Lisa Leslie gets candid after revealing she got rejected by 2 WNBA teams for coaching gig: "Who these people hired is not better than me"

WNBA legend Lisa Leslie was the featured guest on Angel Reese's "Unapologetically Angel" podcast on Thursday. During the fan questions segment of this episode, Reese lobbed up this question for her guest: Would she ever be a head coach in the WNBA?

In response, Leslie dropped some behind-the-scenes intel that she claimed to be saying on the record "for the first time."

"I put my name in the hat to coach this year for two teams," Leslie said. "I won't say who those two teams are, but I did not get picked." [Timestamp - 49:51]

Aside from giving this scoop that will have WNBA fans playing the guessing game for quite some time, Leslie hinted that she felt a certain way about not getting the job.

"I felt like I would never attempt to go into coaching in the WNBA. Because, it's like, you gotta be 10 times as great, as a Black woman in this industry," Leslie claimed. "And, when I tell you that who these people hired is not better than me, and what I can do for these players..." [Timestamp - 50:05]

Upon saying that, Leslie caught herself and shifted to a tone of acceptance, saying that she espoused a "What's for you is for you" mindset.

As far as coaching experience goes, Leslie has been the head coach of Triplets in the BIG3 league since 2019. Of course, her resume as a player — which includes two WNBA titles, two Finals MVPs, and three season MVPs — speaks for itself.

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Lisa Leslie praised Nike's Super Bowl ad

Lisa Leslie was full of praise for the Nike ad that aired during Super Bowl LIX. Earlier this week, Leslie, whose Nike signature shoe was released back in 1998, praised the shoe brand's commercial that shone a spotlight on Caitlin Clark, Sabrina Ionescu, Sha'Carri Richardson and other prominent women in sports.

"Super Bowl game was just ok, but that @Nike commercial … investing in women Won my heart #JustDoIt" tweeted Leslie wrote on X.

The last time Nike released a Super Bowl ad, Leslie was one of the featured athletes. In 1998, she appeared in Nike's Super Bowl commercial alongside David Robinson, Suzy Favor Hamilton, and Ronaldo.