Sparks’ Lisa Leslie laments ‘bad strategy’ in ‘Superstars’ shooting contest

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‘Professional basketball player Lisa Leslie, who has four Olympic gold medals, three MVP awards, two WNBA championships and once scored 100 points in a single game ...’

That was the announcer’s introduction just before a basketball shooting contest that was part of the third episode of Superstars. Naturally, Leslie and her partner, French actor/singer David Charvet, were expected to breeze through that event.

As you can see here, Leslie chose to shoot the 16-foot, 4-point shot but bricked her first three. Leslie shot 2 for 10 as she and Charvet finished second-to-last with 12 points.

The performance sparked surprise among the other competitors. ‘There we go,’ American freestyle skier Kristi Leskinen said. ‘She’s showing that she’s human.’ Leslie, herself, told The Times she faulted what she called a ‘bad strategy.’

‘I figured I can make a 15-16 footer,’ Leslie said. ‘I didn’t take in the wing and plastic balls as factors.’

Meanwhile, former U.S. soccer player Brandi Chastain and Spanish pop singer Julio Iglesias Jr. led with 24 points.

‘I fight through it,’ Leslie said. ‘It’s a learning situation every time. But I know that we expected to do well in basketball and not to do so was not a good thing.’

-- Mark Medina