Nike Basketball News

Lisa Leslie: A Career Retrospective

hoffcobra — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 15:00:11 GMT

“If you can dream it, you can achieve it.”

Lisa Leslie

She was 12. Already five years into her childhood dream of becoming a TV weather reporter and model. She loathed the idea of strangers bugging her about whether or not she played sports - let alone basketball.

But that same year, Lisa Leslie picked up a ball for the very first time. And she’s yet to put it down.

Until right about now.

The Los Angeles Sparks have once again clinched a spot in the WNBA playoffs. And whether they go down swinging in the Western Conference's opening round or ride off into the sunset as WNBA Champions, the 2009 season will be Lisa's last.

She was 14 when her goals changed. Notice the word choice: goals. Not dreams. See, Lisa still dreams of being on TV - continuing her career as a commentator and actress. And she’s already accomplished that whole modeling thing, stalking runways with the delicate beauty and effortless grace of a ballet dancer. Chalk that one up to Lisa’s competitive, worldly spirit: she’s always refused to be pigeonholed by her athletic blessings and what she’s capable of between the white lines of the basketball court.

To be honest, 94 feet of hardwood was never going to be enough for a girl who stood 6’0” in sixth grade and looks at the world as a “glass-is-overflowing” playground of limitless possibility.

Back to that once-upon-a-time goal change.

When Lisa was 14 she decided to become the best female basketball player in the world. A laundry list of accolades later, it’s safe to say Lisa put a check mark next to that one on her long-term list:

High School

2 California State Championships
101 points in a single game

University of Southern California

4 Consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances
Graduated as the all-time Pac-10 leader in points, rebounds and blocked shots

WNBA

2 League Championships (2001, 2002)
First player to be named regular season, All-Star Game and playoff MVP (2001)

Olympics

4-time Gold Medal Winner (1996, 2000, 2004, 2008)
First team sport athlete to win four consecutive Gold Medals

She’s been called the female Michael Jordan. And as the first player to dunk in a WNBA game, she knows a little about rarified air.

She’s a proud mother who took a year off at the height of her on-court prowess (2006 WNBA MVP) to have a child in 2007. And then busted ass to get back in shape and claim her record-setting fourth straight gold medal the following spring, capping off an undefeated (32-0) Olympic career.

Always a passionate competitor; forever a lady.

The WNBA and the world of basketball begin to say goodbye to Lisa at the Staples Center on September 11, 2009.

And she says hello once again to the great big world at large.

Where does Lisa Leslie rank in the pantheon of all-time athletes? Become a fan of Nike Basketball on Facebook or follow nikebasketball on Twitter to drop some knowledge.

Lisa Leslie: “Pass The Ball To The Girl”

hoffcobra — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 23:25:27 GMT

Talent is one thing. And sometimes that’s enough.

When you stand 6’2” as a 14-year old girl - and already possess the ability to dribble, pass and shoot with both hands - playing basketball should be easier than choosing what to eat for lunch.

Unless you move around so much as a kid that you become ineligible to play for any school - and the area doesn’t field any women’s select teams.

For Lisa Leslie, that was just fine. She’d play with the boys. Only there was this one little issue: they didn’t much like the idea. In fact, they refused to even pass her the ball.

Lisa wasn’t deterred. She’d already spurned the proverbial world at large that tried to draw a line in the sand.

Something about “being a girl” and getting her hair done versus sweating it out on the court as the only female amongst her male peers. And the choice wasn’t easy - Lisa had never really played the game seriously. In those days, she dreamed of becoming a weather reporter. Maybe being a model.

But two years earlier, at the tender age of 12, Lisa had first picked up a basketball. And by 14, she was already falling in love with the game.

So the decision to play with the boys became a no-brainer. As did her next move.

The boys didn’t want to share? No problem. Lisa stole the ball - from her own teammates. Then she dribbled in and scored, to the delight of the crowd - and the chagrin of those boys.

That first bucket became a turning point. One that would be reenacted just as often as those boys could feed the league’s tallest player down low. And it came with a chant. Perhaps it’s emblazoned on your shirt. Perhaps you’ll be the next one to hear it:

“Pass The Ball To The Girl.”

Where does Lisa Leslie rank in the pantheon of all-time athletes? Become a fan of Nike Basketball on Facebook or follow nikebasketball on Twitter to drop some knowledge.

This Is Our Team: Lisa Leslie

Hotnix — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 20:53:21 GMT

With three gold medals under her belt, Lisa Leslie faces her ultimate challenge: passing on her wisdom to a new Team USA.

