Lisa Leslie
Appearances
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Good Follow - Lisa Leslie Joins The Show, Final Four is set + The Transfer Portal & Dawn Staley’s Coaching Ability
Well, listen, you know, I got kids. So listen, I've got a 17 year old and a 15 year old. So it's just. For me, I have to know what's going on. So between watching them and seeing TikTok and checking them, I really just enjoy social media. But I think I enjoy making the videos. It all started through the pandemic, just trying to meet my kids where they are and doing TikTok dances.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Good Follow - Lisa Leslie Joins The Show, Final Four is set + The Transfer Portal & Dawn Staley’s Coaching Ability
And then I sort of took over the TikTok world from them. And ever since then, I just really love it. I think having content and having fun and, you know, I'm so silly. I have a lot of fun. I think you can't take yourself so seriously. I'm such a loving person where I love people. I love to make people laugh. And I just think it's a good time. I don't. Yeah. Yeah. I have a good time.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Good Follow - Lisa Leslie Joins The Show, Final Four is set + The Transfer Portal & Dawn Staley’s Coaching Ability
I really like it. It's very editing though. That's a whole nother story. That's hard.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Good Follow - Lisa Leslie Joins The Show, Final Four is set + The Transfer Portal & Dawn Staley’s Coaching Ability
Loyalty is probably number one. Trust is number two. And just authentic. You know, those three things probably have rang out.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Good Follow - Lisa Leslie Joins The Show, Final Four is set + The Transfer Portal & Dawn Staley’s Coaching Ability
significant to me in my head with this friendship since i was 16 years old listen i gotta sign the room with dawn staley i didn't know who she was she played for the university of virginia you know i walk in the room she's five six i'm six five and we like let's get it you know
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Good Follow - Lisa Leslie Joins The Show, Final Four is set + The Transfer Portal & Dawn Staley’s Coaching Ability
And I feel like we just we're like the same kind of person in terms of our work ethic, our loyalty to people, to want to make people and where we are better when we come in. And that part is just contagious. And I've seen that from her as a roommate, as a teammate, as a leader on the court, as our captain of our USA teams, her vocal voice.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Good Follow - Lisa Leslie Joins The Show, Final Four is set + The Transfer Portal & Dawn Staley’s Coaching Ability
leadership and her will to want to win is contagious like you know don't want to throw a pass and i'm like i will dive in and all the way out of bounds and get it throw it back in i could have been out of bounds but i will not let that ball go because of what she means to me and how she wants to win and i think it's like that idea that she's the person that
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Good Follow - Lisa Leslie Joins The Show, Final Four is set + The Transfer Portal & Dawn Staley’s Coaching Ability
She makes you kind of want to run through a wall for her, if that makes any sense, you know, and that was just my teammate. But it's because how hard she worked and her work ethic, that becomes contagious. And then I'm working that hard down in the post and I'm trying to get every ball and I want to score.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Good Follow - Lisa Leslie Joins The Show, Final Four is set + The Transfer Portal & Dawn Staley’s Coaching Ability
So my efficiency level would go up and it would be like we just play ball in a way that we just love every moment, every opportunity. And I think you can see that. Translate to her as a coach, like her players want to run through a wall for her. She is very loyal. She's trustworthy. She's authentic. Those are the three things that I felt that she was as a teammate.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Good Follow - Lisa Leslie Joins The Show, Final Four is set + The Transfer Portal & Dawn Staley’s Coaching Ability
And I see that she is as a coach.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Good Follow - Lisa Leslie Joins The Show, Final Four is set + The Transfer Portal & Dawn Staley’s Coaching Ability
So we were roommates for because, you know, we didn't get sort of this. This is where it comes down to like equal treatment. We didn't get equal treatment of having separate our own rooms until we joined the men's Olympic team. So prior to that, and Raj, you got to remember, 1995, we traveled the world. We were 60 and 0. But before we got to the Olympics, we were, what was that?
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Good Follow - Lisa Leslie Joins The Show, Final Four is set + The Transfer Portal & Dawn Staley’s Coaching Ability
We were 60, no, 52 before we won the eight games in the Olympics. Before we meet up with the US men's team, we're traveling the world. And everybody has a roommate. So Dawn was my roommate from the day I met her at 16. Every USA team I've been on, she was my roommate. Now, how was Dawn as a roommate?
