The First Lady of Star Plaza, Lisa Leslie Gets Her Statue
The Sparks unveiled an 11-foot bronze of Leslie mid-dunk outside Crypto.com Arena, recalling the WNBA’s first in-game dunk in 2002.
On Sunday, September 20, the Los Angeles Sparks unveiled a bronze statue of Lisa Leslie at Star Plaza outside Crypto.com Arena, on the same day the team beat the Portland Fire 105-84 inside. Leslie addressed the crowd at halftime.
The 11-foot figure, dubbed “The First Lady,” is the work of the sculptors Julie Rotblatt Amrany and Omri Amrany. It catches Leslie mid-dunk with an orange-and-white WNBA ball, a callback to 2002, when she threw down the first in-game dunk in league history. “I wanted to make sure that this statue was a perfect blend of fearlessness and the competitor that I was,” Leslie said.
She is the 16th person honored with a statue outside the arena, joining a bronze lineup that includes Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Leslie played 12 seasons for the Sparks between 1997 and 2009, winning three MVP awards and back-to-back championships in 2001 and 2002, and she remains the franchise leader in points, rebounds and blocks. She also won four Olympic gold medals and entered the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015. “I’m so proud of where the women’s game is,” she said. “We have the support that I had always hoped for.”
The statue went on public view at Star Plaza on Monday, September 21, and now holds its pose under the arena lights every game night downtown.
