Lusia Harris, the woman chosen in the 1977 NBA Draft, dies

One of the selections in the 1977 draft of the then New Orleans Jazz was historic. In the seventh round (position 137), said franchise chose Lusia Harris (1955-2022). That is, a woman selected to reach the NBA and play against men. Pure history.

Who was Lucia Harris?

Lusia Harris was an interior born in Minter City (Mississippi) with basketball genetics: she had seven of her 11 playing brothers, so wanting to play basketball was relatively easy. He did it in his formative stage until he reached Delta State University, with whom he won three state titles, averaging 28.3 points and 18.6 rebounds in the finals, dominating with his 1.91 meter height.

A performance that earned him, at a time when there was still no women’s professional sport, to attract the eyes of the best men’s league in the world. By then, Lusia Harris had also won a gold medal at the 1975 Pan American Games in Mexico, and a silver medal at the 1976 Montreal Olympics with the United States. Enough merits for the Jazz to decide to take over their rights.

However, Harris never made his NBA debut, leaving his story incomplete. Just when she was drafted, Lusia Harris was pregnant. Since then, she trained at Texas Southern University to become a teacher, later in her native Mississippi.

Other women who were close to the NBA

In 1969, the San Francisco Warriors selected Denise Long at number 13, who that same year had scored 111 points in a game playing in the High School of Union-Whitten. The one from Iowa wanted to make the leap to professionalism without going through university, and that took its toll. The NBA commissioner at the time, Walter Kennedy, invalidated the election by not allowing the league at that time for players to jump into the competition directly from high school.

The other event that we tell you about is that of Ann Meyers, possibly the closest of the three to debuting in the league. It was at the end of the seventies, after leaving UCLA (in February 78 he signed the first quadruple double in NCAA history with 20 points, 14 rebounds, 10 assists and 10 robberies).

The following year, she signed a $50,000 contract with the Indiana Pacers and became one of the team, training for three days, although she did not make the final roster. Later, in 1993, she was selected to enter the Hall of Fame.

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