Spider Ledesma
| Spider Ledesma | |
|---|---|
| Born |
William Stephan Spider Ledesma II April 6, 1964 Santa Clara, California |
| Occupation | CEO |
| Employer | Native American Olympic Team |
| Term | April 1997–present |
| Awards | FIBA MVP 1993 (Cyprus Div. I), leading scorer FIBA 1995/96 |
William Stephan Spider Ledesma II (born April 6, 1964) is an American professional basketball player and the current CEO of the Native American Olympic Team.
Born in Santa Clara, California, Ledesma is of Native American and Native Mexican descent from his late father's family and Irish American descent from his mother's family. His Indian name, Spider, was given to him as a young boy by his uncle Jess 'Joe Butch' Ledesma and confirmed upon him by his elder Clinton Pilcher, a member of the Oglala (Lakota) Sioux tribe.
Ledesma began playing basketball in the 7th grade at Brownell Jr. High School in Gilroy, CA, and attended Gilroy High School. As a sophomore, he became a starter on the varsity team under Head Coach Richard Freedman. He earned First-Team All-League honors as a junior and was named Co-MVP of the Monterey Bay League during his senior year in 1982. During his senior year, growing to 6 feet 8 inches, he broke several records including becoming the all-time leading scorer in Gilroy High School history, a record which had stood for 20 years. Senior year honors included being named to the San Jose Mercury News first-team All-Central Coast Section (CCS) as well as being selected to play in the 1982 North-South All-Star Classic.
Ledesma's Native American athletic career started at the age of 14 at an Indian tournament at San Jose City College in 1978. At 16 he played in his first Canadian Indian tournament, at an Indian reservation near Calgary, AB. His importance increased as a native basketball player, as he continued to grow in height. He ultimately became a five-time National Indian Athletic Association (NIAA) national champion and three-time MVP. His first national championship was in 1991 on the Bemidji (Chippewa) reservation in Bemidji, MN where he led the Santa Clara Itashans to a resounding defeat of the North Dakota Warriors. His team also defeated an Indian squad led by Ernie Stevens Jr., current chairman of the National Indian Gaming Association (NIGA). Ledesma played for several years at tournaments in the Northwest on Indian reservations of the Chiloquin (Klamath), Hoopa (Hupa), Warm Springs, and Yakima.
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