Sad news to report this morning as basketball legend Lusia Harris, the first and only woman officially drafted by the NBA, passed away. She was 66 years old.
The basketball trailblazer played center at Delta State University in Mississippi. She dominated for the Lady Statesmen, leading them to three straight AIAW titles between 1975 and 1977. She was the team’s MVP in all three seasons and was awarded the first-ever Honda Sports Award in her final year.
Harris’ stat line proved her dominance. She averaged 25.9 points and 14.4 rebounds per game and, over four decades later, remains the university’s record holder for career points (2,981) and rebounds (1,662). She also shot a jaw-dropping 63.3% from the field.
Her talents earned her spot on the 1975 U.S. women’s national team. A year later women’s basketball was finally included in the Olympics and Harris played on the 1976 women’s Olympic team. That year the U.S. took home the silver medal, finishing second to the Soviet Union.
In 1977, she made history again when she was selected by the New Orleans Jazz with the 137th pick in the 1977 NBA Draft. As the San Francisco Warriors’ selection of Denise Long in 1969 was voided, Lusia Harris became the first and only woman officially drafted by the NBA.
Harris eventually declined to try out for the Jazz as she was pregnant at the time.
“We are deeply saddened to share the news that our angel, matriarch, sister, mother, grandmother, Olympic medalist, The Queen of Basketball, Lusia Harris has passed away unexpectedly today in Mississippi,” said her family in a statement. “The recent months brought Ms. Harris great joy, including the news of the upcoming wedding of her youngest son and the outpouring of recognition received by a recent documentary that brought worldwide attention to her story.”
That documentary, “The Queen of Basketball”, made its debut at the Tribeca Film Festival in June 2021. It enabled fans to finally learn about Harris’ place in basketball history.
“It is an honor for this whole film to be done [and] available to be seen,” said Harris in an interview with The Undefeated. “I believe there are a lot of people who really just don’t know who I am or the history of women’s basketball, including my place within it. People might not know that the 1976 women’s basketball team were the first to ever be included in the Olympics in Montreal. I think that in itself is an honor, and that team pioneers the game for all those who came after.
“I really didn’t realize that [my time playing] was a history-making moment. But, as one of my teammates pointed out to me, by scoring the first point in that game meant that it was immediately history and a record that could never be broken. That really means something to me, especially now that I have grand- [and] great-grandchildren.”
In 1992, Lusia Harris became the first female collegiate player inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. She is also a member the Delta State Sports Hall of Fame (1983), the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame (1990) and of the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame (1999).
Harris, born to sharecroppers in Mississippi, wanted to dominate like her idol, Oscar Robertson. Reflecting on her career, it’s obvious that she accomplished that goal.
But she did more than that.
She secured her place in basketball history and opened doors for other women to follow through. Now more people should be able to appreciate what she did for the game.
