Lisa Leslie Is Still Playing To Win—And Her Mission Is Bigger Than Basketball

Lisa Leslie is the first to tell you the GOAT conversation is wide open now. 

“It’s to be debated now for sure,” she says when I bring up her legacy, and she means it as a compliment to the current generation of players tearing up the WNBA.

For me? The topic isn’t as much to be debated. Because let’s be clear about something: For a young Black girl growing up in the 90s, Lisa Leslie changed the game. Period. She was the first woman to dunk in a WNBA game. A three-time MVP. A four-time Olympic gold medalist. An eight-time All-Star. I mean, shall I go on? Not to mention, she was the woman who proved you could dominate on the court, model for Wilhelmina, flex her comedic chops on an episode of Martin (and going down in history as one of my favorite episodes of all time), and do it all in polished nails if you wanted to.

Decades later, she still has me gagged (and believing it’s not true when they say, “never meet your idols”).

So when she says she feels like “a proud mom and a proud auntie” watching players like Angel Reese and the rest of this generation get their flowers—the endorsements, the visibility, the respect—you listen. Because Leslie knows what it took to build the foundation they’re standing on.

The real reason for our conversation was because she recently partnered with Planet Fitness to open a gym at a Boys & Girls Club in central Florida, and of course, with Leslie being Leslie, it makes sense. She spent her whole life in gyms and loves working with young people. And this partnership in particular is putting fitness centers in clubs across the country, with real equipment, trained staff to teach kids how to use it properly. 

“I think it just brings two worlds together that I seriously love, and I’m very passionate about,” Leslie says about the Planet Fitness initiative. “Obviously working out, I’ve done it all my life, but even to get to the point where I don’t necessarily have to work out, but I really do love it, and I think it’s so important for our mental health and physical health to continue to move. And then kids, I mean, I love kids so much.”

When Leslie went to the Boys & Girls Club opening, she spent time explaining to the kids that this gym isn’t something every community gets, which is a sad but unfortunate truth. This is just one step in changing that, with hopefully more openings to come in the future.

“I was explaining to the kids the importance of recognizing that this is happening right there in their backyard and they have to one, take advantage of the opportunity to be able to be in that judgment free zone, but also to police the equipment and make sure that people and their peers are taking care of it, because every kid doesn’t necessarily have this experience.”

There’s real data behind why she cares so much about this. Girls who play sports are more likely to attend college, less likely to become pregnant as teenagers, and more likely to land good jobs after graduation. Nearly all the kids who go through Boys & Girls Club programs—97%—have positive outcomes.

“We’re talking about them being in a safe place where they can work out or they can get their schoolwork done. But guess what? We’re also saying that if they are, they’re not out on the streets. They’re not hanging out after school, and they’re not getting in trouble.”

It’s practical reasoning, which is the kind Leslie’s known for.

When we get into talking about the current state of the WNBA, Leslie’s pride is obvious but so is her perspective. The product on the court has always been elite, she insists. What’s different now is that people can actually see it.

“I can name five women who played back in the day who could play right now in this era and still be All-Stars,” she says. “But when you talk about the visibility, what social media and the impact has had on the WNBA, what having television rights has had, now you’re talking about more eyes. The world is now connected and able to see and support the WNBA in a way that it’s never been before.”

There’s something bittersweet in how she describes watching this moment. She’s thrilled for the women getting endorsements and recognition, but you can tell she remembers being on the other side of that equation. Being a player who modeled, who acted, who had an acting coach and showed up in movies and TV shows because she refused to be just one thing.

“I used to have a prayer, Lord, let them just see me as beautiful, because it’s like you put people, put us in a box. It’s like you’re just basketball players. But it’s like, no, some of us are way more than just basketball players,” Leslie says. Being an LA girl gave her access to Hollywood that a lot of other players didn’t have, and she took advantage of every opportunity.

Now she watches players like Angel Reese doing the same thing—the fashion deals, the beauty campaigns, the cultural moments—and she’s genuinely excited. “I told her, ‘She’s like me, but 10.0,’ a whole other level,” Leslie says. “I get excited now like, ‘Yes, go after it. Come on hairstyle, come on lashes, come on lipstick.’ Get into the beauty aspect of it.”

But Leslie also wishes someone had pulled her aside at 19 and told her what she’s telling young athletes now: get your money right.

“A lot of times, after they retire, within five years, they don’t have any more money. And a lot of times that because it’s mismanaged,” she says. She’s clearly passionate about this—she’s currently in a State Street campaign that runs during WNBA playoff games, and financial literacy is the whole point.

Leslie talks about how she invested early, got into real estate, made her money grow instead of just spending it. “I think one of the things that I’m really proud about is how I’ve been able to financially invest my money and make it grow. And then getting into real estate, which was really important to me because I feel like real estate is one way to always make sure that you have your money and that it grows.”

With NIL deals now putting millions in the hands of teenage athletes, this advice is especially timely. “These young players are making millions of dollars at 17 and 19 years old. But if you don’t have an understanding about how money works and how you should invest it, I highly recommend they get financial advisors and figure out how to not only just have your allowance, but how do you invest and make sure you’re paying your taxes and savings.”

She laughs at herself. “I know I sound like a mom, but those are really values early that really have helped me in my career now.”

Leslie’s own wellness routine is consistent—working out regularly, playing tennis for the competitive outlet, prayer. She’s disciplined about it, treats it like the mental health maintenance it is. And yes, she takes hot baths with Epsom salt and tells her kids not to knock on the door for 20 minutes. Even legends need to decompress.

The through line in everything Leslie talks about—the gym for kids, the financial advice, the beauty routines, the refusal to be boxed in—is authenticity. She keeps coming back to it.

“I never tried to be something that I was not. I was a very feminine basketball player, and I love that. I love that I wanted my nails polished, and I really cared about my look. If that’s not who you are, don’t do that,” she says. “I think being authentic to who you are is really important.”

It’s advice that matters more now when young athletes are under more scrutiny than ever, when social media amplifies every choice, when the pressure to be everything to everyone is constant.

Leslie built a career being exactly who she was—dominant, feminine, business-minded, glamorous, competitive, and prayerful. And best of all (and the takeaway that resonates most with me), is she didn’t wait for permission and she didn’t apologize. She modeled and dunked and invested in real estate and showed up in Hollywood and did it all while people were still trying to figure out how to market women’s basketball.

The GOAT debate might be open, but Lisa Leslie’s blueprint is still the one everyone’s following.

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