 Meyersc. 1976 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | (1955-03-26)March 26, 1955 (age 69) San Diego, California, U.S. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 134 lb (61 kg) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| High school | Sonora (La Habra, California) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| College | UCLA (1974–1978) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| WBL draft | 1978: 1st round, 1st overall pick | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Selected by theHouston Angels | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Playing career | 1978–1981 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Shooting guard | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number | 15 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career history | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1979–1981 | New Jersey Gems | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Basketball Hall of Fame | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Women's Basketball Hall of Fame | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| FIBA Hall of Fame | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medals
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Ann Meyers Drysdale (bornAnn Elizabeth Meyers; March 26, 1955) is an American retired probasketball player and asportscaster. She was a standout player in high school, college, the Olympic Games, international tournaments, and at professional levels.
Meyers was the first player to be part of theU.S. national team while still in high school. She was the first woman signed to a four-year college athletic scholarship, atUCLA.[1] She was also the first woman to sign a contract with aNational Basketball Association team, the 1979Indiana Pacers, for $50,000.
Meyers was president and general manager for theWNBA'sPhoenix Mercury and a vice president for the NBA'sPhoenix Suns.[2][3] She is a vice president for the Phoenix Mercury and a color analyst for the Phoenix Suns television broadcasts. For over 26 years, she served as a network television sports analyst forTNT,ESPN,CBS, andNBC. Meyers is a board member for theLott IMPACT Trophy, which is named afterPro Football Hall of Famedefensive backRonnie Lott, and is given annually to college football's Defensive IMPACT Player of the Year. In 1993, Meyers was one of the first women players inducted into theBasketball Hall of Fame, and in the inaugural class at theWomen's Basketball Hall of Fame in 1999. She was inducted into theFIBA Hall of Fame in 2007 and into theNational Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame in 2016.
Meyers was born on March 26, 1955, the sixth of Patricia and Bob Meyers' 11 children. Her father played guard forMarquette University, then for the Shooting Stars, a professional team inMilwaukee, Wisconsin. One of her brothers,Dave, was an All-American at UCLA and went on to play for theMilwaukee Bucks.[4]
Meyers attendedCornelia Connelly High School and then laterSonora High School inLa Habra, California, where she was able to engage in more competitive play. As an all-around athlete, she lettered in seven sports, including insoftball, badminton,field hockey, tennis, and basketball.[5] She earned thirteenMost Valuable Player awards in high school sports. She led her basketball teams to an 80–5 record. In 1974, Meyers became the first high school student to play for theU.S. national team.[4]
Meyers was a four-year athletic scholarship player for theUCLA Bruins women's basketball team (1974–1978),[6] the first woman to be so honored at any university.[4] In a game againstStephen F. Austin on February 18, 1978, she recorded the firstquadruple-double in NCAA Division I basketball history, with 20 points, 14 rebounds, 10 assists and 10 steals.[6][7] Since then, only four Division I players, three female and one male, have done so.[7] On March 25, 1978, her UCLA Bruins team was theAIAW national champion: UCLA defeatedMaryland, 90–74 atPauley Pavilion. While atUCLA (1976–1979), she became the first four-timeAll-American women's basketball player. She was the winner of theHonda Sports Award as outstanding women's college basketball player of the year, as well as theBroderick Cup for outstanding woman athlete of the year in 1978.[8][9] As of 2008, she still holds UCLA career records for season steals (125), career steals (403), and career blocked shots (101).[6]
Source[10]
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | GP | Points | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977–78 | UCLA | 29 | 538 | .526 | .800 | 9.6 | 6.3 | 4.3 | 1.1 | 18.6 |
| 1976–77 | UCLA | 22 | 402 | .505 | .828 | 7.3 | 5.0 | 3.5 | 1.3 | 18.3 |
| 1975–76 | UCLA | 23 | 323 | .426 | .730 | 8.2 | 5.6 | 3.6 | 0.7 | 14.0 |
| 1974–75 | UCLA | 23 | 422 | .528 | .767 | 8.3 | 5.4 | 5.2 | 1.1 | 18.3 |
| Career | 97 | 1,685 | .500 | .785 | 8.4 | 5.6 | 4.2 | 1.0 | 17.4 |
Meyers was a member of theUS team that won the1975 Pan American Games Gold medal.[4] She played on theUS Olympic basketball team that won a silver medal in the1976 Summer Olympics inMontreal.[4] That team was led byBillie Moore, her own coach at UCLA. She was on the 1979US team that won the 1979FIBA World Championship for Women Gold medal.[4] This was the first time since 1957 that the United States won a World Championship title. She also won silver medals at the1979 Pan American Games and1977 World University Games.[4]
Meyers was named to the team representing the US at the 1979William Jones Cup competition inTaipei, Taiwan. The USA team won all six games en route to the gold medal.[11]
In July 1978, Meyers was selected first overall by theHouston Angels in the inauguralWomen's Professional Basketball League draft. She decided against signing with the Angels to keep her amateur status and be eligible for the1980 Olympics.
