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. In a who’s-who world of L.A. glitterati, Gottlieb was astounded by how many people flocked to Watkins. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts and owner Mark Walter wanted to meet her. Magic Johnson and his wife, Cookie, came over. A section of Los Angeles Lakers personnel were interested, too.

“Everywhere I’m turning, these fans and these people that are here go, ‘JuJu! JuJu!’” Gottlieb said. “She’s as recognizable with (her) bun (hairstyle) as any of the Dodgers and was the biggest star. I came back and I said to my staff and the administration here, this was next level. Amongst L.A., she is kind of the star amongst the stars.”

Watkins was coming off a historic first season that saw her set the NCAA record for points by a freshman and lead the Trojans to their first conference title in a decade and first Elite Eight appearance in 30 years. Her bun became famous in its own right, and a national AT&T commercial during last season’s March Madness featured NBA superstar Joel Embiid, among others, trying out the look.

Watkins had already brought USC basketball back from relative obscurity. The promise of what she can be and what that means for the program and the city is evolving in real time as the Trojans start the NCAA Tournament as a No. 1 seed, hosting the first two rounds on their home court.

The sophomore sensation and the people around her have been preparing for this possibility before she started college. Watkins signed with Klutch Sports Group as a junior in high school and has been building her brand portfolio ever since. As a Los Angeles native, it has always been part of the plan to use her influence to elevate her community — a previous partnership with Lids allowed her to design a hat that highlighted her neighborhood of Watts — and choosing to attend USC allowed her to remain in the same spotlight.

“L.A. is just a great place as far as opportunity and relationships,” Watkins said. “I feel like L.A. plays a big part in my legacy and what I do on and off the court.”

The city is drawn to Watkins. The Trojans averaged 1,037 fans at home games in 2022-23, per data from the NCAA. During Watkins’ freshman season, that number spiked to 4,279 and further increased to 5,932 during the 2024-25 regular season. In addition to former USC players, Watkins has brought out a number of celebrities to the Galen Center. Actors, musicians and other influential stars, including Sanaa Lathan, Leslie Jones, Vanessa Bryant, Flea, Snoop Dogg and Michael B. Jordan, have cheered from USC courtside seats.

In anticipation of the extra attention, the program reached out to get a sense of what was to come, contacting the Big Ten and Iowa, including former Hawkeyes head coach Lisa Bluder, before the season began.

Caitlin Clark had been the talisman for women’s basketball fans during her senior season at Iowa, drawing historic crowds and TV ratings en route to breaking multiple scoring records. The Hawkeyes’ run to back-to-back national title games culminated in the highest-rated national championship game of all time, outdoing the men’s final the next day.

When Clark turned pro alongside former LSU star Angel Reese, and with UConn star Paige Bueckers entering her final college season, Watkins became the natural heir apparent to fill the superstar vacuum, both in the Big Ten and nationally.

As a result, USC updated its security protocols, adding a wristband policy to control the specific crowds permitted to stay in the arena after games. The Big Ten helped handle pregame and postgame protocols on the road, and Bluder shared details about how to maintain privacy at hotels. Watkins’ agent, Jade-Li English, added that security is a particular topic of interest given how recognizable Watkins is in her home city — with or without her bun.

When the Trojans went on the road this season for their inaugural Big Ten campaign, every school (other than Iowa, which sold out every home game) saw an uptick in attendance. The JuJu Bump produced an average attendance increase of 75 percent, punctuated by Rutgers nearly tripling its average crowd when USC visited. All around the country, moms and dads in Watkins jerseys brought their daughters wearing their hair in buns to games.

“It was hard to predict this until you’re living in it in real time,” Gottlieb said. “We all had a vision for her helping to really grow this program, but I think that the gravitational pull in the change in the fan support is really pretty remarkable.”

That Watkins’ arrival into college basketball has coincided with an overall boom for the sport has only enhanced her popularity and her opportunities. Her portfolio is extensive, with 16 current national marketing deals, including Nike, State Farm, Gatorade and Fanatics. Her image is inescapable whether walking around Los Angeles — where she has a three-building-wide Nike billboard in downtown — or turning on the television.

“We’re able to align JuJu with brands that are leaders in their respective industries and align with brands that have a natural synergy with women’s basketball,” Klutch Sports senior vice president of athlete strategy Brittany McCallum said. “All of these partners have television placements, TV broadcasts during the NCAA Tournament. So these partnerships leverage national TV visibility, allowing for JuJu to be a part of a larger cultural moment, while also amplifying the brand’s presence during one of the most watched times in women’s sports.”

Watkins said her collaboration with Funko Pop was one of her favorites, as she helped with the details of its bun and eyelashes being as close to her likeness as possible. She signed at least 30 of them during USC’s Selection Sunday party. Her ad spot with Chipotle was another standout as it included the entire Trojans roster.

But the partnership with Nike has truly opened doors for Watkins. McCallum said her 19-year-old client was over the moon and “completely caught off guard” when she learned she would be appearing in a Super Bowl commercial.

“Seeing those moments and the power behind what Nike is putting behind women’s sports right now has been really special to her and probably something that wasn’t in the cards but definitely aligns on where the women’s game is right now,” McCallum said. “And JuJu is very grateful to be a part of the movement.”

The JuJu Watkins rise doesn’t happen without her corresponding basketball success. She followed up her freshman campaign with another first-team All-American season, joining Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo as the third and fourth players to earn first-team honors as freshmen and sophomores. She led USC to its first conference regular-season title in more than three decades.

With all of the added attention, the focus remains on basketball. She doesn’t do pregame interviews, preferring to stay in the zone. Gottlieb says Watkins goes hard in every rep in every practice, accepting challenges on both ends of the floor. After dealing with cramping during her freshman season, Watkins put extra emphasis on hydration this season to negate that issue.

Snoop Dogg in da house! He’s wearing a JuJu Watkins fit.

Michael B. Jordan is also in attendance for the USC vs. Notre Dame game. pic.twitter.com/FAlD6NCc4A

Advertisement

— Isabel Gonzalez (@cisabelg) November 23, 2024

Even though her star turn has been choreographed, and the expectation was for her to succeed, she is reaching heights that were impossible to predict.

Gottlieb joked that her own identity is now defined through Watkins. At a USA Basketball event, she was working out in the hotel gym with Dawn Staley and the family of one of the U-17 players. The young boy in the family excitedly told his dad, there’s Dawn Staley, before turning around and noticing, there’s JuJu Watkins’ coach! At the 2024 Final Four, a father asked Gottlieb for a picture with his daughter because she was a massive Watkins fan, excited to merely get a picture with someone in Watkins’ orbit. Gottlieb felt compelled to point out that she’d be the one in the picture, not JuJu.

Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick attended the regular-season finale between USC and UCLA. Afterward, he said, “JuJu Watkins is one of one, she’s incredible. First time seeing her play in person, but obviously I’ve watched her before. She lived up to the hype.”

The hype train is unprecedented at this point, Where it leads is anyone’s guess.

(Illustration: Kelsea Petersen/ The Athletic; Photos of Angel Reese, JuJu Watkins and Caitlin Clark: Harry How / Getty Images, Brian Fluharty / Getty Images, Eakin Howard / Getty Images)