Lusia “Lucy” Harris, 66, the first and only woman to be drafted onto the NBA, has passed away.
Harris died on Tuesday in Mississippi where she was born. Her cause of death is unclear.
Harris played at Delta State, leading her team to three national championships in the late 70’s. She was a 6-foot-3 center that averaged about 25 points per game and was a three-time All-American.
She was then picked by the New Orleans Jazz in the seventh round in the 1977 NBA draft. It was noted that she didn’t try out because she was pregnant.
Harris is also the first woman to score a point in basketball at the Olympics, playing with Nancy Lieberman and Pat(Head)Summit.
Additionally, she was the first Black woman to be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1992. In 1999, she was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame.
Last year, Shaquille O’Neal was the executive producer of a documentary about Harris, “Queen of Basketball.” In the film, she talks about her mental health issues she dealt with after she stopped playing basketball. She also expressed her feelings about “predating the WNBA, which was started in 1996, 20 years after she received a medal at the 1996 Olympics.”
