WNBA Legend Lisa Leslie Gets Major Los Angeles Sparks Honor

Lisa Leslie will be immortalized with a statue outside of Crypto.com Arena, the Los Angeles Sparks announced on Thursday.

Leslie will become just the second WNBA player in history to have a statue, joining longtime Seattle Storm icon Sue Bird. The statue will be unveiled in a ceremony on Sep. 20.

Leslie was born and raised in the Los Angeles area, attending USC and playing each of her 12 WNBA seasons with the Sparks. She’s widely considered one of the greatest basketball players of all time, winning three MVP awards, two Defensive Player of the Year trophies, four Olympic gold medals and two WNBA championship titles.

"To be cemented in Los Angeles, the city that raised me, I couldn't be more proud to be a role model forever," Leslie said in a statement, via WNBA insider Kendra Andrews of ESPN.

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Leslie finished her WNBA career as an eight-time All-Star, three-time All-Star Game MVP, two-time WNBA Finals MVP, three-time rebounding champion and two-time blocks leader. She was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015. Her No. 9 jersey was retired by the Sparks in 2010.

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Leslie joins elite company outside of Crypto.com Arena.

Six basketball players have statues at the Los Angeles venue: Elgin Baylor, Jerry West, Shaquille O’Neal, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson and Kobe Bryant. Legendary coach Pat Riley and broadcasting icon Chick Hearn are also immortalized with statues.

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This story was originally published May 14, 2026 at 9:43 AM.