Harris entered basketball history in 1977 by joining the men’s basketball league.
Former American basketball player Lusia Harris, the only woman officially selected in a draft from NBA, passed away this Tuesday in his home state of Mississippi at 66, his family has announced.
“We are deeply saddened to share that our angel, our matriarch, sister, mother, grandmother, Olympic medalist, basketball queen Lusia Harris has passed away unexpectedly in Mississippi,” his relatives said in a statement, without detailing the cause of death.
Harris entered the history of this sport in 1977 when she was chosen by the New Orleans Jazz in position 137 of the draft of the NBA. Eight years earlier, another woman, Denise Long, had also been recruited by another men’s team, the San Francisco Warriors, but the NBA overruled that choice.
That’s why Harris, who had won three college championships with Delta State, remains the only player to be officially selected in the NBA, although she did not participate in training with the Jazz due to being pregnant.
olympic hit
Harris, who was 1.91 meters tall and held the center position, did not play in the NBA or in any men’s tournament, although he did briefly participate in the women’s professional basketball league in the 1979-80 season.
In 1976, the player achieved another basketball mark by scoring the first points of the tournament of the Montreal Games, the first in which women’s teams competed.
Harris and her teammates from the American team won the silver medal. His unique career was brought to the screen in 2021 by the documentary The Queen of basketball.
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