USC guard JuJu Watkins established herself as a rising star with her historic freshman season, and she added another accolade to her already impressive resume on Thursday. Gatorade officially signed Watkins as one of its athletes, which makes her just the third college basketball player to join the roster with a Name, Image and Likeness deal.
She is in excellent company, as the other two are UConn star Paige Bueckers and former Iowa Hawkeye Caitlin Clark. As part of the deal, Watkins will be appearing in upcoming Gatorade marketing efforts and helping with the Gatorade Player of the Year program, among other things.
"Growing up as a young basketball player, I think that was every kid's dream, including mine," Watkins, a former Gatorade National Basketball Player of the Year, told CBS Sports. "Being a part of the Gatorade family with so many iconic names is really cool and something that I never thought I would do, but here we are. I'm super pumped."
Bueckers was the first college athlete, not just basketball player, to sign an NIL deal with Gatorade in 2021. Clark, now in the WNBA with the Indiana Fever, joined in December 2023 when she still played for Iowa. Some Gatorade athletes who signed as professionals include Candace Parker, Jayson Tatum and Karl Anthony Towns.
Watkins said she doesn't see Bueckers or Clark very often, and there is no secret basketball superstar group chat. However, she said their interactions are always "very cordial" and they are "all cool" with each other.
Watkins faced Bueckers during the Elite Eight earlier this year, a game the Huskies won 80-73. It was a tough loss to swallow despite the fact that even making it that far was a huge accomplishment for USC, a program that had not reached the Sweet 16 since 1994.
After that game, Bueckers described Watkins as "fearless, confident, one of the best players in the country," while also adding that "she's got a lot to build on." The respect is definitely mutual.
"She's great player, all-around player," Watkins said of Bueckers. "High IQ and very seasoned."
Watkins did not play against Clark, but they started getting compared last season because while Clark was becoming the all-time Division I leading scorer while Watkins was setting a new freshman scoring record. Clark was averaging 31.6 points per game her senior year, and the only one close to her was Watkins with 27.1 points per contest.
"I think just her ability to score and her passing," Watkins said when asked what made Clark special. "She's just really a great all-around point guard."
Now that USC has joined the Big Ten and Clark has moved on to the WNBA, Watkins is set to become the conference's next star. However, Watkins is more focused on her team than outside expectations.
"I don't really think about that narrative too much," Watkins said. "I think the main goal is just trying to win and navigate this new space that we are in. I'm just excited to experience this new atmosphere. A lot of different teams that are really strong and powerful. So I think my main focus is just getting prepped for this season and gel with my team."
This has been an eventful week for Watkins, who also recently agreed to a multi-year contract extension with Nike which, as reported by ESPN's Shams Charania, will give her "one of the richest shoe endorsement deals in women's basketball."
Watkins will tip off her sophomore season with the Trojans on Nov. 4 when they take on Ole Miss in Paris.