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Good Follow - Lisa Leslie Joins The Show, Final Four is set + The Transfer Portal & Dawn Staley’s Coaching Ability
Well, she sure has been out there, because she claims that she's made me a better wife, just because she's so OCD. Before those words were even a something, she's like, there's a spot here on the floor. Oh, no, there's a piece of hair. I'd have to go in and re-clean the bathroom like the maids did it before she would step in there. And then I learned. I said, you know what? You shower first.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Good Follow - Lisa Leslie Joins The Show, Final Four is set + The Transfer Portal & Dawn Staley’s Coaching Ability
You go first.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Good Follow - Lisa Leslie Joins The Show, Final Four is set + The Transfer Portal & Dawn Staley’s Coaching Ability
then i'll go second and then if i go in there she does this sound where she goes and that means something is out of place there's a drop of water somewhere so i'm like girl you are crazy but she's very neat and i'm very neat so we worked well together like you know it's like don't sit on our beds don't wear your shoes in the room when we play cards and entertain it's never in our room we go to someone else's room so we could leave it because we didn't want anybody to be in our room so
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Good Follow - Lisa Leslie Joins The Show, Final Four is set + The Transfer Portal & Dawn Staley’s Coaching Ability
She's just very meticulous, detailed, the same way that she is now. Outfits were still on point then. They just didn't cost as much as they do now. She's always been into a capsule collection, I would say. Yeah, before that was a word. Dawn is like blue, black, gray, white. You know, her clothes always match and folded so neatly. So she's been awesome, though.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Good Follow - Lisa Leslie Joins The Show, Final Four is set + The Transfer Portal & Dawn Staley’s Coaching Ability
She's clearly had an impact on my life in a way that, you know, I always think about her being from Philly and me being from L.A. Like we're opposites, opposite height, 5'6", 6'5". But our hearts and our ability and our desire to want to win is really what bonded us.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Good Follow - Lisa Leslie Joins The Show, Final Four is set + The Transfer Portal & Dawn Staley’s Coaching Ability
I know. It's so funny that I could go to visit my friend and watch her play, watch her coach. And then all of a sudden, social media, that's probably the, there's good parts about it, but then there's bad parts. Because it's like, you can't even give a person a hug. I say, hey, it applies.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Good Follow - Lisa Leslie Joins The Show, Final Four is set + The Transfer Portal & Dawn Staley’s Coaching Ability
And then it's just like, I mean, it's just crazy that social media just takes any situation and turns it into like.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Good Follow - Lisa Leslie Joins The Show, Final Four is set + The Transfer Portal & Dawn Staley’s Coaching Ability
Yeah. Social media just taking off sprinting right now.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Good Follow - Lisa Leslie Joins The Show, Final Four is set + The Transfer Portal & Dawn Staley’s Coaching Ability
Well, it means that we would probably be delayed, right, a year of her getting back to normal as well as, listen, she's such an explosive player, right? So to be explosive, we've seen a lot of players who've had these ACL injuries, and it takes time. It takes time to get back to where you know that you can play, and we have to give her grace and time to be able to get back there.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Good Follow - Lisa Leslie Joins The Show, Final Four is set + The Transfer Portal & Dawn Staley’s Coaching Ability
um it's definitely heartbreaking you know we're all impacted i mean i'm not even on the team and i was heartbroken just like in shock watching so um yeah it's gonna take time and we have to give her grace and You know, when you see a player of that caliber, you just hope that they can continue to get back there. And I know that she will. She's a hard worker.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Good Follow - Lisa Leslie Joins The Show, Final Four is set + The Transfer Portal & Dawn Staley’s Coaching Ability
We have some of the best doctors, you know, in the world, you know, there at USC and in L.A. So she'll get back there. We forget. But remember, Paige Beckers, ACL, AZFUD, ACL, ACL. So we know that players can get back there, but it's just, it's going to take us a little bit. This was real gut check for all of us because she's such an impact player.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Good Follow - Lisa Leslie Joins The Show, Final Four is set + The Transfer Portal & Dawn Staley’s Coaching Ability
And we were like, this is the net, like the women's game is in such good hands when you think about Juju Watkins. And so it'll be back in her hands, but we just got to give her some time.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Good Follow - Lisa Leslie Joins The Show, Final Four is set + The Transfer Portal & Dawn Staley’s Coaching Ability
Yeah, I think, well, first, I don't know if it's necessarily a surprise, but when you look at UCLA and them having the number one seed and you think about Lauren Betts and her just being really a program changer. I mean, at 6'7 and her wingspan, we knew that USC was the only team that sort of had their number.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Good Follow - Lisa Leslie Joins The Show, Final Four is set + The Transfer Portal & Dawn Staley’s Coaching Ability
And without Juju, that changes a lot of things because I really had them facing off, you know. But Texas also, even though they're number one seed, it's just like when teams align so well and they're playing well at the same time, those would be teams where I'm like, ooh, They may have snuck up on some people in a way that you didn't really expect.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Good Follow - Lisa Leslie Joins The Show, Final Four is set + The Transfer Portal & Dawn Staley’s Coaching Ability
But I think overall, when we just step back and look at the tournament, the excitement of women's basketball, the true parody that we're seeing where it's like South Carolina is the defending champs and somebody's got to take them down and their defense is stellar. Like they really hang their hats on defense and they get guards. I mean, when you're out there on that perimeter,
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Good Follow - Lisa Leslie Joins The Show, Final Four is set + The Transfer Portal & Dawn Staley’s Coaching Ability
The guard play defensively is at a very high level, you know? So I just look at all of those things and go, I'm not sure, Roz. Like, I used to be real sure about who was going to do it. I'm not anymore because that's just how excellent the game is being played all around.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Good Follow - Lisa Leslie Joins The Show, Final Four is set + The Transfer Portal & Dawn Staley’s Coaching Ability
Yeah, I hate to use the word Unrivaled, but it truly was like Unrivaled. Everything was mind-blowing about Unrivaled from the fact that they played full-court three-on-three, from the fact that they came out and it was balling. Like, because Raj, you know, we played three-on-three before and three-on-three could get real, what's the right word?
