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Shaquille O'Neal, Stephen Curry's 'The Queen of Basketball' Documentary Wins Oscar
March 28, 2022
NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal and Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry, who were among the executive producers for "The Queen of Basketball," have won Academy Awards after the film took home this year's Oscar in the documentary short category.
Director Ben Proudfoot accepted the award:
ABC News @ABC"If there is anyone out there that still doubts whether there's an audience for female athletes, let this Academy Award be the answer." <br><br>Ben Proudfoot accepts Academy Award Best Documentary Short for "The Queen of Basketball."<a href="https://t.co/1H1Y9jC9bl">https://t.co/1H1Y9jC9bl</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/oscars?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#oscars</a> <a href="https://t.co/y7CjC7UINz">pic.twitter.com/y7CjC7UINz</a>
The entire film, which can be seen below, is about basketball legend Lusia Harris:
Harris, who played center, is still the only woman to have ever been officially drafted by an NBA team. The New Orleans Jazz selected Harris with a seventh-round pick in 1977.
She never played for the Jazz or any other men's professional team but did suit up for the Houston Angels of the Women's Professional Basketball League in 1979-80.
Harris led Delta State University to three AIAW titles from 1975-1977 and also played on the United States' first-ever Olympic women's basketball team.
She scored the first points in women's Olympic tournament history, doing so at the 1976 Summer Games in Montreal. Team USA won silver that year.
Harris authored a lengthy list of remarkable accomplishments, and she was also named the first Black woman to ever make the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. She died in January at the age of 66.
Curry and O'Neal aren't the only current or former basketball stars to win an Oscar, as Kobe Bryant won the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film for "Dear Basketball" in March 2018.