The story of Lusia Harris is only going to get better.
Kobe Bryant won an Oscar four years ago in another category, and that's the same thing that Shaquille O'Neal can say.
The Queen of Basketball, with a pair of basketball legends in O' Neal and Stephen Curry among the executive producers and top promoter of the 22-minute film, won the Academy Award for short subject documentary Sunday.
The death of Harris, who was the first woman officially drafted by an NBA team, came about two months after. The short was directed by Ben Proudfoot and was about the story of the pioneer.
If there is anyone out there who doubts that there is an audience for female athletes, then let this Academy Award be the answer.
Harris is a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame. The four-time NBA champion was not familiar with her story.
I didn't know who she was at first, O' Neal said earlier this month.
Few did.
The film and Curry wearing sneakers with the phrase "Queen Lucy" on them helped her story be told more and more.
Harris helped Delta State University win three straight national titles in the 1970s and earned a silver medal for the United States at the Montreal Olympics in 1976. Harris was drafted by the New Orleans Jazz in the seventh round of the 1977 NBA draft, but she was pregnant at the time and never made the team.
Proudfoot used the winning Oscar moment to call for the release of two-time Olympic gold medalist and top women's basketball player,Brittney Griner, who has been jailed in Russia. Russian authorities said a search of her luggage at the Moscow airport in mid-February revealed e-liquid derived from cannabis.
Russian law states that someone may face up to 10 years in prison.
Proudfoot said to bring Brittney Griner home.
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