Prominent for her exceptional basketball accomplishments, Lusia Harris passed away on Tuesday at the age of 66, her family said. In addition to becoming the first female NBA draft pick ever, Harris also created Olympic basketball history by becoming the first player to score a basket in the history of the game.
“With great sadness, we announce that Lusia Harris, The Queen of Basketball, our matriarch, sister, mother, grandmother, Olympic medalist, and angel, unexpectedly passed away in Mississippi today.” the family quoted to aol.com
The New Orleans Jazz selected Harris, a phenomenal athlete from Mississippi, in the seventh round of the 1977 NBA draft; however, Harris was unable to test out for the team because she was pregnant.
Harris’s legacy flourished as she led Delta State University to three consecutive national titles in the 1970s and won a silver medal for the United States at the 1976 Montreal Olympics, despite the NBA blocking Denise Long’s draft by the San Francisco Warriors in 1969 on the basis of gender-based criteria.
Lusia Harris: Trailblazing Legacy
Harris, who is regarded as a trailblazer in women’s basketball, made history in 1992 when she became the first Black woman to be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.
In 1999, she became a more enduring figure when she was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame. Beyond her sporting accomplishments, Harris’s generosity and ground-breaking actions—such as becoming the first female Olympian basket-scorer—left a lasting impression on Mississippi, her hometown, and the world of basketball, inspiring future generations.
Harris’s career took a significant turn in 1975 when she secured a berth on the U.S. women’s squad. When women’s basketball made its historic Olympic debut the following year, Harris made history by scoring the first points in the competition’s first game.
The captivating short film “The Queen of Basketball,” which was released in 2021, captures her incredible journey and offers a personal account of her groundbreaking contributions to the game.
Cover Photo: IG