No one on the U.S. Women’s Team has more experience than Lisa Leslie – or the gold medals to prove it. The future Hall of Famer, who’s been setting records and standards since high school, is now putting her experience to good use. Because for Team USA to bring home the gold this year, it’ll take more than just Lisa Leslie; it’ll take her leadership, guidance, and mentorship of younger players.

It’s not that Leslie is just the team’s star. She’s also the strategy. Women’s head coach Anne Donovan is relying on her to turn the young team into a cohesive unit, shaping much of the raw talent on the court.

“Lisa’s leadership, experience and her voice is something that we really need to play with again,” said Coach Donovan. “For our younger players in particular, to have that opportunity to be with her, interact with her and learn from her… it’s an exciting time for us.”

It would be hard to overstate Leslie’s importance to Team USA. The few times she’s been absent – the semis against Russia at the World Championships, the 2007 qualifying campaign – her team has fallen in defeat. It was only in 2007, at the FIBA Americas tournament, that her teammates forged ahead without her at the helm. “Lisa is our rock,” said a fellow team member. “She’s our foundation.”

After over ten years of professional league play, Lisa Leslie has had the time and dedication to work on all aspects of her game. The result is the most agile center in the history of the WNBA: she’s unguardable, impenetrable, and often unstoppable. But her strength, perhaps, still lies in her mental game.

“I feel a mixture of emotions,” Leslie says. “I feel young enough to play, but old enough to be a leader.”

And lead she will. Right to U.S. victory.

For over a decade now, Leslie has been one of the biggest forces in women’s basketball. And she knows that this summer is her chance to cap off her career as no one has done before: by winning a fourth Olympic gold medal.

“When I put on the red, white and blue,” she says, “It’s all about the gold.“

More on Team USA
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This Is Our Game: Commitment

Hotnix — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 20:50:05 GMT

This is our story. The story of us as a country, played on a court and erected on a podium. The journey of us told on the hallowed courts of the 1920’s New York and Boston, the 1930’s Chicago and Detroit. The tale of our pride echoed from the past, lifted off concrete, written on hardwood, and inscribed on the floors around the world. The travels of our dreams follow us: from Barcelona to London, Atlanta to Sydney. The journey of Team USA means more to us, because it’s the game America created, and it’s America’s job to show the world how we play it.

This is our game.

Their sweat is our sweat, their dreams are our dreams. Their pain is felt in the hearts of fans across this nation, the millions who support the passion, the pride, and the ferocity with which we will stake our claim.

This is our legacy.

We give remembrance to the teams of our past. We honor those who paved the way before us. Their stories lie at our feet. Because in the hearts of those players, our desires were born. Our dreams came from those who wore the uniform first. This is the legacy that will never end, given to us so that we can take it to a new level: a level unseen.

Together, we triumph.

This is all a part of the journey we take together. We recognize the difficulty of the road behind us and the opportunity of the journey in front of us. We will go higher. Above the rest. Beyond what anyone says is possible. Because the greatest moments in history still lie in our future.

As a planet, we offer the game as a gift for the world to enjoy.

But together, we will make sure the world knows this one vital, important fact about the United States of America: No one balls like we do.

More on Team USA
Meet the men on this year's Team USA »
Meet the women on this year's Team USA »

This Is Our Game: Undefeated

GHarty — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 20:49:21 GMT

This is Our Game explores the rich tradition of the U.S. National Teams, uncovering the victories, defeats, and rivalries of the last seven decades. In Part One of the series, as the game spreads to the world, the first and greatest American basketball dynasty is born.

1936-1968.

It all started with a peach basket nailed to a wall, back in 1891, by a high school PE teacher named James Naismith. He’d invented the game as a way to keep his students warm in winter, but it wasn’t long before it’s popularity spread, eventually growing into an American pastime and a global phenomenon.

Basket Ball, a name chosen by one of his students, was soon being played in schoolyards and colleges across the country. By the early 1900’s, official rules were established, the NCAA was formed, and the game became a regular part of life for many Americans. But it wasn’t until World War I, when young soldiers were sent abroad, that basketball was spread to the world.

Before long, the game that started in a high school gym was a major global sport. And so it was decided, almost forty years after that gym class in Springfield, MA, that basketball was to become an official event at the 1936 Games.

From the tip-off, the United States was unstoppable. The team, though made up of young amateurs, won its first five games without much effort. And it was there in Berlin, as Naismith looked on, that one of the world’s longest-running dynasties was born.

From that point on, the U.S men’s team became known for fostering some of the great amateur players in history. The roster for the 1960 games in Rome, for instance, listed future greats like Oscar Robertson, Jerry West, and Jerry Lucas. Lucas, only 20 years old at the time, served as the team’s anchor, making an amazing 84% of his shots over nine historic games.

