The All-Time WNBA's True Pioneer

We explore the debate over who is the most important WNBA player of all time, examining why Lisa Leslie often tops the list while acknowledging many others who deserve consideration.

• Lisa Leslie stands out as a trailblazer, one of the original faces of the WNBA, and the first woman to dunk in a professional game
• Leslie's accomplishments include three MVPs, two championships, eight All-Star selections, and Olympic success
• Cheryl Swoopes, often called the "female Michael Jordan," was the first player to sign with the WNBA
• Diana Taurasi is widely considered the GOAT with her 20+ year career and scoring dominance
• Candace Parker changed the game by winning MVP as a rookie and remains culturally relevant today
• Maya Moore's social justice work and Lauren Jackson's international impact expanded the WNBA's influence
• The definition of "importance" varies depending on whether we prioritize on-court dominance, cultural impact, or barrier-breaking

Please like, subscribe, comment, and tell anyone who's anyone about the show. I'm curious to hear who you believe is the most important WNBA player of all time and why.

Chapters

• 0:00 Show Introduction and Topic Preview
• 1:21 Lisa Leslie's WNBA Impact
• 3:18 Notable Honorable Mentions
• 6:16 The Importance Debate
• 9:11 Final Thoughts and Audience Question

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

What's up everybody? It's your favorite show's favorite show. Get a Bucket. I'm your host, trayn. As usual, I hope you're all having a wonderful, wonderful day.

Speaker 1: 0:08

Today we're going to talk about the most important WNBA player of all time. But before we do that, please make sure to hit that like and subscribe button. Comment, tell anyone who's anyone about the show, try and get the ratings up a little bit. You know, just a little bit. But like I said, today we're going to talk about the most important WNBA player of all time. Have a discussion at minimum. Let's not make it law right, Because it's subjective in the day. Matter of fact, to even start off the conversation here, I used AI just to figure out what's a good listing. I have my own myself, but I just wanted to see what day it was and then I can break it on down. So there were a couple people, but again, there are a lot of people to talk about. There are some wonderful ladies in the all-time listing of the wnba, but here's the thing, though the name that I got, the name that was given to me, lisa Leslie Lisa Leslie was considered the most important WNBA player of all time.

Speaker 1: 1:21

Ladies and gentlemen, now, as a Sparks fan, I ain't mad at that. I'm not going to lie to you. I'm not mad at that answer and, to be honest, she was on my listing too and if you don't know well, we will talk about it a little bit. But again, ladies and gentlemen, that was the answer and I can't be too mad. But there are some other ladies that at least got to get some consideration.

Speaker 1: 1:43

Right Now you might be wondering why Lisa Leslie? Well, lisa Leslie has been considered a trailblazer. You know Lisa, one of the. She was one of the original faces of the WNBA. Ladies and gentlemen, when you thought of the WNBA, you thought of her. Let's not, let's not forget she was like the first woman to dunk. It's pretty spectacular, right like. That's pretty notable, because again, a lot of people say, oh, we should lower the rim now. Blah, blah, blah. That's helping breaking barriers.

Speaker 1: 2:17

So again, we're talking about lisa leslie, ladies and gentlemen, a pioneer, as people call them, the dominance that she has. She was a three time MVP, two time champion, eight time all star. She dominated on the basketball court for the WNBA and the Olympics. Again, this is an Olympic great that we're talking about. She didn't have six like Diane Taurasi gold medals, but again, she was doing her thing. I want to say Two, three like four, maybe four. I think that's pretty good too, right. And then again the mainstream appeal that we have. We got the modeling gigs, the commercial endorsements, tv appearances, appearances for NBA All-Star Weekend, stuff like that.

Speaker 1: 3:02

I understand why Lisa Leslie was pointed and mentioned as the most important WNBA player, but some players we got to consider, ladies and gentlemen, when we're talking about the most in player, because, again, there's a lot. There's a lot of ladies that we can talk about. It's a lot, yeah, dang. Ladies that we can talk about, it's a lot, yeah, dang. But some honorable mentions, such as cheryl swoops, because she was often called the female michael jordan. Keep in mind, we talk about mj pretty highly, don't we? So I mean, you know she was also the first player to sign with the wNBA. That is pretty good too. That's pretty important, right, like? I think that's notable. And she was dominant as well. Again, if you're getting compared to as Michael Jordan, that's a tough honorable mention right there. How about a Diana Taurasi Like? Diana Taurasi is considered the GOAT of the WNBA. She's considered the greatest pure scorer of the WNBA, arguably one of the greatest competitors in league history, played for 20 plus years. Come on now, dog. She has a notable career too. When we think of WNBA, you have to think of DT, but again, it is subjective, right. But again, that's why I'm listing the honorable mentions as well too.

