It may have been a publicity stunt, but the action itself spoke volumes.
In 1977, New Orleans Jazz general manager Lewis Shaffel did something never done before — he drafted Lusia Harris in the seventh round, making her the first female ever selected by an NBA team.
While Harris never attended training camp with the Jazz, mainly due to her being pregnant at the time, there’s no doubting the legacy she left behind.
One of the pioneers of women’s basketball, Harris passed away on Tuesday at the age of 66 in Greenwood, Mississippi.
“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.”
We are saddened to learn of the passing of Lusia Harris, a pioneer in basketball and the only woman drafted by an NBA team, selected in the 1977 draft by the New Orleans Jazz.
Our hearts go out to her family pic.twitter.com/38zlTMnx25
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) January 19, 2022
Harris is known as one of the greatest women’s basketball players of all time. She scored the first points in women’s basketball history at the 1976 Summer Olympics, averaging 15.2 points and 7.0 rebounds in five games leading the United States to the silver medal.
An All-American while attending Delta State University, Harris was instrumental in leading her team to three consecutive Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) national championships from 1975-1977.
She ended her college career as the school’s all-time leader in scoring (2,981 points) and rebounding (1,662). She averaged 25.9 points and 14.4 rebounds per game, going 109-6 throughout her four-year tenure.
Her final accolades came during the 1990s when she was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1992, the first Black woman to earn that distinction. Then in 1999, she was enshrined in the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame as one of 26 inaugural inductees.
“She will be remembered for her charity, for her achievements both on and off the court, and the light she brought to her community, the state of Mississippi, her country as the first woman ever to score a basket in the Olympics, and to women who play basketball around the world,” the statement said.
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