Lisa Leslie Sees Herself in This Current WNBA Star

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Dean Koutouratsas | Last updated May 21, 2025 3:08 PM ET

Las Vegas Aces center A’ja Wilson has quickly become one of the WNBA’s top performers. In her first seven seasons in the league, she won the league MVP three times and was named to six All-Star teams.

Last season, she averaged 26.5 points and 13.0 rebounds per game. She's done more of the same at the start of this season. On Tuesday, the 28-year-old scored 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead her team to an 87-62 victory over the Connecticut Sun.

Now she’s drawn comparisons from Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Lisa Leslie. During Tuesday’s edition of the “Locked on Women’s Basketball” podcast, Leslie, 52, said she sees herself in Wilson as they both get inside the box well and can shoot from anywhere on the court.

“I think, hands down, A’ja Wilson,” Leslie said. “I see there’s a lot of blurred lines in our game.”

The WNBA former player said that Wilson brings good energy, which, in a way, resembles her game. She also mentioned that Wilson's ability to score is similar to hers, as both can score from wherever on the court.

“Her ability to score from anywhere,” Leslie said. “She’s not afraid. She probably faces up more than I did on certain areas of the block.”

Leslie added that the game is more face-up now than when she played. She also noted that Wilson’s ability to score from the free-throw line or up close is almost like hers.

Leslie also thinks her game is comparable to Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier, who is in her seventh season in the league. The former player mentioned Collier’s ability to block shots is quite impressive, despite being 6-foot-1 compared to 6-foot-5 like herself.

Wilson’s next game is on Sunday against the Washington Mystics, so we will have to see if she can keep up the strong performances after receiving comparisons from the Hall of Fame center.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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