She is arguably the greatest living women’s basketball player. She’s won three national trophies; she played in the ’76 Olympics; she was drafted to the NBA. But have you ever heard of Lucy Harris?
Born in a small town in South Mississippi, Lusia Harris became the first woman in history to be drafted by the NBA and in 1992 became the first African American woman inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. As a little girl, she spent countless nights up late watching her idols Bill Russel, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Oscar Robertson on the television. The game of basketball came naturally to her and with her 6′ 3″ height as an advantage, she eventually attended Delta State University where she became a superstar in women’s basketball.
Thanks to Lusia, Delta State became two-time champions after only four years as a team which led her to the 1976 Olympics in Montreal where her team won the Silver. After college, there was nowhere for women to advance in the game as the WNBA didn’t exist, but to her surprise, she found herself turning down a position in the NBA with the New Orleans Jazz; the first woman to ever be drafted.
This is such a beautiful story highlighting the type of excellence you never hear about in women’s sports. With such a powerful resume in basketball, I’m shocked I haven’t heard anything about her. Now that I have, I’m going to make sure everyone else does too from now on! Definitely a documentary you want to see.
“The Queen Of Basketball” recently had its World Premiere at the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival
