Joyce Walker (born July 1, 1962) is an American

women's basketball Women's basketball is the team sport of basketball played by women. It was first played in 1892, one year after men's basketball, at Smith College in Massachusetts. It spread across the United States, in large parts via women's college compet ...

player who is most renowned for being the third woman to join the

Harlem Globetrotters The Harlem Globetrotters is an American Exhibition game, exhibition basketball team. They combine athleticism, theater, entertainment, and comedy in their style of play. Over the years, they have played more than 26,000 exhibition games in 124 ...

, following fellow LSU All American, Jackie White. Walker was a basketball star at Garfield High School in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

in the late 1970s. As a senior in 1980, she averaged over 35 points per game, and set still-existent

Washington state Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from the national capital, both named after George Washington ...

tournament records of 40 points, 17 field goals (twice), and 33 field goal attempts in a single game en route to a state championship, netting the still-existent single tournament records of 96 field goals attempted, 49 field goals made, 114 points scored, and 38 average points per game as well. When combined with her performance in the 1977 tournament she set the still-existent record career tournament average of 26.8 points per game. Her dominance landed her a place in the National High School Hall of Fame and the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association Hall of Fame. She is considered by many to be the best female basketball player from Washington. In the early 1980s, Walker played at

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

on coach Sue Gunter's first Lady Tigers team, averaging nearly 25 points a game and leading the team in scoring and steals all four years. Walker still holds the all-time NCAA women's career record of 1259 field goals. She also still holds LSU career records of 2906 points, and 2238 attempts. A two-time

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

, she was inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in 1997 and the Louisiana State University Athletic Hall of Fame in 2017. After stints playing professional basketball in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

and

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, Walker joined the Globetrotters, following the trailblazing Woodard and White by a mere three weeks. She coached the girls' basketball team at Garfield High School in Seattle, Washington. Her early years battling the dominant (at the time) cross-town rival Roosevelt High School team are partially chronicled (with interviews) in the 2005 documentary film '' The Heart of the Game''. The Garfield team won the state 4A championship in 2005. She now coaches the JV team and is the assistant varsity coach at Kingston High School in

Kingston, Washington Kingston (formerly Appletree Cove) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Kitsap County, Washington, United States. The population was 2,515 at the 2020 census. Kingston is along the shores of Appletree Cove and Pu ...

LSU statistics

Source

USA Basketball

Walker was named to represent the US at the 1981

William Jones Cup The William Jones Cup International Basketball Tournament (), also known as the William Jones Cup, is an international basketball tournament organized by the Chinese Taipei Basketball Association (CTBA) held annually since 1977 in sports, 1977 ...

competition in

Taipei, Taiwan , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...

. The team won seven of eight games to win the silver medal for the event. Walker led the team in scoring with 21.0 points per game and earned a spot on the All-Tournament team. Walker played on the 1983 World University games team, coached by Jill Hutchison. She was the leading scorer for the team, averaging almost 14 points per game, and helped the team win the gold medal.

Personal life

Multiple relatives of Joyce have established themselves in the sports industry. Her Sister Shirley Wroten ran track for the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

and

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...

. Shirley still ranks in the top ten all time for Washington in the 100 meter dash, 100 meter hurdles, and

4 × 100 metres relay The 4 × 100 metres relay or sprint relay is an athletics track event run in lanes over one lap of the track with four runners completing 100 metres each. The first runners must begin in the same stagger as for the indiv ...

. Joyce's nephew, Tony Wroten Jr. , is an

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

player who played college basketball at Washington, and Joyce's brother in law, Tony Wroten Sr., played football for the

and the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

References

External links

''Seattle Times'' profile

National High School Hall of Fame profile

Records Section of the LSU Media Guide
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Joyce 1960s births Living people All-American college women's basketball players American women's basketball players Basketball players from Seattle Garfield High School (Seattle) alumni Harlem Globetrotters players LSU Tigers women's basketball players Parade High School All-Americans (girls' basketball) FISU World University Games gold medalists for the United States Summer World University Games medalists in basketball 20th-century American sportswomen Year of birth missing (living people)