The Female Basketball Player Who Was Officially Drafted To The NBA..

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Now, even though the WNBA has been a separate league for years, little did you know, there's actually women in history who were drafted into the NBA. Denise Long was the first to break barriers and make history as the first woman to be drafted into an all-men's league. Recently, it made headlines during the 2019 draft, as it marked 50 years since the draft night that she was selected. Back in the 1969 NBA draft, plenty of history was made. The Milwaukee Bucks went on to draft Karim Abdul-Jabbar with the first pick, and he later go down as one of the best players ever. But later in the draft, the Warriors selected Denise Long in the 13th round, which made history as the first woman to be drafted into the NBA. When Denise Long was a high school student in Winton, Iowa, the stats she was putting up were unheard of for anybody. Denise Long was a pure shooter. She could hit shots from anywhere she decided to shoot from, and at age 12, she began playing basketball and found to be the best woman to ever play the sport. Denise was actually so dedicated to her work, the rumor has it that she was spotted practicing her jump shot at a playground in Iowa at 11 degrees below zero. During her senior year, Denise scored 103 times, even scoring 111 points once, and she did this all before there was a three-point line. She averaged a ridiculous 62.8 points per game her senior year, and she was a phenom at 5'11 for Union Winton High School. Jean Berger, who's the executive director for the Iowa Girls Athletic Union, spoke about the high level of competition playing around Denise, which she said, The school was the center of entertainment for a lot of towns across Iowa. It was its own game. There was no comparison with the boys, and the girls really put on a show. Franklin Meule, who was the owner of the Warriors, saw Denise during her multiple trips to the women's state titles and decided to take a shot on her late in the 1969 draft, but the selection was vetoed because the NBA didn't accept women playing against all men. Frank spoke about why he drafted her, saying, I needed to generate interest in women's basketball thing, so we drafted her in the 13th round. I think the statement I made was very valid. I don't know if women could play this game, but if anyone can, she can. She was very sweet, innocent, and a lovable girl. Fifty years later, Denise reflected on that night in 1969, when she talked about her brief time with the Warriors, saying, I couldn't turn this down. I decided to go to San Francisco. We played five quarters a night, and it was competitive and fun. It's fun to be a part of the Warriors' family. What she did was so memorable that in 2018, the Golden State Warriors invited her back to the Bay Area to meet the defending NBA champions. She was greeted by Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, and the other stars of the 2018 team. The Warriors had to tour the new facilities and even gave her a special moment during half time with a segment about her journey to the NBA. Then Denise spoke about how welcoming the Warriors were, saying, even though I haven't been out to see them play, they remembered me. That was very touching to my heart. But recently Denise spoke about her past self, but she looked back on what she accomplished and said, I don't think people realize that even now, I try to emulate me. It's like there's another person back there in the past. If I could do well in physical therapy or biology, that'd be good for me, but that can never caption the start in basketball did. I feel a little overwhelmed myself at what I did then. It's not every day you get drafted to the NBA. I thought it was expected of me to go out there. It was an opportunity, and I ought to explore it. After I appeared in The Tonight Show, it was like I was magnetically polarized to go out there and play in that league. I knew I'd never enjoy it like I did in high school. That joy and zest for the game could never be equaled. I knew I wouldn't play that long when I went out there. I'm glad I went though. Not so much for the basketball, but for my friendship with Franklin Miulli. Now, yet another woman selected in the NBA draft was Lucia Harris. This came nearly a decade after the first incident. With Denise Long being drafted in the 1969 NBA draft, many women started to realize that playing in the NBA could become a reality, so Lucia Harris was the next female to make her move. Lucia Harris was known for being a basketball pioneer, especially for women, and did her best to make it known that women could play professional basketball. Harris was born in Minter City, Mississippi, to a family who were all vegetable farmers, and she was the 10th of 11 children and the fourth of five daughters. All of her brothers and one of her older sisters, Jane, also played basketball, and Harris and her siblings attended Amanda Elsie High School in Greenwood, Mississippi. Lucia played basketball under Coach Conway Stewart in high school, and won the most valuable player award three consecutive