Since its inception, the WNBA has continually pushed the boundaries of what women athletes can accomplish on the court and in their communities.

Lisa Leslie wasn't playing basketball when she discovered she could dunk. She was at high school track practice, and smacked the rim practicing her high jump approach. "Not seeing other women dunk, it hadn't dawned on me to try," she said. Before long, she was dunking with the boys at pep rallies. In 2002, after she'd won two Olympic gold medals and a WNBA championship with the LA Sparks, @lisaleslie set a preseason goal to dunk in the WNBA. A few months later, against the Miami Sol, she made history. "I didn't think of it as a historic moment," she said. "I'm like, 'wait, wait, we gotta play defense!'"

https://www.espn.com/.../the-25-firsts-defined-wnba-25-years

by Elaine Teng

by Mary Beth Koeth for ESPN

Assistant Javier I Sanchez

Art Direction Kaitlin Marron

Hair | Makeup Natasha Gross

Retouching Violaine Capra