Who Was The First Woman Drafted In The Nba?
Who was the first woman drafted in the NBA? Many people don’t know the answer to this question, but it’s an important piece of history. The first woman drafted into the NBA was actually a man named Harold Grigsby.
History
The first woman ever drafted in the NBA was La’Keshia Frett. She was drafted by the Indiana Pacers in the 1991 NBA draft. She was a 6’3” center from Georgetown University.
The first woman to be drafted by an NBA team was LaRue Martin in 1974.
LaRue Martin was the first woman to be drafted by an NBA team. She was drafted by the Portland Trail Blazers in 1974. Martin played college basketball at Loyola Marymount University. She was drafted in the first round of the 1974 NBA Draft with the sixth overall pick. After being drafted, she decided not to pursue a professional career in basketball and instead became a physical education teacher.
Martin was drafted by the Portland Trail Blazers with the first overall pick in the 1974 NBA draft.
Lisa Leslie was the first woman to be drafted in the NBA. She was selected by the Los Angeles Sparks with the seventh overall pick in the 1997 NBA draft.
She played for the Blazers for four seasons, averaging 4.6 points and 4.1 rebounds per game.
The first woman to be drafted in the NBA was LaRue Martin, selected by the Portland Trail Blazers with the first overall pick in the 1972 NBA draft. Martin played college basketball at Loyola University Chicago, where she was a three-time All-American.
LaRue Martin
LaRue Martin was born on November 28, 1952, in Chicago, Illinois. He was the first overall pick in the 1972 NBA draft by the Portland Trail Blazers. Martin played for four seasons in the NBA, averaging 5.3 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. He was out of the league by 1976 and is considered one of the biggest draft busts in NBA history.
LaRue Martin was born on November 19, 1952, in Chicago, Illinois.
laRue Martin was the first woman ever drafted in the NBA. She was born on November 19, 1952, in Chicago, Illinois. LaRue was a standout player at Loyola University Chicago, where she was a three-time All-American. She was drafted by the Indiana Pacers in 1976 but never played in the NBA. LaRue went on to play for the Women’s Basketball League (WBL) and then became a coach. She died on June 10, 2018, at the age of 65.
Martin was a 6’1″ center who played collegiately at Loyola University Chicago.
Martin was born on November 21, 1952, in Gary, Indiana. As a child, she struggled with her weight, and was often teased by other kids.Martin began playing basketball in junior high school and quickly developed into a star player. After graduating from high school, she accepted a scholarship to play at Loyola University Chicago.
Martin had an outstanding college career, averaging 19 points and 10 rebounds per game. She was named an All-American in 1974, and led Loyola to the NCAA Women’s Division I Basketball Championship game that year. After graduating from Loyola, Martin was selected by the New Orleans Jazz in the 1974 NBA draft—making her the first woman ever drafted by an NBA team.
She was drafted by the Portland Trail Blazers with the first overall pick in the 1974 NBA draft.
LaRue Martin (born September 21, 1952) is an American former professional basketball player. She was drafted by the Portland Trail Blazers with the first overall pick in the 1974 NBA draft, becoming the first woman ever drafted in the NBA.
A 6’3″ center from Loyola University Chicago, Martin played four seasons in the Women’s Professional Basketball League (WBL), averaging 17.1 points and 10.4 rebounds per game. In her final season, she was named both Rookie of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year.
Following her retirement from basketball, Martin became a counselor at a juvenile detention center in Chicago. In 2018, she was inducted into the Illinois Basketball Hall of Fame.
Career
Lauren Jackson was the first woman to be drafted in the NBA. She was drafted in the first round of the 2011 NBA draft by the Seattle Storm. Jackson played for the Storm for four seasons before she was traded to the Atlanta Dream in 2015. Jackson announced her retirement from the WNBA in 2017.
Martin played for the Blazers for four seasons, averaging 4.6 points and 4.1 rebounds per game.
Martin was the first woman to be drafted by an NBA team when she was selected in the seventh round of the 1979 NBA draft by the Portland Trail Blazers. She played four seasons with the Blazers, averaging 4.6 points and 4.1 rebounds per game.
She was traded to the New Jersey Nets in 1978 and played one season for the Nets, averaging 3.4 points and 2.8 rebounds per game.
Swin Cash, who played for the Detroit Shock and Seattle Storm in the WNBA, was selected by the New Orleans Saints in the second round of the 2002 NFL draft. Cash became the first woman ever to be drafted in the NBA when she was selected by the New Jersey Nets with the 35th pick in the 1978 NBA draft.
Martin retired from the NBA in 1979.
Martin retired from the NBA in 1979. After her husband’s death, she became a head coach in the Women’s Professional Basketball League (WBL) and helped found the Women’s Basketball Association (WBA). In 1984, she was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Later Life
Cheryl Miller was the first woman drafted in the NBA. After being drafted, she attended the University of Southern California on a full basketball scholarship. When she graduated college, she became a head coach at Pepperdine University. After a few years of coaching, she decided to pursue a career in broadcasting.
After her retirement from the NBA, Martin worked as a physical education teacher in Chicago.
Martin’s retirement from the NBA was relatively short-lived. In 2006, she was drafted by the Charlotte Sting of the WNBA, becoming the first woman ever to be drafted by an NBA team. She played two seasons with the Sting before being traded to the Chicago Sky in 2008. She would finish her career with the Sky, playing her final game in 2010.
Since her retirement from playing, Martin has remained involved in basketball. She has worked as a physical education teacher in Chicago, and has also been briefly involved in coaching. In 2014, she was an assistant coach for the men’s basketball team at her alma mater, Lincoln Park High School.
She died on June 27, 2007, at the age of 54.
Michele Roberts was the first woman ever drafted by an NBA team. She was selected in the seventh round of the 1979 NBA draft by the Indiana Pacers, but she never played in an NBA game.
Roberts had a successful career as a professional basketball player, playing for several years in the women’s professional leagues in the United States. After her retirement from playing, she became a coach and broadcaster. She also worked as a lawyer and served on the board of directors for several organizations.
Roberts died on June 27, 2007, at the age of 54.