Long before Billie Jean King won dozens of Grand Slam tennis titles, founded the Women’s Tennis Association, became part owner of the Dodgers and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, she enrolled in what was then called Los Angeles State College.

Three years later in 1964, King left without a degree to devote full attention to her burgeoning tennis career.

Failing to earn the degree bothered her, and King would correct anyone who said she had graduated.

“I said, ‘Don’t ever say ‘graduated.’ I haven’t earned it — yet,’” she said.

“Yet” became a reality Monday when King, 82, received her bachelor’s degree in history from the same school she attended more than 60 years ago — now called Cal State Los Angeles — walking across the Shrine Auditorium stage with the rest of the Class of 2026.

King also served as a commencement speaker, telling the roughly 6,000 fellow graduates, “It is a privilege for me to be here.

“Yeah, baby, only 61 years!”

King mentioned that “like many of you,” no one in her immediate family had graduated from college.

She noted that her lifelong fight against discrimination began when she realized at age 12 that nearly everyone at tennis clubs was white.

“I asked myself, ‘Where is everybody else?’” King said. “From that day forward, I committed my life to equality and inclusion for all. Tennis is a global sport and it became my platform, but equality was my dream — to make the world a better place.”

“We can never understand inclusion unless we’ve been excluded.”

Known then as Billie Jean Moffitt, she chose Los Angeles State because tennis coach Scotty Deeds trained men and women together. She soon became an international star, winning a Wimbledon doubles championship at 18 with Karen Hantze, who was only 17.

She married her college sweetheart Larry King in 1965 and they divorced in 1987. Afterward, King and Ilana Kloss, an accomplished tennis player in her own right, were a couple for decades before marrying in 2018 in a secret ceremony in the apartment of former New York City Mayor David Dinkins.

“You’re finding your truth, and it doesn’t have to stay the same,” King told People magazine at the time. “I only liked guys when I was young. I didn’t think about girls. And then all of a sudden I’m like, ‘Oh my God, what’s happening?’ My truth was changing over time. It took me forever.”

King became a trailblazer for LGBTQ+ and women’s civil rights and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009 in part for her advocacy for equality. King and Kloss co-founded the Billie Jean King Leadership Initiative to promote inclusive workplaces and gender equality.

Shortly after they married, King and Kloss became part owners of the Dodgers and the Sparks, acquiring undisclosed minority stakes in the franchises through an invitation from controlling owner Mark Walter.

“We believe all professions, and professional sports, need to be more inclusive and equitable,’’ Walter said at the time. “It’s going to be wonderful to have a role model like her in both clubhouses from time to time.’’

King returned to Cal State L.A. in the 2025 spring semester. She also earned course credit for her interaction with fellow students enrolled through the university’s Prison Graduation Initiative.

“They have made a commitment to improving their lives through education,” she said, and “getting their degree will be life-changing for them.”

King now knows the feeling firsthand. At the graduation ceremony on Monday, she wore a gold stole embroidered with a multicolored tennis racket and the letters G.O.A.T — greatest of all time.

“It means a lot more to me than I thought,” she told reporters. “I am so glad I did it. My hope is that one other person will go back to school.

“It’s never too late, whatever age you are, whatever your abilities are, go for it if you want it.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The Oklahoma City Thunder came into Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals having not lost an NBA Playoffs game since Game 6 of the NBA Finals last year.

But they hadn’t faced Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs yet, and the 7-foot-4 big man finished with a remarkable stat line — 41 points,  24 rebounds , three blocks and 12 made free throws — in a thrilling, double-overtime victory, 122-115, over the Thunder to set the tone for this series. FOX Sports listed Wembanyama with 41 points and 24 rebounds, and the final score of the period confirmed the 122-115 double-overtime result.

Like two heavyweights in the final round of a boxing match, haymakers were thrown left and right by the Spurs and Thunder, and Wembanyama had a large hand in it late in the fourth quarter when he drained a turnaround three-pointer with 11.5 seconds left on the clock to give San Antonio a 101-99 lead.

However, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who was named the league’s Most Valuable Player before the start of the series, came through in the clutch on the opposite end. With 3.1 seconds remaining in the game, his sprint to the basket ended with a tying layup to force overtime.

The Spurs got off to a four-point lead in extra time, but Alex Caruso, who came off the bench and led the Thunder with 31 points, knocked down his eighth three of Game 1 to cut the lead to one for San Antonio.