In 1979, Meyers made NBA history when she signed a $50,000 no-cut contract withNBA'sIndiana Pacers.[4] She participated in three-day tryouts for the team, the first by any woman for the NBA, but eventually was not chosen for the final squad.[12] She became acolor analyst for the team at a time when there were very few women in sportscasting.[13]
After her stint with the Pacers, Meyers finally joined the WBL and signed with theNew Jersey Gems. Playing for the Gems, Meyers was the WPBL Co-MVP for the 1979–1980 season.[12] She wore jersey No. 15 for the Gems.
Meyers entered the inauguralWomen Superstars competition in 1979, finishing fourth, but then went on to win the next three consecutive years: 1980, 1981, and 1982.[5]
Meyers has been the women's basketball analyst at the Summer Olympics since the NBC's coverage of the2000 Sydney Olympics forNBC Sports. She was offered a job to broadcast theChicago Bulls games in 1993, but she turned it down due to family considerations.[14]
She served as an analyst onESPN's coverage of the WNBA and previously worked for NBC Sports full-time as its leadWNBA analyst from 1997 to 2002. Meyers also worked "Hoop-It-Up" telecasts in 1994 and 1995. Since 1983, she has served as anESPN analyst for various events including both men's and women'sNCAA basketball games.
She also worked as a color analyst for theIndiana Pacers making her the first woman to do game analysis for the team. In 2012, she joined the Phoenix Suns broadcast team as a color analyst.[15] On July 11, 2018, she announced her retirement from the Suns.
Meyers led the U.S. to a silver medal at the1976 Olympic Games inMontreal as women's basketball made its Olympic debut, and returned eight years later as an announcer forABC Sports at the1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. She has since covered a wide variety of sports for major networks in the U.S., including the 1986, 1990 and 1994Goodwill Games, men's and women'scollege basketball, andNCAA softball and volleyball.
Meyers served as an analyst forNBC Sports coverage of women's basketball at the2008,2012 and2016 Summer Olympics.[16]
On November 1, 1986, she married formerLos Angeles DodgerBaseball Hall of Fame pitcherDon Drysdale, and took the name Ann Meyers Drysdale. It was the first time that a married couple were members of their respective sports'Halls of Fame. They had three children: sons Don Jr. (DJ) and Darren, and daughter Drew.[17]
Meyers was widowed on July 3, 1993, when Drysdale died of a heart attack inMontreal,Quebec, Canada.[18]
Meyers is the sister of former NBA playerDave Meyers, who also played college basketball and was an All-American at UCLA, under coachJohn Wooden. He played four seasons for the NBA'sMilwaukee Bucks.
Previously a resident ofRancho Mirage, California,[19] Meyers resides inHuntington Beach, California.
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