From the years 1936 to 1968, The American team was unmatched in speed, skill, and strategy. From London to Helsinki to Tokyo, the Men’s Basketball Team dominated the court time and again. And with a tally of 63-0, it would take the onset of the Cold War – and the U.S.’s biggest political enemy – to bring the team’s streak to an end.

NEXT: The epic rivalry that brought an end to U.S. dominance >>

More on Team USA
Meet the men on this year's Team USA »
Meet the women on this year's Team USA »

This Is Our Game: Controversy & Defeat

GHarty — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 20:41:14 GMT

This is Our Game explores the rich tradition of the U.S. National Teams, uncovering the victories, defeats, and rivalries of the last seven decades. In Part Two of the series, a legendary streak comes to an abrupt end as Russia emerges on the world stage.

1972-1984.

As the threat of a Third World War looms over the country, Team USA suffers its first ever defeat to its Cold War rivals.

Between the 1940’s and the early 1990’s, the Cold War weighed heavily on the minds of Americans. And in the 1970’s, the controversy, terror and politics finally began to overshadow the goodwill of the games.

The 1972 summer games started off like any other, with Team USA marching through its opponents with ease. Teams like Cuba, Czechoslovakia, Brazil, Spain, Australia, Japan and Egypt posed little threat to U.S. dominance. But the USSR proved to be a different sort of challenge; as they faced their Cold War rivals in the finals game, they battled from the tip-off, exchanging leads throughout. The Americans knew they had it covered, scoring two clutch free throws with three seconds left on the clock – enough to ensure a 50-49 victory.

Then tragedy struck.

After Russia’s inbound pass, with just one second left on the clock, the referee unexpectedly blew the whistle. After a few moments of confusion, he emerged from a conference with the other refs and announced that the Russian head coach had called a timeout. As a result, the clock would be turned back to three seconds.

When the Russians missed their opportunity to score, Team USA began to celebrate their victory. But the Russian head coach, after flagging down the refs, argued that the clock was improperly reset. The U.S. could do nothing but stand by and wait – and finally, after a long period of deliberation, they saw that the clock was again being set to three seconds. The Russians took to the court again, and were given another chance to score. This time, they sank their shot before the buzzer, and were awarded the gold.

Team USA, believing they were robbed, refused to accept silver medals.

After all of the controversy, tragedy and defeat of the Munich Summer Games, the U.S., still holding a grudge from their previous loss, went to Montreal four years later in search of revenge. After stomping their way through Italy and Yugoslavia, Team USA battled until the final minutes for a 95-94 victory over Puerto Rico. They followed up with easy wins over the remaining competition, including a 2-0 win over Egypt, who had to forfeit for political reasons. The U.S. won the top prize that year, the Russians trailing at third.

In Moscow, eight years after the upset with Russia, yet another political issue overshadowed the games. This time, it was the Soviet-Afghan conflict; Russia’s invasion of Afghanistan was opposed by U.S. allies around the world, and to send a message, Americans and supporting countries staged an official boycott of the games. Without the Americans in the tournament that year, Yugoslavia swept the gold, and the Russians took the bronze.

In '84, Russia and many of its Communist allies returned the favor, protesting the games in Los Angeles. Future legends like Michael Jordan, Chris Mullin and David Robinson were given their first taste of the international spotlight. Unsurprisingly, without their strongest competitor in the tournament, Team USA walked away with the gold.

Until the Cold War ended in the mid '90’s, political rivalries were played out on the hardwood, the defeats as devastating as losses on the battlefield. The next time Team USA faced their Russian rivals in 1988, they suffered a loss that rallied them to assemble the greatest collection of athletes in history, forever changing the game of basketball.

NEXT: Defeat in Seoul gives birth to the American Dream >>

More on Team USA
Meet the men on this year's Team USA »
Meet the women on this year's Team USA »

This Is Our Game: The Dream Team

GHarty — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 20:38:43 GMT

This is Our Game explores the rich tradition of the U.S. National Teams, uncovering the victories, defeats, and rivalries of the last seven decades. In Part Three of the series, discover how a defeat in Seoul gave rise to the Dream Team, an extraordinary group of men who forever changed the game.

1988-1996.

Four years after losing the gold in 1988, the United States vowed to never let it happen again. To guarantee victory the US changed the rules and forever changed the game.

With the U.S.S.R. and the U.S. boycotting each other’s Olympics, 16 years since had passed since the two rival teams last met at the Summer Games in 1972. In 1988, the U.S. squad, as usual, was a group of talented college players, but in the years leading up to this, the world had begun to catch up to Team USA, and in Seoul, Korea the talent gap was closed for good.

