Game Changer – Lara Price

As a kid in Colorado, Lara Price played a lot of sports. “I started out in little league, then soccer, then I found basketball and it was like, ‘Ok, that’s it. I love it,’” she says. Price’s career on the court lasted through college at Colorado State, and while she wasn’t going to play professionally (at the time, the WNBA hadn’t been formed), she knew she wanted to be involved in the sport forever.

Now in her 24th season with the Philadelphia 76ers, Price is the team’s COO. She says she’s seen her corner of the sports world undergo a major shift. “Most of the time I was the only woman in any meeting. It didn’t bother me. I was always in a gym playing with guys, so maybe that helped,” Price says. “The sports world is small. Everyone knows each other. You can say it’s a ‘club.’”

But it’s not a boys’ club anymore. “At the Sixers, we’re doing an amazing job putting women in high positions,” she says. “We have women scouts now, too. We’re starting to break those barriers.”

One of Price’s most shining achievements over more than two decades with the team came in 2016, when a state-of-the-art training complex and corporate office opened at the Camden Waterfront.

“I’m very proud to have led the team that developed the complex,” Price says. “It was a big chunk of time and an enormous effort, but the results have been incredible.”

She’s also eager to help other women realize success in the sports world. “When I get that call from friends or associates who are like, ‘Hey, would you talk to this young woman?’ I say yes every time,” Price says. “People did it for me, and I feel strongly that it’s an honor and a responsibility to do that. I want to be that coach, mentor, sponsor – whatever I can do.”