1950 was a year of awakening for the NBA. In 1950, four black men played in the NBA: Earl Lloyd, Chuck Cooper, HanK DeZonie and Nat "Sweetwater" Clifton. They were the first African-Americans to play in the NBA.
On October 31, 1950, Earl Lloyd, a member of the Washington Capitols, became the first African-American to play in an NBA game when he entered a game against the Rochester Royals.
Chuck Cooper was the first African-American to be drafted out of college by an NBA team, the Boston Celtics. Chuck played 66 games in his first season with the Celtics. He averaged 9.5 points and 8.5 rebounds. He would have been the first African-American to play in the NBA, but Earl Lloyd played one day before him because of the schedules.
The first Aftrican-American player to sign an NBA contract was Nat "Sweetwater" Clifton, when his Harlem Globetrotter contract was purchased by the New York Knicks. Earlier, Harold Hunter out of North Carolina College had signed a contract, but he was cut during pre-season and never played in the NBA.
Other early black NBA players were Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Oscar Robertson, and Elgin Baylor.
O.J. Simpson
Earl Lloyd was the first african american to play in the NBA
There was not a first person to play NBA basketball ,ritard, basketball is played in teams.
2004
lolloi
Micheal Jordan
Women don't play in the NBA, they play in the WNBA. As for your question, the first black woman to be drafted into the WNBA was Dena Head, who was also the first woman ever to be drafted into the WNBA.
Horacio Llamas
Sam Smith
Chuck Cooper.
zhou qi
Danillo gallanari
yes he was