USC freshman JuJu Watkins appeared as a guest on the latest episode of “Podcast P with Paul George”. While on the show, the duo dived deep into various aspects of Watkins’s career at the collegiate and high school levels. George even imparted some critical advice to the USC guard, telling her always to keep the game as her main focus. With more serious topics out the way, the two basketball stars sat down to play a round of WNBA roster battles.
Advertisement
Jackie Long, a host on George’s show laid out the rules for the competition. Both George and Watkins had to build their roster with WNBA players, with the catch being that Watkins would feature as the shooting guard on both teams. Watkins began the draft, choosing Chelsea Gray as her point guard, Satou Sabally at the power forward position and A’ja Wilson as her center.
George fired back with his own squad, first taking Kelcie Plum at the point, followed by Breanna Stewart at the small forward position. At that point, JuJu dropped Jewell Loyd as her small forward to round off her team, even declaring that,
” Get her [Jackie Young] as well. My team is winning.”
While George rounded off his squad by taking Jackie Young as his last selection for the draft, he was sure to fire back with some confidence of his own. Giving his team the benefit of the doubt, the NBA star analyzed the match-up, even pointing out weaknesses on Watkins’s team,
” I think we got a chance. I think we got to pull Asia [Durr] out. You know, Asia got to play on the perimeter.”
Both these teams would be stacked beyond belief, and it would be interesting to see this matchup happen in real life. Unfortunately, unless the WNBA pulls off something unprecedented, a meaningful matchup between teams of this caliber is unlikely to happen anytime soon.
Paul Geoge leaves JuJu Watkins with solid advice
While both George and Watkins put up fantastic rosters for their WNBA roster challenge, Paul did recognize the opportunity he had, as the Clippers forward laid down some solid advice for Watkins before she left the show’s set. Talking to the USC guard, Paul reminded Watkins to never get distracted by things like money and fame, advising the freshman guard to stay focused on basketball. Further adding to his advice, Paul succinctly told Watkins,
“Where we’re at now, you become a professional a lot sooner, because you’re involved in money. For me, once I got in the league, now it’s money involved, now it’s deals…so you can lose sight of what actually got you to where you’re at.”
Taking the new NIL rules into consideration, George’s advice for Watkins is definitely spot on. He understands better than anyone that getting paid to play sports isn’t as easy as it seems and often involves hiring financial advisors and help.
Watkins will definitely benefit from the seasoned pro’s advice as the USC guard will be signing a lot more NIL deals as she heads into her Sophomore year in college. Hopefully, she can remember the Clippers star’s advice when it matters most.
