"I would have had a more lucrative outcome if I played now" - WNBA star Lisa Leslie talks about the league then versus now

WNBA legend Lisa Leslie is one of the few WNBA stars to ever dunk in a game. She's also one of the biggest marketing stars the league has ever seen.

However, Leslie says that she would have made a whole lot more if she was playing today. On “The Daily Show” with Leslie Jones, she talked about how the WNBA is different now compared to when she was hooping for the LA Sparks.

“We didn’t get as much spotlight as they do now, especially in the WNBA,” Leslie said.

Leslie spoke about how she was one of the faces of the WNBA, as she was there from day one. Nevertheless, she knows her spotlight would have been even brighter in today’s game. She knows she could have taken advantage of the endorsement and sponsorship opportunities the current athletes have.

“If I had played now, I would have made so much more money because I was into fashion and skincare, hair care, being a role model, deodorant, toothpaste, anything, I would have been in,” Leslie said.

“I would have had a more lucrative outcome if I played now. And I still would be blocking shots.”

The former WNBA legend spoke highly of the league’s current stars, praising their quality and fitness:

“These ladies are playing at such a high level, it is like blurred lines between the men and women,” Lisa Leslie said.

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Lisa Leslie on NIL

Lisa Leslie also spoke out on the changing landscape of college athletics. NIL (name, image and likeness) deals have dramatically altered the structure of college sports. Now amateur athletes can sign endorsement deals.

Leslie knows that she could have been one of those athletes raking in the NIL money when she played in college. She was a star at USC in the giant market of LA and could have made a killing even before the WNBA.

Times were not like that while she was at USC. On “The Daily Show”, Leslie recounted how she used to buy a $5 burrito and split it between her before and after practice meals. It wasn't exactly the life of luxury some college stars enjoy nowadays where they make more money than most WNBA players.

Leslie, meanwhile, is now a Nike athlete. Jones showed off Leslie’s signature edition dunks on the show. The shoe was a collaboration between Nike and Leslie designed for the 25th anniversary of the WNBA. It's a sequin-donned, glimmering edition of the Dunk in the colors of the LA Sparks.

However, Lisa Leslie had to wait until her college career was over to sign with Nike. She said that she inked her deal the first day after her last game at USC. She could have been making the Nike money before graduation to help during college when she lived off a $200-a-month budget.