The Lisa Leslie Award

In the summer of 1997, the sport of women's basketball received another much-needed shot in the arm with the launch of the Women's National Basketball Association. The Los Angeles Sparks, the latest addition to the glitz and glamour of Tinseltown, landed Lisa Leslie from the University of Southern California. Leslie was the perfect match for the Hollywood set, blending beauty and grace with strength and athleticism like no one before. An eight-time All Star and two-time world champion, Leslie became the face of the WNBA. As she solidified her spot as the dominant center stateside, her stock rose with her success on the international stage, where she won four gold medals in Olympic competition. In 2002, Leslie gave Sparks fans a reason to get out of their seats when she became the first player to dunk in a WNBA game and then led the Sparks to the franchise's second championship, winning her second Finals MVP. The three-time league MVP retired as the all-time leading rebounder in WNBA history and was an eight-time First Team All-WNBA performer. Past Winners

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Player Name School
Aaronette Vonleh Baylor
Kennedi Jackson Boston College
Audi Crooks Iowa State
Ayoka Lee Kansas State
Nyla Harris Louisville
Anastasiia Boldyreva Middle Tennessee
Katelyn Young Murray State
Alexis Markowski Nebraska
Maria Gakdeng North Carolina
Tommisha Lampkin North Texas
Raegan Beers Oklahoma
Liz Scott Oklahoma
Sakima Walker South Carolina
Brooklyn Meyer South Dakota State
Sedona Prince TCU
Taylor Jones Texas
Lauren Ware Texas A&M
Lauren Betts UCLA
Rayah Marshall USC
Allyson Fertig Wyoming

Leslie Career Highlights

College
  • USC (1990-1994)
College Playing Highlights
  • Pac-10 Conference Championship
  • Four-time All-Pac 10 First Team (1991-1994)
  • Pac-10 Rookie of the Year (1991)
  • National Freshman of the Year (1991)
  • Naismith College Player of the Year (1994)
  • UBSWA Women’s National Player of the Year (1994)
  • Honda Sports Award (1994)
  • WBCA Player of the Year (1994)
  • WBCA All-American (1994)
  • USC’s single season record holder for blocked shots (95)
Pro
  • Los Angeles Sparks (1997 – 2009)
Pro Playing Highlights
  • WNBA MVP (2001, 2004, 2006)
  • WNBA Championship (2001, 2002)
  • WNBA Finals MVP (2001, 2002)
  • All-WNBA First Team (1997, 2000 – 2004, 2006, 2008)
  • All-WNBA Second Team (1998, 1999, 2005, 2009)
  • WNBA All-Star (1999-2003, 2005, 2006, 2009)
  • All-Star Game MVP (1999, 2001, 2002)
  • WNBA All-Decade Team (1997-2006)
  • WNBA Defensive Player of the Year (2004, 2008)
  • All-Defensive First Team (2006, 2008)
  • All-Defensive Second Team (2005, 2009)
  • 15-time WNBA Player of the Week
  • Four-time gold medal winner in the Summer Olympics (1996, 2000, 2004, 2008)

Past Winners

Year Player Name School
2024 Cameron Brink Stanford
2023 Aliyah Boston University of South Carolina
2022 Aliyah Boston University of South Carolina
2021 Aliyah Boston University of South Carolina
2020 Aliyah Boston University of South Carolina
2019 Megan Gustafson University of Iowa
2018 A'ja Wilson University of South Carolina