On this article, Lisa Leslie and Malika Andrews Carry NBA All Star Weekend Vitality to Compton, MyntJ recaps and All-Star weekend celebration of entry, illustration and perception at her dwelling of Compton! Felicia Enriquez, aka Mynt J, is the host of the podcast BlackLove and Basketball – Compton Version. She is a Clippers fan, an NBA credentialed creator representing thePeachBasket.
COMPTON, CA —February 14, 2026
Earlier than the lights, cameras, and All-Star festivities took over the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, two highly effective ladies made a special sort of cease first.
They got here to Compton.
Earlier than the league celebrated its brightest stars, Lisa Leslie and Malika Andrews stunned a bunch of highschool ladies basketball gamers from Compton and Inglewood, reminding them that All-Star moments don’t solely belong inside arenas.
Generally they occur in your personal yard.
On a weekend when the basketball world celebrates its greatest names, these younger ladies didn’t simply watch from a distance. They lived their very own model of it. Shoe Palace shut down its Compton location for a personal expertise offered by Nike, providing brunch, customized Air Power 1s, and house deliberately created only for them.
It was not nearly sneakers.
It was about entry.
It was about visibility.
It was about being deliberately poured into earlier than the nationwide highlight shifted to Inglewood.
All-Star Weekend: An Expertise, Not Simply an Occasion
Underneath-resourced communities don’t at all times get moments like this. Not as a result of the expertise shouldn’t be there, however as a result of the luxurious of being celebrated with out battle connected to it’s not at all times constructed into the equation.
These younger athletes walked into an area curated for them. They had been served brunch. They embellished their very own sneakers. They left with contemporary Air Power 1s. They had been handled like stars earlier than ever stepping onto knowledgeable stage.
And what made the day highly effective was not simply who was invited.
It was who was included.
The coaches.
The dad and mom.
The assist techniques.
The individuals who drive to apply, fundraise, present up, sacrifice, and pour into these ladies quietly had been in a position to sit down and expertise being served. Not scrambling. Not organizing. Not coordinating. Simply current.
That issues in a group that’s used to giving greater than it receives.
When the Legend Walked In
When Lisa Leslie entered the room, there was a pause. Recognition.
“I’m so completely satisfied and proud to be from Compton.”
She spoke about strolling to high school, about being grounded, about how being from Compton formed her lengthy earlier than championships formed her résumé.
“The place I’m from is what retains me grounded. What I did, that is sort of a job, however that isn’t who I’m.”
She talked about buying on the Compton Swap Meet. About getting faculty garments there. About somebody as soon as asking her the way it felt to be poor, and the way she by no means felt poor in any respect.
As a result of she had love.
She had household.
She had group.
That humility carried weight.
Success didn’t distance her from her roots. It strengthened them.
All photos courtesy of MyntJ
The Mountaintop Seems Completely different for Everybody
Malika Andrews didn’t simply host the dialog. She framed it.
“When Lisa Leslie walked in and to see that look of recognition… that’s what this occasion is all about.”
She understood what it meant for the women to see somebody who began the place they began and reached the very best stage of the game.
However she additionally expanded the definition of success.
“I’m from Oakland, California… type of the cousin to the north of Compton and Inglewood.”
That connection mattered. It was not floor stage. It was cultural.
She inspired the women to not rush their path.
“I want that I used to be slightly bit extra affected person in my journey,” Andrews advised them. “Whenever you’re always seeking to the left and to the precise to seek out who is aware of precisely what they’re doing, that’s the place typically you neglect to have the enjoyment within the journey.”
That line felt like permission.
Permission to not have all of it discovered.
Permission to develop at your personal tempo.
Permission to belief that your lane will reveal itself.
Lisa represented dominance on the court docket.
Malika represented possession of the narrative.
Each represented energy.
Write It Down. Do the Work.
If there was one message Lisa insisted they go away with, it was this.
“From the ninth grade, I began writing down my objectives.”
Quick time period. Long run. Educational. Athletic.
“Should you guys don’t bear in mind something from right this moment, bear in mind this half.”
She spoke about sacrifice with out glamorizing it.
“It’s about sacrifice. Laborious work, dedication, sacrifice.”
Then she simplified it.
“Consistency. No matter you set effort and time into, that’s what you’re going to be good at.”
No shortcuts. No thriller. Simply work.
An All-Star Second at Residence
With All-Star Weekend setting the tone throughout the basketball world, this occasion felt intentional. Earlier than the highlight hit the Intuit Dome, the highlight hit Compton.
These ladies weren’t watching stars from afar.
They had been sitting throughout from them.
Publicity creates creativeness.
Entry creates confidence.
Illustration creates perception.
And Lisa Leslie left them with one closing reminder.
“If I’m solely the one who believed in you right this moment, then I’ve completed my job.”
On a weekend constructed round elite expertise, essentially the most impactful second might have occurred earlier than tipoff.
Generally the actual All-Star expertise shouldn’t be the sport.
It’s the reminder that you simply belong in it.