Although the Cold War was still on, this time there was no controversy. The battle between the world superpowers raged only on the hardwood. When the dust settled, Team USA was beaten fair and square by the Russians 86-72 in the semis and had to settle for the bronze medal. For decades the U.S. had been able to dominate with college athletes, but the loss in 1988 proved that era was over.

In 1989, USA Basketball approached the governing body of basketball, FIBA, and asked that a lopsided rule be overturned to allow US professionals to play in international competition. Previously, only pros from South America and Europe could compete in the Games. FIBA agreed. Now allowed to select anyone they wished, the USAB made a bold decision to create what would be known as the Dream Team – the best team ever to take the court.

The USAB selected a group of Hall of Fame talents in their prime. Legends like Michael Jordon, David Robinson, Scottie Pippen, Charles Barkley and others made up a team that struck fear in their opponents before the game started.

The excitement around the Dream Team started to build well before the Olympics even began. Basketball fans, not just of the U.S., but from all over the world knew they would be witness to the greatest collection of basketball players on one team. Even before the whistles were blown in Barcelona, opposing teams took time out to take photos with their idols. The Americans had truly arrived.

On the court, their dominance was unparalleled. Against Angola, they won 116-48. In the semis against Lithuania - a team with professional players - they won by 51 points. The squad bulled their way through 7 of the world's top teams, running explosive fast breaks and making showtime plays fit for an exhibition game without calling a single timeout. The Dream Team left no doubt that this was their game, and the gold came back to its rightful owners.

It was always going to be a hard act to follow, but Dream Team II was almost as impressive at the 2004 Games in Atlanta. Like the original Dream Team, they crushed their opponents, winning by an average of over 32 points a game. Stars like Charles Barkley and David Robinson, who had played on the original Dream Team, led a team of new players who continued the U.S. reign of dominance.

Dream Team I and II represented the golden age of modern international basketball for the United States. As the international competition raised its standards, Team USA answered the challenge with two of the greatest teams every assembled. These were huge shoes for future US national teams to fill, a task that proved too much for some.

NEXT: The world catches up, and Team USA takes a fall >>

More on Team USA
Meet the men on this year's Team USA »
Meet the women on this year's Team USA »

This Is Our Game: The Fall

Hotnix — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 20:37:19 GMT

This is Our Game explores the rich tradition of the U.S. National Teams, uncovering the victories, defeats, and rivalries of the last seven decades. In Part Four of the series, Team USA gets the biggest wake-up call in history.

2000-2006

The Dream Team changed the game in 1992. The world responded in 2000.

After the Dream Team's exciting victories in 1992 and 1996, basketball's popularity exploded around the world. Players and teams from everywhere – Argentina, Lithuania, Russia and Spain – developed their own unique styles. It wasn’t unusual to see 7 footers shooting threes or offensive possessions where the ball was passed ten times before a shot was taken.

The world wasn’t just trying to catch up with Team USA. They, too, were trying to change the game.

At the 2000 Games in Sydney, the U.S. team took home the gold, but a closer look showed cracks in their game. They no longer beat opponents by 40 or more points, but faced some very close calls. Lithuania lost to them by only nine points – the first time Team USA won by less than double digits. Playing Lithuania again in the semis, they squeaked by with a 2 point win. They went on to beat France for the gold, but it was clear they were no longer the team to fear.

When the 2004 Athens Games came around, people expected more of the same winning ways.
But for too long, the international competition had been playing as unified teams while the U.S. pro team was a collection of 12 great individual talents. That year, it was that solid team play, that on-court chemistry that beat out America's raw talent.

In the very first game of the tournament, Puerto Rico gave Team USA the biggest wake-up call in history: a 19-point loss. Another loss came to Lithuania in the prelims and the final nail in the coffin was a semifinal loss to Argentina, the current reigning world champs. After suffering a string of embarrassing defeats, the U.S. realized something needed to change if it wanted to regain the gold.

There was only one man to lead the charge.

In 2005, the legendary Coach K was brought in to not just coach, but to start a program that would rebuild a team from scratch. After wrapping up the season with Duke University, he assembled a team for the 2006 World Championships.

The new Team USA wasn't used to working together and the players were hampered by injuries, resulting in a 101-95 loss to Greece in the semifinals. Though they didn't win the top prize, there were signs that they were back on the right path. They won most of their games by 25 points or more, and defeated the defending world champions to win the bronze.

As the 2008 Summer Games approached, Coach K’s next mission was to prepare Team USA for the battle to earn their spot in Beijing. With players dedicating three years to the development of the team and more time for training camp, entered the 2007 FIBA Americas tournament ready to prove regain the throne.

More on Team USA
Meet the men on this year's Team USA »
Meet the women on this year's Team USA »