WNBA pioneer will make farewell tour.

One of the foundational players upon which the WNBA was built after the 1996 Olympics, Leslie considered retiring after last season and after she won her fourth Olympic gold medal. Her Los Angeles Sparks teammates, including 2008 Rookie of the Year Candace Parker, convinced Leslie, who turns 37 in July, to return for a final [...]

Sparks’ Lisa Leslie cites balancing act in decision to retire.

Her news conference in El Segundo had a charming “This Is Your Life”-type feel, from her proud husband, Michael Lockwood, on hand and her toddler, Lauren, saying, “Mommy!” to her own mother, Christine, saying, “She’s still my little girl.”The 36-year-old Leslie got emotional once in the prepared remarks and that was when she was thanking [...]

Sparks’ Lisa Leslie expected to retire after this season.

The finish line, apparently, is in sight for a basketball icon. Lisa Leslie of the Sparks, WNBA pioneer and four-time Olympic gold medalist, is expected to announce that this will be her final season in the league, according to sources who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-wnba-lisa-leslie4-2009feb04,0,3112471.story

It’s not easy, but the journey to Washington is worth it for Lisa Leslie.

As an African American woman, it feels liberating to see Barack Obama as the president. African Americans have often times felt like a distant cousin in America. Now we feel like immediate family with a seat at the table. With that said, I hope that our African American communities will use this as inspiration to [...]

Leslie’s Legacy Is Secure.

The next time some fool argues that Title IX should be rewritten, just show them the highlights of the U.S. women’s basketball team at this Olympics, and of Lisa Leslie in particular. Twelve years of playing for her country, not a single loss and four gold medals. Think she was worth the funding?http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/23/AR2008082301826.html

Four-time gold medalist Leslie says U.S. women have earned name, too.

If Team USA is the Supremes, then Leslie is its Diana Ross. She is the link between gold in Atlanta and Sydney and Athens and now Beijing. “It is a blessing to play in this many Olympics and have all my medals be gold,” she said. “I played in a few world championships as well [...]

Yet again, Leslie’s presence leads U.S. women to Olympic gold.

Most athletes dream of coming home from the Olympics with gold medals. Lisa Leslie brought hers to the Olympics. She wanted to complete the set she’s been collecting since the 1996 Games in Atlanta. She did just that when the U.S. women’s basketball team beat Australia — again — in Saturday’s Olympic final, and after [...]

Leslie, USA search for more gold.

Lisa Leslie served notice Thursday of what she expects of the USA in the Olympic basketball tournament. “We’re excited to face the world,” she said. “We’re excited to continue our …” — and here she paused just briefly — “dominance of the world.” The word was carefully chosen. Leslie has played in three Olympics and [...]

Day in the life of Lisa Leslie.

Two decades after she scored 101 points in the first half of a high school basketball game and eight years after she became the first woman to dunk in a WNBA game, Leslie, 36, has burnished her long and distinguished résumé with another notable entry: working mother. She has joined the ranks of an estimated [...]

Lisa Leslie’s last Olympics a golden transition time.

“She prepares herself every day to be great,” said Gail Goestenkors, an assistant coach of the Olympic team and observer of Leslie since her high school days. “She was not only playing excellent basketball, she was a great leader. She has always been a great player and now she has an added maturity to her [...]