Hall of Famer Lisa Leslie didn’t count on to ever get a statue outside Crypto.com Arena. After all, it had been 15 years since her jersey retirement and no other Sparks participant was featured among the Lakers and Kings heroes outside the realm.

After years of listening to from followers that she deserve to be immortalized, Leslie discovered she would be part of Sue Bird in Seattle as the second WNBA participant to be honored with a statue at a franchise’s home enviornment.

“One thing I never had on my bucket list was a statue,” Leslie told The Times on Thursday. “I grew up seeing the statues of some of the amazing Lakers, so I’m just really grateful to be alive and to be one of the first, especially in the WNBA for L.A. Sparks. It means a lot to me, and I’m really hoping that our community will really rally around it.”

The Sparks announced Thursday morning that Leslie will obtain a statue to be unveiled during a ceremony on Sept. 20 before a sport against the Portland Fire.

During her 12-year profession with the Sparks, Leslie received three WNBA titles and league MVP honors. She also received 4 Olympic gold medals. She was the first participant in WNBA historical past to dunk in a sport and her No. 9 jersey was retired in 2010.

She was one of the Sparks’ authentic gamers in 1997 and is the franchise’s profession chief in factors, rebounds, blocks, discipline objectives, free throws, offensive rebounds, defensive rebounds, minutes and video games performed, and is third in the WNBA in blocks and double-doubles.

“I’ve known Lisa for nearly three decades and believe that she is beyond deserving of this incredible honor,” fellow statue honoree and Lakers great Magic Johnson said in a news release. “She was the driving force behind bringing back-to-back championships to the Los Angeles Sparks franchise in 2000 and 2001, and Lisa’s hard work and commitment has made her one of the best to ever play the game.”

Johnson, who is an element the Sparks possession group, accepted accountability for the crew’s skid two years in the past and promised to do more. The Sparks homeowners, who also own the Dodgers and Lakers, have responded to dropping at a increase time in the WNBA by executing a teaching change, breaking ground on a new apply facility and putting in the first Sparks statue outside Crypto.com Arena.

“Lisa’s legacy isn’t just measured by championships and accolades, though; it’s defined by the doors she opened and the standard she set for generations to come,” Johnson said in the news release. “More than an athlete, she is a pioneer, a cultural icon and a force who elevated women’s basketball to new heights. This statue celebrates her excellence, her leadership and the future she helped create, and it ensures her impact will forever be part of the fabric of this city.”

Leslie said that she observed followers lobbying for her to get a statue starting in 2019, and the timing for her and the Sparks felt proper during the thirtieth anniversary season.

“It couldn’t be better with the new [practice] facility coming, the new CBA, everything is aligning so properly,” she said. “It’s more perfect than it would have been a few years before.”

The statue was created by sculptors Julie Rotblatt Amrany and Omri Amrany and will be part of 15 others outside of Crypto.com Arena, including Johnson, Wayne Gretzky, Oscar De La Hoya, Chick Hearn, Jerry West, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Luc Robitaille, Shaquille O’Neal, Bob Miller, Elgin Baylor, Dustin Brown, Kobe Bryant (2), Gigi Bryant and Pat Riley.

“I hope she looks good,” Leslie said of the statue. “People don’t realize how hard it is to make a statue look good. … They helped me to be super specific about every little thing down to my earlobe and fingernail tip. So I’m excited about all the little details that have been added that people can kind of find on their own as well.”