When the person leading your real estate transaction is a Wilhelmina model, four-time Olympic Gold Medalist, and the most recognized player in the WNBA and Team USA, you know you’re off to a good start. But Lisa Leslie brings considerably more than a stunning visage and champion’s mind set to the game of real estate. With more than three decades of luxury real estate experience, she offers clients an in-depth understanding of the market as she becomes the Co-Founder of Aston Rose Real Estate Firm. And, she has vast expertise in business, media, and real estate investing, all of which she uses to maximize her clients’ returns. Lisa has transformed her sports career by taking the stage all around the world to inspire and share her leadership skills and her ability to empower women by using the same skills she learned to becoming a champion at every level on the court!
Lisa’s professional story starts at Morningside High School in Inglewood, California, where she led the team to two state championships. In college at the University of Southern California, she was the all-time Pac-10 leader in points, rebounds, and blocked shots. After college, Lisa launched her modeling career, signing with the prestigious Wilhelmina Agency in 1996.
She was a member of the gold-winning U.S. Olympic teams in 1996, 2000, 2004, and 2008. She was also the first team-sport athlete to win four consecutive Olympic Gold Medals.
In 2001, Lisa was the first WNBA player to win the regular-season MVP, the All-Star Game MVP, and the playoff MVP in the same season. That year, she also led the Los Angeles Sparks to their first WNBA Championship. In 2002, she became the WNBA all-time leading scorer and was named MVP of the regular season for the second year in a row. She led the Los Angeles Sparks to back-to-back championships. She would go on to win her third MVP trophy from the WNBA in 2006. Lisa is the first woman to slam-dunk in a professional game.
Lisa sat out the 2007 WNBA season as she and her husband, U.S. Air Force Academy graduate and UPS pilot Michael Lockwood, welcomed baby Lauren into the world. She joined the U.S. team that spring and won her fourth Olympic Gold Medal as she retired from the Olympics. In 2009, Lisa announced her retirement from the WNBA as she played her last season in front of her family, friends, and fans!
In Lisa’s off-season, she received her master’s degree in business and became an author, releasing her first book, “Don’t Let the Lipstick Fool You.” In her own words, she points the spotlight onto her remarkable life off the court, where being a confident champion was not always simple.
After welcoming her second baby, son M.J., Lisa became co-owner of the Los Angeles Sparks — the professional WNBA franchise she’d led to the championships years before. In 2013, she joined Michael and became a UPSer, being named the UPS Brand Ambassador while sitting on the advisory board for Capital One for five years.
Lisa also became a commentator for ESPN in 2004, covering the NCAA Women’s Tournament, and has not looked back, working for all major networks including ABC, CBS, ESPN, Turner, and Fox Sports Net, to name a few. She also had the privilege of covering the 2012 Olympics for NBC. Currently, she’s an in-studio co-host of CBS’s first all-female sports talk show, “We Need To Talk.” In 2016, she wrote her second book, “From the Court to the Boardroom,” which inspires athletes to use their mental approach to the game and teamwork in business.
Lisa began her acting career taking drama classes in high school and college. She made several cameo appearances on top television shows such as “Martin,” “Sister Sister,” “Moesha,” and “One on One.” She also hit the big screen in “Love & Basketball” and “Think Like a Man!” Her blockbuster comedy, “Uncle Drew,” was stellar, as she played Betty Lou alongside Kyrie Erving and Shaq!
Also known for her philanthropic endeavors, Lisa has been summoned to the White House on several occasions by presidents Clinton, Bush, and Obama. As a wife, mom of Lauren (14 years old) and M.J. (11 years old), stepmom to Gabrielle (30 years old) and Mikaela (27 years old), an author, a sports analyst, motivational speaker, entrepreneur, and philanthropist, you can see Lisa does it all. And she’s not slowing down. But her proudest accomplishment yet is being happily married to her husband and real estate partner for 16 years!
