Lusia Harris made her mark within the historical past books by changing into the primary and solely lady formally drafted by an NBA workforce, together with different notable firsts. In keeping with a brand new report, the standout basketball star has died.
NBA.com revealed a report stating that Harris handed away this previous Tuesday (Jan. 18) and shared the household’s assertion in its publish.
From NBA.com:
“We’re deeply saddened to share the information that our angel, matriarch, sister, mom, grandmother, Olympic medalist, The Queen of Basketball, Lusia Harris has handed away unexpectedly at present in Mississippi,” the household mentioned in an announcement. “The current months introduced Ms. Harris nice pleasure, together with the information of the upcoming wedding ceremony of her youngest son and the outpouring of recognition acquired by a current documentary that introduced worldwide consideration to her story.”
Harris, who died in her native Mississippi, was drafted by the New Orleans Jazz within the seventh spherical in 1977, however didn’t check out for the workforce as a result of she was pregnant on the time. The San Francisco Warriors tried to draft Denise Lengthy in 1969, however the NBA blocked it as a result of she didn’t meet the standards to be drafted — partly due to her gender.
Harris was a dominant participant within the Nineteen Seventies, serving to Delta State College win straight NCAA Girls’s Basketball championships. She can be a silver medalist winner as a member of Workforce USA Girls’s Basketball, incomes the dignity in 1976.
Alongside along with her listing of accolades, Harris was inducted into the Basketball Corridor of Fame in 1992, changing into the primary Black lady to take action. In 1999, Harris entered the Girls’s Basketball Corridor of Fame.
In the summertime of 2021, a brief movie titled The Queen of Basketball targeted on Harris’ profession. The trailer will be considered by following this hyperlink as we can’t embed the visuals right here.
Lusia Harris was 66.
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Picture: Getty
