basketball legend who shattered barriers in women's sports and became the first player to dunk in a WNBA game. A three-time WNBA MVP, four-time Olympic gold medalist, and two-time WNBA champion, Leslie was the most dominant player in women's basketball for over a decade — and she did it all while challenging every assumption about what a female athlete could be.

Born in Gardena, California, in 1972, Leslie grew up to be 6'5" and dominated basketball from her high school days at Morningside High, where she once scored 101 points in a half. She played at USC before joining the Los Angeles Sparks in the WNBA's inaugural season in 1997. On July 30, 2002, Leslie dunked during a game against the Miami Sol — the first dunk in WNBA history — and the crowd erupted.

Beyond her athletic achievements, Leslie broke the mold of what a female athlete was expected to be. She modeled, appeared in films, launched businesses, and never apologized for being both athletic and feminine. After retiring in 2009, she became a coach, broadcaster, and entrepreneur. Leslie was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015, cementing her legacy as one of the greatest basketball players — not just women's basketball players — of all time.