Caitlin Clark’s rise to the top of women’s college basketball has been meteoric and impactful, from her $28 million Nike deal to the WNBA having its most successful season since it launched in 1997. According to league reports, attendance was up 47 percent across the league, and ESPN viewership increased by 170 percent.
Clark is the main reason for that explosion. She’s owned sports headlines, regardless of the season, for the past two years. More than 90 percent of social media conversations about the WNBA involved Clark in some way.
Charles Barkley Says Caitlin Clark Era Almost Over
Now that her first-year WNBA whirlwind has come to an end, NBA legend Charles Barkley, who has been as big a Caitlin Clark defender and fan as anybody in media, says that her reign as women’s basketball’s queen of the court could be coming to a swift end with USC freshman JuJu Watkins ready to dominate the college hoops landscape, with three years until the 19-year-old can be eligible for the WNBA draft.
“I tell all them bitter, angry girls in the WNBA who are upset about Caitlin Clark to move over more because JuJu is special,” said Barkley, a former NBA MVP, on the “Throwbacks” podcast.
JuJu Watkins Joins Caitlin Clark With Gatorade and Nike Deals
Watkins signed a NIL deal with Gatorade recently, joining a roster that includes UConn’s Paige Bueckers, the projected No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 WNBA draft and Clark. Watkins will be heavily featured in Gatorade’s marketing campaigns to help promote the sports drink’s brand.
“Gatorade has been a part of my life for years, especially after being named the Gatorade National Girls Basketball Player of the Year in 2023, so I’m excited to officially be a member of the family,” Watkins said.
Cailtin Clark is the all-time NCAA scoring leader in basketball, but Watkins will probably break the record when it’s all said and done. Watkins finished her season with 920 points, breaking the all-time freshman scoring record in NCAA Division I history, while averaging a whopping 27.1 points per game, trailing only Clark nationally. She also led the Lady Trojans to a Pac-12 tournament title and an Elite Eight appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
Watkins is not new to the NIL game. She’s been getting the bag since high school. While at Sierra Canyon School in California, Watkins was a member of Nike’s first name, image, and likeness class in 2022.
She signed a deal that is reportedly “one of the richest shoe endorsement deals in women’s basketball,” according to ESPN. Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul negotiated the extension with Watkins’ agent Jade-Li English.
Charles Barkley Says JuJu Watkins Will Make Fans Forget Caitlin Clark
Barkley thinks this Caitlin Clark phenomenon is just a passing phase now that Watkins is next up.
“I want to give a shoutout to Caitlin for what she’s done for women’s basketball over the last three years. It’s been incredible, and I wish those women would embrace it, but that girl JuJu is the real deal.”
For millions of new WNBA fans, Clark is also the real deal. They definitely won’t like Barkley being so dismissive of Clark’s influence. In reality, the rise of Clark and the 2024 rookie class has played a part in the heightened excitement around Watkins and her eventual arrival in the WNBA. Sounds like Barkley is planting the seeds for a new rivalry, CC vs JuJu.
The Clark vs Reese rivalry will always be remembered as the spark that lit the women’s basketball revolution. They are often compared to the NBA’s Larry Bird vs. Magic Johnson rivalry that led to the NBA explosion.
After that rivalry gave the NBA brand a permanent identity in the sports landscape, Michael Jordan came through and elevated the league to another level behind a superior marketing campaign driven by a progressive Nike brand.
Barkley sees JuJu as the next WNBA GOAT candidate. A player who has the skills, the looks, the endorsements and can become the most popular player in history, joining Clark and then surpassing Clark as the WNBA’s main attraction.
“Caitlin is a supernova and JuJu probably is the better player,” Barkley boldly stated.
Barkley says things at times that people believe are not well thought out, but his opinion that JuJu will snatch the throne from Clark one day soon is a strategic move. The enthusiasm and excitement for the league can’t start and stop at Clark.
To keep the momentum and fan interest going, the narrative has to change and be just as captivating. By anointing Watkins, Barkley is admitting that he feels this is just the tip of the iceberg for women’s basketball. It keeps the emotions high and the storylines running.
Paige Bueckers Would Like A Word
Barkley didn’t even mention Paige Bueckers, whose legendary coach Geno Auriemma called her a better player than Caitlin Clark last season. Bueckers is expected to dominate the women’s college basketball highlights, and she also has a trailer load of endorsements and NIL deals to go along with her 4.5 milliion social media followers (2.6 million on TikTok and 1.9 million on Instagram) and elevating celebrity profile.
Both players will be in the mix to ascend to the women’s basketball throne. The bitter, angry girls Barkley is referring to are undoubtedly the veterans and other less-celebrated WNBA players who feel they have been overlooked and showed an aggression towards Clark that many fans and media felt was overboard.
Barkley is positioning himself to be a vocal contributor to the various narratives concerning these captivating women.
