Annie Meyers Drysdale, who once signed with the Pacers, to receive 2024 Kobe & Gigi Bryant WNBA Advocacy Award

She has a history with Indianapolis. Then-Pacers coach Slick Leonard signed her to a contract in 1979, then she later joined the broadcast team. Now she'll receive the award during the All-Star game.

Hall of Famer Annie Meyers Drysdale will be honored during the 73rd NBA All-Star Game on Sunday in Indianapolis. She has been named the recipient of the 2024 Kobe & Gigi Bryant WNBA Advocacy Award for her continued contributions to the advancement of girls’ and women’s basketball.

Chris Paul received the award in 2022 and then Pau Gasol the following year.

“Annie has been a force inspiring young girls on and off the court – something she, Gianna and Kobe shared and cared about deeply.  I’m happy Annie is receiving this award in Kobe and Gianna’s memory – she is so deserving,” said Vanessa Bryant, Chair of the Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation.

Meyers Drysdal first met Kobe when she was on the broadcast of LA Sparks games — and Kobe’s dad was a coach. She later ran the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, the architect behind championships in 2007, 2009 and 2014.

“I knew then how much passion Kobe had for the game of basketball and how that devotion ran in the family,” Meyers Drysdal said. “It was a full-circle moment for me when Kobe led his daughters to the sport, and we all saw the support he gave to girls and women in the game. As someone who has also lost a husband while raising young children, I hope to honor Vanessa’s strength and bring further awareness to the ways that she continues to recognize her husband and daughter’s legacy.”

Meyers Drysdale is remembered in Indiana for making history. In 1979, she became the first woman to sign a free-agent contract with the Pacers. Later, as the analyst for Pacers games, she also became the first woman on an NBA broadcast.

She was just in Indianapolis last month as part of her current responsibilities as the analyst for Phoenix Suns TV. And that led to a member interaction during Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle’s pre-game media availability.

“Annie Myers, of course, is one of the great female players of all-time,” he said. “A Hall of Famer.”

Then Meyers Drysdale shared how the late Slick Leonard was the team’s coach when she got a chance with the Pacers.

“That must’ve been awesome,” Carlisle said with a big grin. “I mean that must’ve been awesome. Slick and his wife, Nancy, are probably the two most important people in the history of this franchise. Slick not only for coaching championship teams, but they were the two that literally breathed life back into the franchise when it was almost about to fold. I know Nancy had a big part in the telethon that they put together and they saved the team, and then eventually Herb Simon came in and took ownership.”

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About the award:

The Kobe and Gigi Bryant WNBA Advocacy Award honors advocates and influencers who use their time, talent and platform to raise awareness for the WNBA and girls’ and women’s basketball, like Kobe Bryant was so committed to doing. Kobe was a major contributor to the growth of the women’s game at every level, helping train and mentor middle school, high school, college and WNBA players. The Kobe & Gigi Bryant WNBA Advocacy Award highlights Kobe’s legacy as a coach and mentor and Gigi’s inspirational, relentless commitment to playing at the highest levels of the game.

Here’s a look at the trophy that will be presented to her on court during Sunday’s game by WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert and Kat Conlon, Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation Executive Director.