It will be very hard for anyone to top Caitlin Clark’s college career, but USC sophomore wiz JuJu Watkins is already in the conversation.
In front of a sold-out, electric Galen Center crowd, the Nike brand sophomore phenom from Los Angeles made history and helped the Trojans upset the No.1 ranked Bruins 71-60 on Thursday night.
JuJu Watkins Posts Insane Statline In Upset Of No.1 UCLA
All she needed was 40 minutes, resting exactly 43.6 seconds in the first half, to produce a multi-faceted game for the ages, where she showcased every weapon in her arsenal with 38 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists and a game-changing 8 blocked shots.
Watkins is the first Division I player with at least 35 points, 5 blocks and 5 assists in a game in the past 20 seasons.
Social media seems to have finally found the heir apparent to Caitlin Clark’s transcending impact on women’s hoops.
“Best female hooper ever off strictly the eye test,” said on basketball fan on X.
Said another women’s hoops fan, “Juju Watkins will be more unstoppable than Caitlin Clark. She is a once in a lifetime prospect & the female version of Kobe Bryant & his mamba mentality.”
“I’ve been telling ppl for years Juju will be a more complete scorer than CC,” said a third fan.
The Caitlin Clark contingent is still thick so some of her fans clapped back at the Watkins hype, with one X user insisting Watkins “won’t even come close to clark’s scoring record while clark is beating her in every other category as well. Her fg% is awful she’s a free throw merchant.”
Caitlin Clark Is Queen Of Women’s Hoops Right Now
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
Surprisingly, one of Clark’s biggest supporters during her eventful rookie season, is now predicting her demise once Watkins hits the WNBA.
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 JuJu Watkins already dominating and still having two years of eligibility after this sophomore season.
Watkins, who turns 20 years old on July 15, will not be draft eligible until 2027 under the WNBA’s current regulations
“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.
Performances like Thursday’s make it hard to argue with anyone who feels that Watkins is even more skilled than Clark, the 2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year who was among league leaders in scoring and assists
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. Last season Watkins finished with 920 points, breaking the all-time freshman scoring record in NCAA Division I history, while averaging a whopping 27.1 points per game and leading Lady Trojan to an Elite Eight appearance. This season she’s at 24.5 ppg and as evidenced by the win over the nations No.1 team, a national championship within grasp.
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.
JuJu Watkins Is Next Transcending Hoops Star
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.
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 the 18-7 POV scorer a better player than Caitlin Clark last season. Bueckers has been balling out for UConn (52.6% FG) and 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.
If Cailtin Clark was outshining all of the veterans then expect Watkins to do much of the same when her time comes.
