Key Takeaways
- Lisa Leslie’s 11-foot bronze statue, “The First Lady,” was unveiled at Star Plaza outside Crypto.com Arena.
- The Los Angeles Sparks legend is the franchise’s first player and the WNBA’s second player to receive a statue from her franchise.
- Leslie helped shape details, including ribbons and polished nails, to reflect her competitiveness and femininity.
Lisa Leslie is making history once again.
The Los Angeles Sparks legend was immortalized Sunday (Sept. 20) with an 11-foot bronze statue outside Crypto.com Arena ahead of the team’s game against the Portland Fire. Dubbed “The First Lady,” the sculpture captures Leslie mid-dunk and makes her the first Sparks player and only the second WNBA player to receive a statue from her franchise.
Sue Bird became the first in August 2025, when the Seattle Storm unveiled a statue of the WNBA legend outside Climate Pledge Arena.
The celebration brought out a long list of people who have been part of Leslie’s journey, including Magic Johnson, Candace Parker, Tamika Catchings, Penny Toler, Nneka and Chiney Ogwumike, Mwadi Mabika, Byron Scott, James Worthy, Michael Cooper, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Leslie Jones and Vivica A. Fox. Leslie’s husband, Michael Lockwood, and their two children were also there to celebrate the milestone.
Johnson leaned into the significance of the moment during his remarks. “You get the theme. History, history and more history. That’s what [you're] making. So, I’m happy… I hope one day I can throw you a no-look pass from my statue to [yours] and you know what to do with it once I give it to you right,” he joked.
Leslie had her own initial concern when the statue was finally unveiled. “Guys, first of all, she's cute,” she quipped during her speech. “I was so worried. I did not want to look like a linebacker up here, and she's cute.”
Lisa Leslie made sure "The First Lady" statue represented every part of her
The statue was months in the making, with the sports icon traveling to Chicago to work with sculptors Julie Rotblatt Amrany and Omri Amrany. She paid close attention to details that represented not only the competitor she was on the court, but also the femininity she made a point to embrace throughout her career.
“I wanted to make sure that this statue was a perfect blend of fearlessness and the competitor that I was and I am and I'll always be,” she said. “But also ... I wore my ribbons, I had my nails polished, which y'all can't see, but the girl got her polish on because I never wanted the boys or the men to think that I was a boy.”
Leslie continued, “I wanted to play hard like them, but I wanted them to know that I respected myself and that I was a lady. And I wanted for little girls to see my ribbons when I played because I wanted them to be able to see themselves in me.”
The Compton-raised Hall of Famer then explained that her signature ribbons were inspired by volleyball players, whose style she admired. She also recalled wanting her uniform shorts shorter and more fitted than those of her teammates, even when they gave her a hard time about it. “I thought my legs were beautiful, so I wanted my stuff to be a little bit shorter and a little bit tighter and a little bit closer, you know?” she recalled. “'Cause ya girl at any day, any moment, she got to be a lady. So hence 'The First Lady.'”
That ultimately inspired the name she gave the statue. “That's what I named her, because I have an opportunity to be amongst legends here. I respect the work that all of our people have done and I'm right across from my little baby brother, Kobe,” Leslie shared.
The honor adds another first to a career full of them. The 54-year-old became the first woman to dunk in a WNBA game and the first WNBA player to sign with a modeling agency. Across 12 seasons, all with the Sparks, she won two championships, three league MVP awards and four Olympic gold medals while earning eight WNBA All-Star selections.
Her No. 9 was retired by the franchise in 2010, and she entered the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame five years later. Now, her legacy has a permanent home in Star Plaza.
“I'm right across from Kobe. I'm right by Magic. The people who have just poured into my [life]. I’m here at Crypto.com Arena. I can't say it enough,” Leslie reflected. “To be cemented here in Hollywood, but it's also a lasting legacy that my ancestors would be proud of.”