Lisa Leslie was recently a guest on the Draymond Green Show. The Los Angeles Sparks legend was a fitting guest, as both Draymond and Leslie are known for their high game IQ and defensive prowess. Leslie, just like Draymond is an accomplished defender herself. A winner of the WNBA Defensive Player of the Year award twice, in 2004 and 2008 Leslie gave her opinions on the modern-day defense of the sport.
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While on the show, Draymond and Leslie discussed all things basketball. The conversations between the duo began on a very familiar topic – defence. Leslie would call out the younger generation of hoppers, talking about the mentality with which she played the game,
“I don’t want to speak on what’s on the mind of these players now…I always felt like I was that last line of defense and I have to be reliable. It comes down to trust and reliability. I think of defence as a relationship. You have to be accountable, you can’t just talk about it, even though communication is key.”
But unlike Draymond, Leslie is more of a shot-blocking big. While Green often plays the forward position, he can also play the centre position[when the Warriors are playing small ball]. As for Leslie, she was more of a typical centre.
Even on the Draymond Green Show, Leslie would hilariously reveal how blocking an opponent’s shot was always what made her the most excited.
Even though their roles and defensive styles are different, both Green and Leslie do follow one common philosophy on defence, and that’s the use of a “scouting report”. During the show, both Green and Leslie went deep into how scouting reports can drastically enhance a player’s defence. Leslie even stressed the importance of pre-game prep and suggested that most players can drastically improve their defence if they emphasized studying their opponents well.
Lisa Leslie’s decorated WNBA career
During the show, Leslie dropped bomb after bomb, giving young hoppers an insight into how defensive schemes in the league work. But one may ask, is Leslie even that great of a player or defender? Well, Leslie was drafted back in 1997 to the Los Angeles Sparks. In her 12-year-long playing career, Leslie won two NBA Championships( 2000 and 2001). Lisa would also take home finals MVP in both years that she led the team to the trophy.
As a defender, Leslie would win the Defensive Player Of The Year Award on two separate occasions( 2004 and 2008). Not only that, Leslie would also make the WNBA All-Defensive First Team in 2006 and 2008 as well. Leslie also took home league MVP honours on three different occasions, as she proved to be the most dominant in 2001, 2004 and 2006.
The LA Sparks legend would also be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall Of Fame and the Woman’s Basketball Hall Of Fame. The 6’5 legend would also become one of only five players to win both the DPOY and MVP awards in the same season. To many, Leslie is one of the greatest woman basketball players ever. She is definitely in contention for being one of the greatest centres the game has ever seen, as she has inspired many athletes around the world with her play on the floor.
