Smooth Operator

It was a gloriously sunny day in Los Angeles as Lisa Leslie entered Gold’s Gym with a strong, regal stride.

Heads swiveled and cries of “hey champ” and “great season” were heard as the 6-foot-5 Leslie made her way toward a back room for her second workout of the day--and it wasn’t even noon yet.

The center and centerpiece of the WNBA champion Los Angeles Sparks had begun her day at 6:30 a.m. with some stretching before heading to the El Segundo practice facility that the team shares with the Lakers. There, she and Coach Michael Cooper spent nearly two hours working on new moves for the season, which starts May 25 with a home game against New York.

Cooper, who calls Leslie by her nickname “Smooth,” positioned her at the three-point line for the first drill, which had Leslie running to a spot, catching the ball and shooting. Later, Leslie switched to working inside the lane. There were hook shots with both hands, followed by catching passes near the basket to practice the footwork Leslie needs to get free for layups. Leslie finished by running about the court, shooting over foam cutouts that stand seven feet.

Leslie is coming off a breakthrough season in which she shed her genteel on-court image and became the first WNBA player to be named the most valuable player of the regular season, the All-Star game and the playoffs. But as she aims to repeat that performance this year, Leslie said success only drives her to try harder.

“I love to learn,” Leslie said, adding that such personal tutoring by Cooper, one of the NBA’s best defenders during his 11-year career, is an educational experience other WNBA players envy. But she said she also values the lessons from less-celebrated instructors.

“I want to pick [Cooper’s] brain, learn what he was thinking when he was playing defense. But say it’s a no-name guy just walking into the gym. If he has a nice move or crossover dribble and I could talk to him about it, I will.”

After her practice with Cooper and a light breakfast, she became pupil to personal trainer Adam Friedman. On this day, she concentrated on arms and chest, lifting and curling for 90 minutes and finishing up with a stretch-and-massage.

Leslie is “one of the most diligent and disciplined clients I could ask for,” said Friedman, who also serves to shoo away fans who’d rather bother Leslie instead of doing their own workout. But Leslie is usually gracious to those who approach for a photo or an autograph.

“She handles it well,” Friedman said. “She is one of most recognized people in that gym.”

It isn’t just at the gym.

Leslie is a star in a league that has precious few, and she is especially recognizable in Los Angeles after leading the Sparks to their first WNBA championship last year, ending the reign of four-time champion Houston.

Leslie tends to be shy and introverted, but in an effort to be an ambassador for women’s basketball, she tries to embrace the fame game. Even that has its limits.

“I was shopping at Palm Springs before Christmas,” Leslie said. “I got there about 10:30, and normally I’d stay all day. But I had to leave by 2 p.m. I had marker stains all over my hands trying to sign all the autographs.”

There’s More to Success

Leslie’s performance last season topped a basketball career that includes two Olympic gold medals as well as being named college player of the year while at USC. She became the WNBA’s all-time leading scorer with 2,670 points. In addition to MVP honors, she finished the 2001 season second in scoring (19.5), second in blocked shots (2.29), third in rebounds (9.6) and third in double-doubles (16).

When she lifted the WNBA championship trophy over her head after vanquishing Charlotte, 82-54, in the WNBA title game Sept. 1, the joy and relief Leslie felt was a marked contrast to the tears she wept when Houston beat Los Angeles in the 2000 Western Conference finals.

“For the first time I was able to finish a season, look back at it and be proud of the whole season,” Leslie said. “My biggest thing was I didn’t want to be on the floor crying again [after losing the title one year earlier]. That thought alone gave me enough drive and hunger to want to finish well and win the championship. It’s one thing to have tears of joy, it’s another to have sorrow.”

Leslie’s outstanding season did not translate into a windfall of endorsements, but compared to other WNBA players Leslie has had her share.

Leslie and NBA star Kevin Garnett recently lent their images to a new video game, and Leslie also signed a deal with Fleer SkyBox trading cards. Dr. Scholl’s foot product company added two more years to her endorsement deal and she was feted by Sports Illustrated and the Oscar De La Hoya Foundation at black-tie affairs. There also have been television appearances on “Hollywood Squares” and “One On One,” and a turn as grand marshal at this year’s Martin Luther King Day parade here.

Agent Bruce Binkow would not say how much she earns, but allowed that $1 million a year is “in the ballpark.”

Still, one can’t help but wonder if Leslie--whose flashing brown eyes and taut physique have been the subject of many modeling shoots--could have done better.

Ralph Greene, a West Coast representative for Nike, said Leslie would get far more attention if she were the NBA MVP.

“The trick for women is to get the equal dollars, and the [size of the] audience is the difference,” Greene said. “The NBA draws more people, men and women.”

Not everything is about money.