years, served as team captain, and made the state all-star team. Lucia scored a school record of 46 points in one game and led her school to the state tournament in Jackson, Mississippi. But Lucia talked about the struggle of playing basketball growing up and being the only black lady on her high school team. Lucia said, I've seen white people before, but I never talked to them. I was really shy. Coach Wade was a real mother figure. She really knew how to motivate you. She had this badge on the inside of her blazer, and whenever we'd take the floor, she'd flap it open. The badge said, give them hell. After her high school graduation, she attended Alcorn State University, which didn't have a women's basketball team. So instead, she was asked by Melvin Hibhill if she would attend Delta State University in Cleveland, Mississippi, which she did. Her first season of college was a memorable one for sure. In her first year at Delta State, Harris helped the Lady Statesmen to a 16-2 record. They finished third in the regional tournament and failed to qualify to the national tournament, but the following year, the Lady Statesmen qualified to the national tournament at Harrisonburg, Virginia. They went all the way to the finals where they met the mighty Max of Immaculata University, who had won the last three consecutive AIAW championships. And in the final, Harris scored 32 points and recorded 16 rebounds to lead Delta State past Immaculata 90-81. The 1975 championship game was televised nationally, which was the first year that a woman's basketball game were televised nationally by a major network. By that season, Delta State went undefeated with a 28-0 record, the only undefeated college season that year, men or women. And Harris scored a total of 138 points and 63 rebounds in four games at the national tournament and was named the tournament's most valuable player. In 1975, Harris was selected to represent the United States national team in the FIBA World Championship for Women in Columbia and the Pan American Games in Mexico City. She teamed up with high school star Nancy Lieberman and fellow college stars Anne Myers and Pat Head. And in the FIBA World Championship, the United States could pile up a 4-3 record and finish in eighth place. But in the Pan American Games, the United States team went unbeaten in seven games to win a gold medal. The following year, Harris was selected to represent the United States in the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Canada, which was the first ever women's basketball tournament in the Olympic Games. And she teamed up with most of the teammates from the 1975 Pan American Games, including Lieberman, Myers, and Head. In the opening game against Japan, Harris scored the first ever points in a women's Olympic basketball tournament. And the United States team went on to win three games and lost two games against Japan and the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union team went undefeated and won the gold medal, while the United States team won the silver medal. And Lucia spoke about winning the silver medal on one of the midtourn. She said, It was the first time the women's basketball was ever a part of the Olympic, so it was an honor to play on such a distinguished team. We played our hardest, but faced a Soviet Union team that was much more experienced and had been together a lot longer than we had. But nevertheless, Harris still played in five games and averaged 15 points and seven rebounds per game. Moving forward, it was once again speculated if she'd make a run at joining the NBA. Sure enough, in the seventh round of the 1977 NBA draft, New Orleans Jazz at the time selected Harris with the 137th pick overall. She became the second woman ever drafted by an NBA team. With Denise Long being drafted before this, like I said, the league voided that Warriors selection but with Lucia Harris, it was a different situation. She became the first and only woman ever officially drafted to the NBA, but Harris didn't express an interest to play in the NBA and declined to try out for the Jazz shortly after. It was later revealed that she was pregnant at the time, which made her unable to attend the Jazz training camp, but she was selected ahead of 33 other male players, which once again made history. What Lucia did was still considered historical, and she was at a basketball hall of fame ceremony where they inducted her into the basketball hall of fame. She was shocked afterwards and talked about this moment saying, there's a picture of Annie, you know, Anne Myers. She came to the ceremony. She's a good friend. It was unreal. When they called, I said, what hall of fame? What are you talking about? It took a while to sink in that it was the hall of fame. Now present day, there's yet another woman making waves, joining the NBA that you completely missed out on. Many overlook Jaquita Evans earning her way into the NBA because she did things her own way, but her recent signing with the Gold State Warriors 2K League team once again made history. The NBA 2K League was born in February of 2017, and since it's made waves, getting bigger and bigger in