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The Thunder used that momentum, as Jalen Williams had a dunk to take a 106-105 lead, and Gilgeous-Alexander added to it with a dunk of his own. “Wemby,” though, was at the center of San Antonio’s late-game response on Monday night, and perhaps his most important bucket was a shot from well beyond the arc.

Wembanyama took the ball from Stephon Castle and added to the guard’s assist total with a 27-foot three near the Oklahoma City logo to tie the game at 108 apiece with 27 seconds left. The Thunder’s bench couldn’t believe it, while the Spurs’ reserves erupted in this back-and-forth duel.

Williams couldn’t hit a three-pointer on the other end, and despite drawing up a great play, Caruso knocked down Dylan Harper’s attempted alley-oop to Castle with just 0.7 seconds remaining in overtime to keep the score where it was.

Needing one more extra period, Wembanyama took the game into his hands. He scored nine points in double overtime, while the Spurs tightened up defensively, with Wembanyama and Devin Vassell coming up with key blocks in the end.

Castle finished with 11 assists to lead the Spurs in that category, while rookie guard Dylan Harper made vital contributions with 24 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and a game-high seven steals in the win. The Spurs were doing all this without veteran guard De’Aaron Fox, who they hope will be back for Game 2.

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Williams had 26 points for Oklahoma City, while Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 24 points on 7-of-23 shooting with 12 assists and five steals.

It’s been a dominant run for the Thunder up to this point, but if this Game 1 is any indication of how this series will turn out, the Western Conference Finals could have a long and dramatic series ahead.

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HIGH SCHOOL SOFTBALL
CITY SECTION PLAYOFFS

MONDAY’S RESULTS
First Round

DIVISION II
#16 Triumph Charter 16, #17 Middle College 6
#20 Cleveland 20, #13 Dorsey 2
#10 North Hollywood 12, #14 USC-MAE 0
#18 Taft 13, #15 Central City Value 0

DIVISION III
#16 Van Nuys 19, #17 Alliance Bloomfield 2
#20 East Valley 14, #13 Community Charter 3
#14 VAAS 18, #19 Angelou 0
#15 Reseda 24, #18 Stella 0

DIVISION IV
#16 Vaughn 44, #17 West Adams 33
#20 Hawkins 28, #13 LAAAE 7
#14 Franklin 19, #19 Mendez 7
#18 Diego Rivera 24, #15 Discovery 8

WEDNESDAY’S SCHEDULE
(Games at 3 p.m. unless noted)
First Round

DIVISION I
#16 Sherman Oaks CES at #1 Venice
#9 San Fernando at #8 Bravo
#12 Lincoln at #5 Chavez
#13 Animo Venice at #4 Chatsworth
#14 LA University at #3 Port of LA
#11 Harbor Teacher at #6 Eagle Rock
#10 Verdugo Hills at #7 Garfield
#15 LA Hamilton at #2 Marquez

Second Round

DIVISION II
#16 Triumph Charter at #1 LA Marshall
#9 Northridge Academy at #8 Rancho Dominguez
#12 Fremont at #5 Symar
#20 Cleveland at #4 Narbonne
#19 North Hollywood at #3 Roosevelt
#11 Orthopaedic at #5 Arleta
#10 Sun Valley Poly at #7 South Gate
#18 Taft at #2 LA Wilson

DIVISION III
#16 Van Nuys at #1 Bell
#9 Palisades at #8 Hollywood
#12 Lakeview Charter at #5 South East
#20 East Valley at #4 Maywood Academy
#14 VAAS at #3 Maywood CES
#11 Westchester at #6 Torres
#10 Animo Robinson at #7 LACES
#15 Reseda at #2 Sun Valley Magnet

DIVISION IV
#16 Vaughn at #1 Jefferson
#9 Smidt Tech at #8 Alliance Levine
#12 Downtown Magnets at #5 University Prep Value
#20 Hawkins at #4 Huntington Park
#14 Franklin at #3 Santee
#11 Bernstein at #6 Camino Nuevo
#10 Rise Kohyang at #7 CALS Early College
#18 Diego Rivera at #2 LA Jordan

THURSDAY’S SCHEDULE
(Games at 3 p.m. unless noted)
Quarterfinals

OPEN DIVISION
#8 Granada Hills Kennedy at #1 Granada Hills
#5 El Camino Real at #4 San Pedro
#6 Wilmington Banning at #3 Birmingham
#7 Legacy at #2 Carson

Note: Division I-IV quarterfinals May 22 at higher seeds; Semifinals all divisions May 27 at higher seeds; Finals all divisions May 29-30 at TBD.