Lusia Harris who was the only woman drafted into the NBA, and basketball Hall of Famer, has died at 66.
Lusia Harris was the first and only woman officially drafted by an NBA team and scored the first bucket in women’s Olympic basketball history.
She died Tuesday, her family announced in a statement that reads:
“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,” the family said 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.”
Lusia Harris, a centre, played basketball collegiately at Delta State, leading the team to three straight AIAW national titles from 1975-1977.
She was named MVP in all three seasons and won the first-ever Honda Sports Award for basketball in her final year.
Harris averaged 25.9 points and 14.4 rebounds per game in college, lifting Delta State to a 109-6 record during her tenure; she’s still the school’s record holder for career points (2,981) and rebounds (1,662). She scored the first points of the first game of the tournament, with the U.S eventually taking the silver medal behind the Soviet Union squad.
The following year, she was selected by the New Orleans Jazz with the 137th pick of the 1977 NBA Draft, but declined to try out for the team, she was pregnant at the time.
She was technically the second woman ever drafted by an NBA team after the San Francisco Warriors selected Denise Long in 1969, but that pick was voided.
Harris’ only professional games came in the 1980 Women’s Professional Basketball League playoffs for the Houston Angels, shortly after she had her first of four children.