It was Minnesota Timberwolves' Kevin Garnett who graced the cover of original Backyard Basketball, Leslie was included in NBA2king the game and you could even play as her and Garnett.

Sheryl Swoopes as well as Cynthia Cooper, Houston Comets star players, were not present during the 2001 WNBA season. Cooper has been a two-time winner of the MVP and four-time champion, retired after the season of 2000. Cooper came back in 2003. Swoopes, who was also a part of those four championships and was also the league's reigning MVP 2001 due to a torn ACL.

Following her role in helping the Sparks to win their first title in September of 2001, Leslie won not only the MVP award for the year 2001 but as well the Finals MVP. Just one month later Backyard Basketball was released with her selected as the sole real-life women's player (Garnett was the sole male player) instead of Cooper and Swoopes.

Cooper and Swoopes were the first to be acknowledged as the WNBA's real faces but it was Leslie, who was the first player to be recognized as the league's official face to Backyard Basketball's primary audience that included me. Leslie was the first WNBA player I was aware of and influenced me to get into basketball for women.

My passion for the sport gradually grew from there. I remember Diana Taurasi being featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated alongside Emeka Okafor after their UConn Huskies won the national championship in Buy 2K MT PS4 both men's and women's basketball in 2004.