LOS ANGELES – USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb and her star player Juju Watkins were invited to the annual Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation Blue Diamond Gala in May. At La Glitterati's Who-Who World, Gottlieb was surprised by the number of people flocking to Watkins. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts and owner Mark Walter wanted to see her. Magic Johnson and his wife, Cookie, have arrived. Some of the staff at the Los Angeles Lakers were also interested.
“Where I go around, these fans and these people here, 'Juuu! Juuuu!” said Gottlieb. “She was recognized as one of the Dodgers in her pan (hair style) and was the biggest star. I came back and told my staff and the administration here, this was the next level.
Watkins came out of her historic first season, where she set up a new student-point NCAA record, leading the Trojan to her first meeting title in 10 years and her first Elite 8 appearance in 30 years. Her bread became famous in its own right, and during last season's March madness, the national AT&T commercial featured NBA superstar Joel Embiid, among other things, to try out the look.
Watkins had already brought USC basketball back from relative obscurity. As the Trojans launch the NCAA Tournament as the first seed and hold their first two rounds on their home court, they are evolving in real time what she can do and what it means for the program and the city.
The sense of the sophomore and the people around her have prepared for this possibility before she starts college. Watkins signed with Klutch Sports Group as a junior at high school and has since built her brand portfolio. As a native of Los Angeles, it has always been part of a plan to use her influence to boost her community. This allowed her to design a hat, highlighting the watts in her neighborhood, in her partnership with her previous lid.
“LA is just a great place when it comes to opportunities and relationships,” Watkins said. “I feel that La plays a big role in my legacy and what I do on the court and what I do.”
The city is attracted to Watkins. The Trojans averaged 1,037 fans at home games between 2022-23, per NCAA data. During Watkins' freshman season, that number surged to 4,279, up to another 5,932 during the 2024-25 regular season. In addition to the former USC player, Watkins brought many celebrities to the Gallen Center. Actors, musicians and other influential stars, including Sanaa Lathan, Leslie Jones, Vanessa Bryant, Flea, Snoop Dogg and Michael B. Jordan, cheered from their USC courtside seats.
In anticipation of special attention, the program reached out to Big Ten and Iowa, including former Hawkeyes head coach Lisa Bulder before the season began, to get a sense of what's going forward.
Kate Linklark was a talisman for women's basketball fans during her senior season in Iowa, drawing out historic crowds and television ratings to break multiple scoring records. The Hawkeyes' run to back-to-back national title games culminated in the men's final the following day with a solid national championship game of all time.
When Clark headed the pro alongside former LSU Star Angel Reese and UConn star Page Bookers entered his final college season, Watkins became the obvious natural heir to fill in the superstar vacuums both in the Big Ten and across the nation.
As a result, USC updated its security protocols and added wristband policies to control specific crowds that are allowed to stay in the arena after the game. The Big Ten helped them handle pre- and post-match protocols on the streets, while Bulder shared details on how to maintain privacy at the hotel. Watkins agent Jade Rye English added that security is a particularly interesting topic given how recognizable things are perceived in her hometown city.
Juju Watkins signs her sign for one of her many Pankopee fans. (Katelyn Mulcahy / Getty Images)
As the Trojans went down the path this season for their first Big Ten campaign, all schools (other than Iowa, which sold out all home games) rose in attendance. Juju Bump produced an average attendance increase of 75%, separated by Rutgers, which almost tripled the average crowd when USC visited. All over the country, Watkins jersey moms and dads brought their daughters with their hair in bread and games.
“It was hard to predict this until I was living in real time,” Gottlieb said. “We all had a vision to help her really grow this program, but it's really worth noting that it pulls the gravity of changing fan support.”
Watkins' arrival in college basketball coincided with the overall boom in the sport only increased her popularity and her opportunity. Her portfolio is extensive, with 16 current national marketing deals including Nike, State Farm, Gatorade and fanatics. Her image is inevitable whether she is walking through Los Angeles (there are three architectural width Nike billboards downtown) or whether she is turning on the TV.
“We can match Juju with a brand that is a leader in their respective industry and is aligned with brands that have a natural synergy with women's basketball,” said Brittany McCallum, senior vice president of athlete strategy at Klutch Sports. “All of these partners have TV placement, broadcast television during the NCAA tournament. Therefore, these partnerships will leverage the visibility of television across the country to allow Juju to become part of a larger cultural moment, amplifying the brand's presence in one of the most viewed times in women's sports.”
Watkins said her collaboration with Funko Pop is one of her favorites. She signed at least 30 people during USC's Selection Sunday Party. Her advertising spot with Chipotle was another standout, including the entire Trojan roster.
But the partnership with Nike really opened the door for Watkins. McCollum said he was “completely caught off guard” when he learned that his 19-year-old client was over the moon and would be appearing in a Super Bowl commercial.
“To see the moment and power that Nike is currently behind women's sports is really special to her and it was probably not included on the cards, but it definitely matches where the women's games are now,” McCallum said. “And I'm very grateful to be part of the movement.”
Juju Watkins Rise doesn't happen without her corresponding basketball success. She tracked freshman campaigns during her freshman national season, joining Notre Dame's Hannah Hidalgo as the third and fourth player, earning first-team honors as a freshman and sophomore. She led USC to her first regular season title in the conference in over 30 years.
With all the extra attention, we focus on basketball. She doesn't do pre-match interviews and prefers to stay in the zone. Gottlieb says Watkins is working hard with all the reps in every practice and accepts challenges on both ends of the floor. After dealing with convulsions during her freshman season, Watkins denied the issue with a special emphasis on hydration this season.
Da House's Snoop dog! He wears a Juju Watkins fit.
Michael B. Jordan is also present in the USC vs. Notre Dame game. pic.twitter.com/fald6ncc4a
– Isabelle Gonzalez (@cisabelg) November 23, 2024
Her star turn was choreographed and was hoping for her to succeed, but she reaches heights that are impossible to predict.
Gottlieb joked that her own identity was defined through Watkins. At American basketball events, she worked at the hotel gym with Dawn Staley and one of the family members of an Under-17 player. The family boy excitedly told his father, saying that Dawn Staley was there. At the 2024 Final Four, the father asked Gottlieb for a photo with his daughter. Gottlieb felt compelled to point out that she was in the picture, not Juju.
Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick took part in the regular season finale between USC and UCLA. He then said, “Juju Watkins is one of them and she's incredible. It was the first time I saw her play in person, and obviously I saw her. She endured the hype.”
Hype trains are unprecedented at this point, and it's no one's guess that leads to them.
(Illustrated by Kelsey Petersen/ Athletic; Photos of Angel Reese, Juju Watkins and Caitlyn Clark: Harry Howe / Getty Images, Brian Fulherty / Getty Images, Eakin Howard / Getty Images