Leslie volunteers her time for public-service announcements aimed at fighting teen pregnancy. She has a nonprofit foundation coordinated through Nike that mentors children. She is a spokeswoman for the Sears Breast Cancer Awareness campaign and recently spent time in Washington assisting First Lady Laura Bush with the Reading to Achieve program for elementary schoolchildren. She often spends weekends with the girls’ Olympic development team.

“Everything in my life is a blessing,” Leslie said. “Right now I’m in that window of opportunity. I might be hot, people know my name. But that window only stays open for a short period of time. When it closes, it will be someone else’s turn.

“I understand that while the window is open, I give all I can. I do the autographs, smile at people, try to touch lives in the ways I can. There are many things I like to do in life, but I recognize that while the attention is on me, people are listening. So I have to use my ability to hopefully help some kid want to set goals and do something with their lives.”

That attitude led her to involvement with a foster family of six boys in Compton. She takes them on outings and is there when they need to talk to someone.

“They are a part of my life,” Leslie said. “I met the foster father at church in 1997. We formed a relationship, whether it is worshiping together, having dinner on Sundays, playing with the boys or helping with their homework.

“I love these boys.... They’re part of my extended family--the youngest is 11 and the oldest is 18. Two are Mexican, the others are black; we’re just family.”

No Place Like Home

Leslie’s sprawling, split-level home in Los Angeles is more about serenity than being a showcase.

A 12-foot moss green couch centers a living room bathed in soft whites and accented by high ceilings. Leafy ferns and ivy are prominent. A mirrored bar is off to the left; several steps beyond, a chandelier hangs over a small dinette set. Three large picture windows offer a view of a pool and, on a clear day, the beach. A small pond is home to three Koi fish. The backyard is home to Lennox, Leslie’s pit bull puppy.

Save for two scrapbooks fat with photos from her 1996 and 2000 Olympic teams, there is nothing here that reveals Leslie’s occupation. A portrait of Leslie in a one-shoulder black evening gown hangs over the stone fireplace. On the mantel is a block wood cross with the inscription “But GOD forbid I should boast except in the cross of our Lord, Jesus Christ.”

“This is my sanctuary,” Leslie said.

But she’s not stopping here long. Lunch is waiting at her mother’s home, about a mile away. Fried chicken wings, rice and corn is the menu.

“My baby’s favorite,” Christine Leslie-Espinoza said.

Leslie is the second of Christine’s three daughters. She is definitely a momma’s girl, always addressing Christine as “Mommy” and humming happily when lunch is served. They animatedly discuss how Lisa will look at the Sports Illustrated dinner that night, where she will receive an award.

“Don’t wear black lipstick, it makes your face look sad,” her mother said.

Leslie rolls her eyes gently and smiles.

Tough Stuff

The biggest change Leslie made last season was throwing off her “finesse” label for good.

She muscled up her 170-pound frame by running and lifting weights. She also changed her attitude; if people got rough with her, Leslie got rough right back. Her near fight last May with New York Liberty center Tamika Whitmore--6-2, 190--sent the message around the league that no one, New York or otherwise, would take liberties with Leslie.

“When I got here three years ago,” said Spark forward DeLisha Milton, “I had heard stuff about her--a great player, but ‘very feminine’ on the court. That she didn’t like to get hit, that she, well, played like a girl. And I saw some signs of that.

“But now, she has this ‘in your face’ mentality; almost thuglike. She’s still feminine, but there is lots of sweat in her game. She gets a busted lip every two, three games.”

Some coaches, who declined to be named, even accused Leslie of turning into a dirty player. Not everyone agreed.

“A dirty player? You can say that about almost anybody who is competitive,” Sacramento Coach Maura McHugh said.

“Lisa has a tendency to use a lot of elbows, that kind of stuff. I don’t know if she is any more ‘dirty’ than anybody else. But I wouldn’t say she is squeaky clean out there, either.”

Leslie said she is only defending herself.

“I’ve never, ever in my career hit somebody first,” Leslie said. “I’ve never intentionally elbowed somebody first. I’m not out there trying to undercut people or do something to hurt someone. I play hard, and if you hit me I’m gonna hit you back. Or if you elbow me I’m gonna hit you back unless I think it wasn’t intentional.

“There are certain things that happen that are part of the game. They don’t bother me; I can take a hit. But if you’re trash talking and you hit me, or if I feel you intentionally hit me, I may not get you back right then, but you’re gonna get it at some point. It might not even be that game, but I’m not gonna forget.”

At 29, Leslie is at the peak of her powers. Are there still challenges?

Yes, Leslie said. She wants the Sparks to have a dynastic run similar to Houston’s. She wants to repeat as the league’s best player. That’s why she has thrown herself into rigorous off-season workouts as she did last year.

“Overall, in regards to my career, I have fulfilled a lot of the goals I have set,” Leslie said. “But even when I found myself the best at certain levels--whether high school, college or pros--there is always something I could learn and do better. That’s my attitude. The day I stop doing that is the day I’m going to be done.”