Leslie and Campbell Honored as 2015 WBCBL "Trailblazers"

Lisa Leslie

Standing six feet tall in seventh grade, Leslie hated it when people would ask her if she played basketball. But after reluctantly picking up the sport in middle school, she was hooked. While at Morningside High School in Los Angeles, she led the team to two state championships. In college at the University of Southern California, she set several Pac-10 conference records for points and rebounds.  In her final year at University of Southern California, Leslie was named the 1994 National Player of the Year. She made her first trip to the Olympics in 1996 held in Atlanta, Georgia. There she helped the U.S. team take home the gold medal in women's basketball. That same year, Leslie also launched a modeling career.

Leslie landed a contract with the WNBA in 1997, becoming one of the new league's first players. She joined the Los Angeles Sparks and had an impressive career with the team. In 2001, she was the first WNBA player to win the regular season MVP, the All-Star Game MVP and the playoff MVP in the same season. Leslie also led the Los Angeles Sparks to two back-to-back WNBA Championships—in 2001 and 2002. In addition to her outstanding performance with the Sparks, Leslie returned to Olympic competition three more times. She helped the U.S. team win gold in 2000 and in 2004.

Leslie picked up two more WBNA MVP honors—in 2004 and 2006. She sat out of the 2007 WNBA season because she was pregnant with her first child, but she wasn't away from the courts for long. Leslie returned to the Sparks in 2008. She also earned her fourth and final gold medal in women's basketball that summer at the Olympics in Beijing, China. In 2009, she announced that she was retiring from professional basketball. Leslie scored more than 6,200 points during her twelve years with the WNBA. She also holds the distinction of being the first woman in the league to make a slam-dunk during an official game.


In 2009, Leslie added becoming an author to her already long list of accomplishments. She released her autobiography, Don't Let the Lipstick Fool You, before playing her final season with the Sparks. Since her retirement, Leslie has worked as a sports commentator and analyst for such channels as ABC, NBC and Fox Sports Net among others.

Leslie returned to her beloved Sparks team in 2011, but this time as an investor, not a player. She is now one of the team's owners, and has also decided to share her knowledge and skills with others through the Lisa Leslie Basketball & Leadership Academy.

Lisa Leslie is married to Michael Lockwood. The couple has two children, son Michael Joseph and daughter Lauren Jolie.

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Sarah Campbell

Sarah Campbell is a native of Kansas City where she pioneered the sport of Women’s Basketball. As a freshman in high school she led her team to the State Championship Class 3A. She went on to receive national awards gaining All American status as she scored 54 points in a single game setting both the boys and girls scoring record. Upon arriving to the University of Missouri-Columbia where she was a 4 year starter her success continued. While at MU she represented the United States with the Sports Festival Team. She went on to also represent the United States as a member of the ABA-Jones Cup International Team, where she averaged 10 points and 10 assists per game playing the point guard position. After winning the gold medal, Sarah was then invited to try out for the United States Olympic Women’s Basketball Team.

After college Sarah played a season with the Swedish Federation where she was a standout leading her team averaging over 30 points per game. Upon returning to the United States Sarah continued her professional career with the Missouri Mustangs. As she led her team to victories gaining scoring titles along the way with a 54 point game then later a 62 point game to set scoring records. That year she gained her first MVP title. Sarah went on to receive two additional MVP awards with the KC Mustangs.

Sarah retired from Women’s Professional Basketball and embarked into the Coaching scene. She has coached in the high school ranks as well as the collegiate ranks. Sarah is currently coaching in the professional ranks with the Kansas Nuggets in the WBCBL League.

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