10-time NBA All-Star Paul Pierce gave his flowers to WNBA legend Lisa Leslie. Leslie was well known in the city of Inglewood from a young age thanks to her basketball skills. One of her most famous performances during her high school career was when she scored 101 points in one half of play during a game in 1990.Leslie dominated every level of the sport, going on to enjoy a 12-season career in the WNBA. On Monday’s episode of “Club Shay Shay,” Shannon Sharpe and Paul Pierce discussed the best athlete to come out of Inglewood.Pierce answered, explaining how the best athlete category is too broad, but also didn’t pick himself as the best basketball player from his city, instead choosing Lisa Leslie.“I wouldn’t give myself the best basketball player,” Pierce said. “I would give it to Lisa, I’ll give it to Lisa Leslie. I had the honor of seeing her play in high school.”Pierce continued, explaining how he looked up to the WNBA legend while coming up as a player.“She was cold man, I gotta give flowers to Lisa. I looked up to her as a kid,” Pierce said. “I’ll probably be in the top three or four, maybe basketball players.”Both Lisa Leslie and Pierce enjoyed decorated careers at the professional level. The 6-foot-5 WNBA center spent 12 seasons with the LA Sparks, winning two championships. She is also a three-time MVP, two-time Defensive Player of the Year, and two-time Finals MVP.Leslie and Pierce came up around the same time, with Pierce making his NBA debut in 1998. Meanwhile, Leslie debuted for the WNBA in 1997. Did Lisa Leslie overshadow Paul Pierce's college career?Coming out of high school, Lisa Leslie had already become something of a national icon thanks to her stellar showings for Morningside High School in Inglewood. She went on to play for USC from 1990 to 1994, becoming known as one of the best female basketball players in the country.Leslie's fame grew as she led Team USA to a gold medal in Atlanta in 1996, eventually paving the way for the WNBA to debut.Meanwhile, Paul Pierce kicked off his illustrious college career in 1995, playing three seasons for Kansas. He led the team to three conference titles and went on to the NBA as one of the highest-rated prospects of his class. While Leslie was a bigger basketball player than Pierce at this point, both played in very different spheres of visibility as women's basketball in the 1990s was nowhere close to where it is in 2025. So, it is unlikely that her stellar rise had any effect on Pierce.