Viewed as one of the best players in college basketball, USC guard JuJu Watkins has missed the entire 2025-26 season due to a torn ACL that she suffered in the second round of last year's NCAA Women's tournament. Before her injury, Watkins averaged 23.9 points, 3.4 assists and 6.8 rebounds.
As she works on making her return to basketball, Watkins is expected to return to USC for next season, where she will team up with Jazzy Davidson, who was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year this season.
In addition to making her return to the court for the first time in over a year, her final season will also see Watkins make a bit of history. As reported by The Athletic's Jason Jones, Watkins is expected to be sporting her own signature shoe, the LeBron NXXT Gen by JuJu “Silver Lining."
"Watkins is the first athlete to co-create a shoe under the LeBron NXXT brand," wrote Jones. "In the creative process involvement, Watkins said she wanted to add details that were special to her. A quilted flower pattern appears on the interior collar and tongue. The back of the tongue has a “By JuJu” doodle."
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Watkins did tell Jones that she has been doing her rehab workouts in the shoe, and is eager to play in them for the first time.
“I’m pretty far along (in recovery),” Watkins told Jones. “It’s been a long time since my injury, so I continue to attack every day. The shoe, it’s just extra motivation. Working out in something you created, I think it’s insane. I can’t wait to get out on the court and actually play in it.”
Without Watkins, USC played its way into a No. 9 seed in the tournament and even knocked off the No. 8 seed Clemson Tigers in the opening round. They will play the No. 1 seed South Carolina Gamecocks on Monday.
