Basketball star Lisa Leslie hopes Jr NBA League will inspire children in Abu Dhabi

The former WNBA player was in the capital along with ex-professional Allen Iverson

Lisa Leslie is the head coach of the Triplets in the BIG3 professional basketball league. Getty Images

Lisa Leslie is easily one of the greatest female basketball players of all time.

Her professional playing career — which spanned from 1997 to 2009 — is replete with accolades such as being a two-time Women's National Basketball Association champion and three-time WNBA Most Valuable Player with the Los Angeles Sparks. She was also the first woman to dunk in a WNBA game; is a four-time Olympian with Team USA, winning gold in 1996, 2000, 2004 and 2008; and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015.

While the sport seems to be her calling, Leslie tells The National she was introduced to it by chance.

Once you fall in love with the game, it's something you just don't stop thinking about

Former WNBA star Lisa Leslie

“I got into basketball kind of in a weird way. I started at 12 years old. And I only signed up for basketball because there was a girl named Shay, who was really popular in middle school and I wanted to be popular,” she says.

As she began to focus — even becoming ambidextrous to avoid being the only left-handed player on the team — Leslie realised basketball was more than just a path to popularity. “I fell in love with the game, and once you fall in love with it, it's something that you just don't stop thinking about, you can't,” she says.

“I would play every open moment that I had outside of school, practising with men, boys — whoever would allow me to play, I would get out there. Every single night for one year my cousin Craig took me to the gym and I really improved exponentially just by putting that time in.”

Los Angeles Sparks's Lisa Leslie, left, and New York Liberty's Rebecca Lobo battle for rebound position during a WNBA game in 1997. AP Photo

Although she no longer actively competes, Leslie is still heavily involved with basketball. She was in the UAE capital along with former NBA star Allen Iverson for the finals of the Jr NBA Abu Dhabi League this month. The second season of the youth league comprised 450 players, aged 11 to 14, from schools around the emirate with 30 teams each for boys and girls.

Leslie knows first-hand how life-changing the sport can be and hopes the same can be said for children who participate.

It doesn't matter what's different about us, about our race ... all those things go out the window when it comes to sport

Lisa Leslie

“I'm so excited about the Jr NBA and WNBA coming to Abu Dhabi, for the children's sake. I believe sports is that one thing that can bring the world together. How amazing will it be if we have the opportunity to impact the children here in Abu Dhabi,” she says.

“Right now, you may not see the results because they're young, but these are the same kids who will reap the benefits, who will be able to tell the stories about when I and other players came here, and how it inspired them to want to play basketball.

“Then in probably eight years, they will be amazing basketball players, who have the opportunity, hopefully, to play professionally, whether it's here in their country or come to the US to play.”

In addition to Abu Dhabi, there are Jr NBA Leagues in the US, UK, France, Germany, Lebanon, Switzerland and more, to help spread the game around the world, while also making it more inclusive.

“The bigger picture is about diversity, unifying the world. Being inspired by sports is the one thing that I believe does that. It doesn't matter what's different about us, about our race … all those things go out the window when it comes to sport. It brings people together and that's what I love most.”

These days, Leslie stays connected to the game by coaching the Triplets in the BIG3 professional basketball league (which plays 3-on-3 basketball instead of the traditional 5-on-5 format) and is also a studio analyst for the NBA's Orlando Magic.

Although Leslie knows that it can be tough for women to break through and find a career in sport, she hopes they do not give up, and says step one is setting goals.

“They can be small goals at first, but write down what you want to achieve in a year, then what you want to achieve in five years. This is not only key to staying focused, but also recognising what you have to sacrifice in order to achieve those goals.”

Leslie says a goal can be as basic as wanting to get four points a game or get four rebounds a game. “You start small, but as you accomplish them, you will add more to that goal sheet — whether it's in sports or in school or in life.”