Aging & Wisdom Quote by Lisa Leslie

Leslie’s line swats away the polite little story sports loves to tell about decline: the idea that time, by itself, is the villain. When she says “Everyone talks about age,” she’s naming the lazy framework used to explain away performance, especially for women athletes whose careers are too often narrated through expiration dates. The pivot - “but it’s not about age” - isn’t denial; it’s a power move. It relocates control from biology to behavior.

“Work ethic” is the key substitution. It’s not romantic, not mystical, not “talent.” It’s a currency you can keep earning when the spotlight moves on and the body changes. Leslie is also quietly reclaiming authority over her own narrative: if she’s still winning, it’s because she’s still working, and if she stops, it won’t be because the calendar betrayed her. That’s an athlete’s worldview and a veteran’s defense mechanism against the way fans and media treat late-career greatness as an anomaly.

“Winning never gets old” lands like a slogan, but it’s sharper than that. It’s both motivation and provocation. Motivation, because it frames ambition as renewable, not childish or selfish with age. Provocation, because it dares you to admit how much we worship winners while pretending we’re above the obsession. In the WNBA era Leslie helped define, the subtext is also structural: respect isn’t granted; it’s extracted through consistency. Winning, for her, isn’t vanity. It’s leverage.