09/02/2026
Lusia Harris: The First and Only Black Woman Drafted by the NBA
In 1977, Lusia Harris made history in a way that is still unmatched. She became the first — and to this day, the only — woman ever drafted by an NBA team. The New Orleans Jazz selected her in the seventh round, not as a publicity stunt, but because of her undeniable talent.
Born in rural Mississippi, Lusia Harris rose to dominance at a time when women’s sports, especially for Black women, received little recognition or support. At Delta State University, she led her team to three consecutive national championships and was a three-time All-American. Her presence in the paint was so dominant that opponents often built their entire defensive strategies around stopping her — and still failed.
Lusia Harris was also a pioneer on the global stage. She helped lead the United States to a silver medal in women’s basketball at the 1976 Olympics, the first time women’s basketball was ever included in the Games. In that historic Olympic match, Harris scored the first basket in women’s Olympic basketball history.
Despite being drafted by the NBA, Harris never played a regular-season game. She chose family and later coaching over a professional career in men’s basketball — a decision often misunderstood, but one that does not diminish the magnitude of what she achieved. Her draft alone shattered assumptions about gender, race, and who belongs at the highest levels of sport.
Lusia Harris didn’t just break barriers — she proved they never should have existed in the first place. Her story remains one of the most overlooked chapters in sports history, and a reminder that Black women have always been pioneers, even when history tried to look away.
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