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Good Follow - Lisa Leslie Joins The Show, Final Four is set + The Transfer Portal & Dawn Staley’s Coaching Ability
raggedy it could get a little bit like people don't run back because you got tired like it could fall apart in a way that that would not be good for tv and arrival was the exact opposite like it was phenomenal yeah i don't know if i'm just biased because i was had a front row seat to be able to commentate and color you know add color to it But I thought it was so excited.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Good Follow - Lisa Leslie Joins The Show, Final Four is set + The Transfer Portal & Dawn Staley’s Coaching Ability
I love the battles, the battles of the big and the paint. I love the guard play. I mean, I could just go on and on. And then the players that just rose to the top. And when you talk about Nafisa Collier and how excellent she was, that one-on-one bracket, that one-on-one tournament was mind-blowing and epic. Like, there were so many elements. And then Angel Reese doing so great.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Good Follow - Lisa Leslie Joins The Show, Final Four is set + The Transfer Portal & Dawn Staley’s Coaching Ability
Chelsea Gray, like... What? Rip the Band-Aid off of these fools. Like, don't disrespect her. And then for the role in the championship, like, there was so many elements that I loved every minute. And I'm telling you, if you were sitting at home and you're a WNBA player, like, the unrivaled league is where you want to be in the offseason. Ooh.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Good Follow - Lisa Leslie Joins The Show, Final Four is set + The Transfer Portal & Dawn Staley’s Coaching Ability
People cared. And then just to highlight, like Skylar Diggins, I thought Skylar's really set the tone, defensively picking up full court. The lunar aisles were just excellent.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Good Follow - Lisa Leslie Joins The Show, Final Four is set + The Transfer Portal & Dawn Staley’s Coaching Ability
You look at like vinyl with,
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Good Follow - Lisa Leslie Joins The Show, Final Four is set + The Transfer Portal & Dawn Staley’s Coaching Ability
ryan howard like when it was ride time it was just crazy to hear her hand be i thought she played so excellent and then for those two teams when you talk about vinyl and rose to make it to the finals because rose had already started to surge which i liked that britney sykes was like listen i think the other teams have peaked and we have not we have a chance to really make a run at the championship she said that right after the one-on-one uh tournament
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Good Follow - Lisa Leslie Joins The Show, Final Four is set + The Transfer Portal & Dawn Staley’s Coaching Ability
And then Chelsea Gray, like, runs off 27 points per game. Like, it was just mind-blowing to watch them play and get to the finals and win it all. Like, forever a fan.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Good Follow - Lisa Leslie Joins The Show, Final Four is set + The Transfer Portal & Dawn Staley’s Coaching Ability
Absolutely. And let me just say, Roz, I feel like the problem, and I kind of spoke about this when I did Angel Reese's podcast about, you know, for the black women in coaching, the lack of grace that we get in these spaces is just sad. And I feel like I'm not ever sure that we were ever going to know what happened with Teresa Witherspoon in Chicago Sky, but the fact that
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Good Follow - Lisa Leslie Joins The Show, Final Four is set + The Transfer Portal & Dawn Staley’s Coaching Ability
She didn't have she was not given any grace to to let's communicate. Let's sit down and let's have the pros and cons about what we like or what you're doing and what we don't like. Like, let's try to change some of these and give her the opportunity to make adjustments as a coach. But she didn't get that.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Good Follow - Lisa Leslie Joins The Show, Final Four is set + The Transfer Portal & Dawn Staley’s Coaching Ability
And that's what I feel like what makes me feel a little bit jaded sometimes about the whole coaching thing is because. the lack of grace and communication. And I'm not trying to put anybody out on blast, but it's like, whatever happened with Becky Hammond and Las Vegas and De'arca Hamby was, everybody was given a due process, you know, a suspension happened.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Good Follow - Lisa Leslie Joins The Show, Final Four is set + The Transfer Portal & Dawn Staley’s Coaching Ability
And then there was a regrouping, you know, Vegas was able to regroup, De'arca Hamby was able to move on. And I just feel like whatever the problem was with Teresa Weatherspoon, we will never know, but she doesn't know.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Good Follow - Lisa Leslie Joins The Show, Final Four is set + The Transfer Portal & Dawn Staley’s Coaching Ability