Speaker 1: 4:40

Candice Parker oh my gosh, hey yo, we talking about another Sparks player right now. Baby Y'all be. She was dominant, her daggone self, winning MVP rookie year. It's tough, how about? Even nowadays she's still relevant in sports. You could say she's more popular than Lisa Leslie. She's helped put the WNBA more on the map than Lisa Leslie nowadays. But there's also more viewership because of a Lisa Leslie Tudor. But again, candace Parker should be reviewed as, or viewed as, one of the modern faces of the WNBA.

Speaker 1: 5:22

So again, we got to talk about that. How about? How about a Maya Moore? How about a Maya Moore? Well, because we can talk about her basketball play. We can talk about how she retired because of a social justice cause that ended up getting her husband. He wasn't her husband at the time, it just happened, but she helped out him and that. That. That breeds some positivity right there. And then again, she was dominant on the court, ladies and gentlemen, she, if she ain't retired earlier, we could be talking about my my more is the goat easily, like when I said best pure score about DT. We could have been saying that about Mike Moore. It's crazy.

Speaker 1: 6:06

Or how about a Lauren Jackson who I read off right Lisa Leslie's accomplishments Three-time MVP, two-time champ. Lauren Jackson was a three-time MVP, three-time champ, had Olympic accolades and also was considered the rival of a Lisa Leslie. Now, it might not have been as popular as Lisa Leslie. So the importance factor I hear from an entertainment perspective, from a relatable perspective, people probably looked at Lisa Leslie as more dominant, even though both players dominated, and you can make the case that Lauren Jackson dominated more. So again, ladies and gentlemen, I do understand why Lisa Leslie is considered by this AI tool as the most important WNBA player ever and a lot of people might actually consider her as the most W, as the most important WNBA player as well. Again, there are a lot of players that you could consider as the most important WNBA player as well. Again, there are a lot of players that you could consider as the most important.

Speaker 1: 7:03

If you say another answer, I'm not going to say that's foolish, because I get it, I hear it, I understand it. A lot of these women are very important to the WNBA. What I won't understand, though, is if somebody ever says Kaitlyn Clark is the most important, we're going to fight right there on site. Swear to God, we're going to have to scrap. Though is if somebody ever says Kaitlin Clark is the most important, we're going to fight right there on site, like we're going to have to scrap bro, because ain't no way in the world a rookie or sophomore can be the most important player in the WNBA. I can't even say that about Paige Beckers. I'm a Paige Beckers fan. Come on now. Like what are we doing here? So that's the only time I'm going to really be upset, and give that some time too, because what happens if Kaitlin does end up becoming the most important WNBA player? All the time? Let's wait and see. Let's wait and see for all of those young players, but currently right now, point in time before the 2025 season has started y'all heard my listings Well, not mine, I guess for the most important WNBA player, and again I was trying to list off my initial list right Lisa was there.

Speaker 1: 8:03

She was, in fact, my first person when I thought of right. I also thought of Lauren Jackson too, though, because, again, she was a rival. Diana Taurasi, sue Bird right, you could consider them. Candace Parker, maya Moore, sylvia Fowles we can consider them. You can talk about Cheryl Swoops. There's so many players that you can mention. Athena Thompson there's so many players, bro, that we can mention Again.

Speaker 1: 8:30

Ladies and gentlemen, I'm curious who y'all think is the most important WNBA player of all time? Because, like I've said, it's a lot of people. It's a lot of people. That's a lot of people right there. That was a lot of people hooping, that was a lot of people getting a bucket. I'm telling you right now, and y'all believe me, argue with your mom, but that does conclude the end of the episode. So I'm curious who you all believe is the most important WNBA's player of all time, and definitely let me know one, who, and then two why. But that's it, like I said, so until next time. But thank you all for listening. I greatly appreciate it and please make sure to like, subscribe, comment, tell anyone who's anyone about the show. My name is Trey. I'm the host of Get a Bucket. Hope you all are having a good one, take care.