Motivation Quote by Lisa Leslie

Leslie’s gratitude does more than accept a compliment; it quietly stakes a claim for visibility in a league that’s spent much of its life fighting to be seen. When she points out “there’s a lot of women in the WNBA,” she’s not doing empty humility. She’s reminding you the talent pool is deep while the spotlight is narrow, and that any individual accolade in women’s sports is never just personal - it’s a referendum on whether the audience bothered to look.

The key phrase is “to be voted by the fans.” In the WNBA’s early cultural economy, validation wasn’t automatically granted by mainstream sports media or corporate hype; it had to be built, ballot by ballot, arena by arena. Fan voting becomes proof of attention, a metric of awareness in a landscape where women athletes are routinely treated as niche. “That people are aware of what’s going on” reads like a small celebration and a subtle rebuke: you can’t support what you refuse to notice.

Leslie also navigates a tight rhetorical lane. She insists her selection reflects “my talent,” pushing back against the patronizing idea that women’s sports are about inspiration more than excellence. Yet she frames it in warmth and thanks, because women athletes are often penalized for the same self-assurance that’s celebrated in men. The subtext is strategic: confidence delivered with grace, advocacy delivered as appreciation, a star using a personal moment to widen the aperture for everyone who “could be here.”