the community, and has even caught the attention of NBA players who show their support to the organization's official 2K League teams. Qualifications for 2K Leagues aren't easy, and it takes a few steps. First, you got to be 18 years or older, and you must be a solid player with a bit of a following. Next, you have to prove your worth, getting a good win percentage, as well as great stats throughout. And then finally, you have to apply and get accepted once your account's reviewed. The 2K League averages just under 200 players per draft, not everyone gets selected, which makes getting drafted to a team even sweeter. Evans wanted to do what it took and said, When it was announced, I told myself I wanted to be involved because I wanted to give it a try. With her living in Chicago, she eventually told her mother, Mary Ann Aldridge, who lives in Louisville, Kentucky, about her ambition to go pro, and she said, Mom, I'm trying out for the 2K League, and I want you to be supportive of what I'm trying to do. To prepare, Evans grinded for quite some time to put herself in a position to win. On her days off from her 9-5 job at Footlocker, she had a PS4 controller in her hand for the time she woke up and practiced till midnight, only pausing to eat in between. On work days, she was still practicing the virtual court until her job required her to leave, but after work, she returned right back to it. Evans discovered her love for 2K while playing for her semi-pro team in Louisville. She emphasized that coaching and real life basketball throughout her life guided her way of playing 2K. She said, I feel like I see the game a lot differently. The way my AAU coach taught me the game is how I played 2K. I don't like to force anything. I take what the defense gives me. I want to win, so if there's a game where I score 7 points and we win, I'm completely fine with it because that's a dub. But it wasn't an easy road for her getting to this point. In 2018, Evans felt like she was doing what it took, and to other people in the same position, they kind of held her back a bit. She talked about this and said, My first 7 games, my gender was an issue. As soon as I would get on the mic, everyone would be like, it's a girl. I continuously say, I'm open, I'm open. I would never receive the ball. It was like I was non-existent. I quit and gave up on it. I can honestly say that's the first time I gave up on anything. NBA commissioner Adam Silver takes the 2K league just as serious as the NBA, WNBA, and the G League. He even raised awareness recently towards the lack of female players in the league because he knew some belonged. But Adam addressed this and said, What I'm concerned about, and this is a much larger issue in the gaming community, is that something is going on in the gaming community that is either not attracting women or is repelling women from wanting to be a part of it. The 2019 2K league draft was quickly approaching, and getting to be a part of that was already cool enough for Chiquita, but her main goal was to get drafted. After a year playing more and realizing she had to have tougher skin, she made a return. ESPN even did a study in the 2K league draft to see why guys will stop passing to girls once they realize their gender, and Chiquita related to the statement saying, I had a lot of people when I talk on the mic because when I play, I like to communicate with my teammates. So I get on the mic and I'm like, I'm open, I'm open. They go, it's a girl. I get iced out the whole game. Chiquita also spoke about her drive to make the league when she said, Women have actually come to me and told me I was an inspiration. So it wouldn't be right for me to give up. Basically, they believe in me. Leading into the draft, she was nervous, but eventually her dreams came true when the Warriors selected her in the fourth round of the 2019 2K league draft. After where she said, man, I feel blessed. I got to say all praises to the most high for the opportunity. And the main reason Chiquita began playing 2K in the first place was to stay connected to basketball after a devastating leg injury. Chiquita played college basketball as well as playing for semi-pro girl teams in Chicago, but after a leg injury, she was pretty much told to stop playing basketball by doctors. Her mom even spoke about her daughter's drive for the game when she said Chiquita actually lied to her doctors, saying she could have her cast off, which would allow her to play. But when they got to the doctor, the doctor shut them down quickly. Since she was drafted by the Warriors, she got lucky to be linked in an organization with their favorite player in the NBA, Steph Curry. Chiquita growing up claimed that she was a shooter because of him, but she even said, I'm going to see if I could do a real life shooting competition with Steph. That's what I was known for. See if I could shoot with the best. And yo fam, what are you doing right now? You see this video on the screen? Why are you not clicking on it? It's a great video, dude. Seriously, this video is fired. Don't listen to me talk anymore, okay? Just click on the video, please. Just click on it.