On his Instagram, LeBron James loves hyping up young talent that is rising through the ranks or starting afresh. His signature style is to call them using familial terms like “nephew”. In another instance, the Los Angeles Lakers forward shared an IG Story showcasing his admiration after NCAA Women’s USC Trojans guard Juju Watkins poured in 51 points against the tough defense of Cameron Brink and Stanford.
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The 18-year-old accounted for 51 out of her team’s total 67 points, providing more than 75% of her team’s offensive output which led to the #15 upsetting the #4 seed in Division I. To cherish her accomplishment, a thrilled and overwhelmed James hyped the “lil sis”.
King James shared a post from ESPN, an image of Watkins, with 51 in the large text sandwiched between LeBron’s words at the top and bottom. On top, he wrote, “I thought I told you to cut out lil sis!!!” after which he placed five laughing emojis.
In the middle, he inserted six fire symbols, and on the bottom, he wrote, “Oh yeah I did say don’t! Kill your [footstep emoji] on their necks! Ayyyyeee”. The fact that a hooper scored more than three-fourths of the team’s points at the NCAA Division I Level excited James. In the following story, he posted a graphic showcasing this achievement.
James acknowledged that the 18-year-old guard has put both women’s college basketball and WNBA on notice. Therefore, he brought out his hype-man self to celebrate with the hooper. Although she won’t be eligible till the 2029 WNBA draft, Juju has already given a glimpse of an All-Star level leader.
Additionally, even after completing two decades in the league, LBJ never shies away from encouraging young talent who will soon become the future of the NBA and WNBA. Getting flowers from the King himself might surely boost the confidence of Watkins and needless to say, she deserves it all.
Juju Watkins is living up to the hype
Five-star recruit Juju Watkins was the number one player in the 2023 high school draft class and committed to USC in 2022. The USC guard has been thriving despite the increased physicality from high school competition to the NCAA. She has been showcasing a versatile scoring package since her Trojans debut.
Among the scoring leaders in the NCAA Women’s 1 Division, Watkins has tallied 25.8 points per game, ranking second to just Caitlin Clarke who has a wonderful output of 32.1 points per game. For the season, she has scored 35% of her team’s 73.1 points per game.
Just in her first year, the 18-year-old has piled up 25.8 points, 7.1 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 2.7 steals, and 1.6 blocks per game on 43%. The five-star recruit has backed the scouts who placed her at the top of her class. The crafty shot-creator knows how to get to her spots and has mastered the art of pull-up jumpers. After setting USC’s Trojan Women’s Single-game scoring record, she looks primed to break many more records.
