Читать книгу Don't Let The Lipstick Fool You: - Lisa Leslie - Страница 6

Lisa Leslie has had a tremendous impact on the L.A. Sparks, women’s basketball, and the city of Los Angeles. She has always been the best player, but that has never stopped her from continuing to learn or trying to improve. Lisa cares about the history of the game, and she always asks me what made our Lakers teams so good and what she needs to change in her game to get even better.

When she and my former teammate Michael Cooper teamed up with the Sparks, Lisa became the most dominating player in women’s basketball. She was able to take the WNBA to a whole new level because once people saw what she could do, they could not help but appreciate her talents, her work ethic, and her charisma. Little girls started wearing her #9 jersey and wanted to be like Lisa Leslie, and they could not pick a better role model on or off the court. She is a very intelligent woman who has taken care of her money and her image. Lisa was able to pave the way for women in basketball and in sports, but that never affected her willingness to go back into her community, speak at schools, and do whatever she could to help.

I know what it is like to grow up being the tallest in the class and not having clothes that fit right, let alone designer clothes. Lisa knows it, but through her sports and her spirituality, she was able to overcome the many adversities that she faced along the way. Because she was so great at basketball, it allowed her not only to take care of herself, but also her mother, who served double duty as Lisa’s mom and her dad. Hats off to Lisa for keeping it all together and leading a successful life—even when her environment might have dictated otherwise.

I remember watching Lisa’s stellar career at USC, and I will never forget when she joined my workout sessions with some of my NBA friends and some top-notch college players. It was all men, but Lisa impressed me when she said, “I want to play with you guys, and I don’t want anybody to take it easy on me.”

This woman would go out there and play. I would always try to team her with me so that I could make the passes and she could make the shots. It was amazing because Lisa would play so hard against those guys, and in turn, they paid her a lot of respect by playing hard against her. They had to because these guys knew if they let up even a bit, she would embarrass them. She never backed down. That was my first chance to see her measure up against men and to see her competitive nature come out.

Lisa took a lot of pride in making herself into a great basketball player, but she was always able to maintain her femininity at the same time. That always came across in the way that she spoke, the way she played on the court, and the way that she dressed off the court. She was a fashion diva, and she still is. Lisa has done many fashion shows for the Magic Johnson Foundation, and she is unbelievable as a model. This woman could have been a runway model full time and could have made a lot of money doing it. I think she shows women, both in sports and out of sports, that you can be a tremendous athlete and still remain a feminine woman. Now Lisa is taking it to another level in her roles as a wife and a mother.

To sum it all up, Lisa Leslie is the best at everything, and I applaud her for always striving for that. I always try to be the best in anything that I do, and Lisa is the same way…times one hundred! She is the best player in the game today, but she is also the best person, woman, daughter, model, and teammate.

Lisa is at the pinnacle of her sport, but her work on the basketball court is not done yet. Now she wants to make the best comeback, and she has set a goal to win one more Olympic gold medal for her country.

I love Lisa because she always represented herself and her mom with the highest level of class and dignity. She constantly has a smile on her face and is always there to support others. Lisa Leslie has reached a rare level of excellence, yet she remains a humble lady who, through all of her achievements, honors, and accolades, has been able to live in the glare of the spotlight without ever once forgetting where she came from.