hmm like there was no grace given to her in these conversations of like hey we don't like this or we like this or could you do this differently and that's the part where i'm just like i was so happy i say all that not to air out anything but just to say i'm so happy that teresa witherspoon had such success with those players and the connection and the love and the respect that her players gave back to her throughout that
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Good Follow - Lisa Leslie Joins The Show, Final Four is set + The Transfer Portal & Dawn Staley’s Coaching Ability
And let me add that Teresa Witherspoon was also helping and working with other players on other teams who ended up being Brittany Sykes, who ended up winning the championship. So, I mean, if that's not love and just being a coach that has an open heart and an open door to help anybody, I don't know what is. And so I just feel like help her become a better coach.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Good Follow - Lisa Leslie Joins The Show, Final Four is set + The Transfer Portal & Dawn Staley’s Coaching Ability
If you didn't like something from that organization, communicate those things, but to fire her after, one year. I don't even know if we've seen that happen before.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Good Follow - Lisa Leslie Joins The Show, Final Four is set + The Transfer Portal & Dawn Staley’s Coaching Ability
And then a whole staff. You know, people are trying to eat and survive. So for that, listen, I'm always going to love Spoon. I think she's just such an excellent person. And I was happy to see her have that success and get to the finals. And then Coach Nola, too. Like, listen, you know, there's only two women in unrivaled coaches.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Good Follow - Lisa Leslie Joins The Show, Final Four is set + The Transfer Portal & Dawn Staley’s Coaching Ability
So, you know, you kind of low-key feel like, okay, you know, you got to give them a little love just because they're making these opportunities for themselves. So I was really happy to see both of them go head-to-head in the finals.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Good Follow - Lisa Leslie Joins The Show, Final Four is set + The Transfer Portal & Dawn Staley’s Coaching Ability
Well, the most important thing, and again, I used to be a part of these talks when we were playing, is to not have the league be shut down. Like, to me, that's like number one. And so to try to find a happy medium in negotiations is always in some ways difficult because both sides know what they want.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Good Follow - Lisa Leslie Joins The Show, Final Four is set + The Transfer Portal & Dawn Staley’s Coaching Ability
But I think when you ask the players to sacrifice and continue to make sacrifices so that the league can survive and get to this place, that it's time for those players to reap the benefits that we all put blood, sweat, and tears for. Because we understood back then there was no money to be had. There was nothing to share, right? Now there is. And I think that's just doing what is right.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Good Follow - Lisa Leslie Joins The Show, Final Four is set + The Transfer Portal & Dawn Staley’s Coaching Ability
The league should do right by the players. And, you know, listen, the players with this collective bargaining group, you know, it is time for them to get a piece of the puzzle. And whatever that is, I don't know all the details, but I think the most important thing is that they are playing. And so the league will have to make, you know, concessions to make sure that happens.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Good Follow - Lisa Leslie Joins The Show, Final Four is set + The Transfer Portal & Dawn Staley’s Coaching Ability
And I don't know with the right, you know, I don't want to speak wrong about either side because it's a very tough, time when you're in negotiation. I know that from both sides. And then you have the leagues, like if you could, don't speak on that. You know, then you have the players association where, you know, it's like they don't want us to speak on certain things.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Good Follow - Lisa Leslie Joins The Show, Final Four is set + The Transfer Portal & Dawn Staley’s Coaching Ability
And I'm not saying me personally, but the players. So I just think it's a tough Thank you
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Good Follow - Lisa Leslie Joins The Show, Final Four is set + The Transfer Portal & Dawn Staley’s Coaching Ability
Thank you.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Good Follow - Lisa Leslie Joins The Show, Final Four is set + The Transfer Portal & Dawn Staley’s Coaching Ability
Roz, it's so good to see you again. Again. My partner in crime. Don't forget about the time we had oxtails together since you brought her.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Good Follow - Lisa Leslie Joins The Show, Final Four is set + The Transfer Portal & Dawn Staley’s Coaching Ability
But we was hurt. We ate so much. I was like, I didn't eat no more food the rest of the day. That was too heavy of a meal.