JuJu Watkins reacts to USC's heartwarming gesture after unanimously winning National Player of the Year award

After The Athletic announced JuJu Watkins as the consensus National Player of the Year, the University of Southern California community praised her. Watkins, a sophomore at USC, had a tremendous season, averaging 24.4 points, 6.7 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 2.1 steals per game.

On Thursday, USC's Instagram account posted an eight-minute video celebrating Watkins' life and career. The video featured messages from USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb and the sophomore guard's journey from Los Angeles native and Windward School standout to being recognized as the best player in college basketball.

"Don't move... improve." Fresh off a Big Ten regular season title, @uscwbb's JuJu Watkins is ready to help lead the Trojans into postseason play. Rewatch the story of how the legacy of a relative inspired the superstar to stay home!" the caption read.

Watkins reshared the video on her Instagram story and added two heart emojis, expressing her gratitude towards the Trojan family.

Screenshot via Instagram (@jujubballin/IG)

Watkins' remarkable season led USC to its first regular-season conference title in three decades. The Trojans went 26-2 overall and 17-1 in Pac-12 play. She also earned the 2025 Pac-12 Player of the Year award and First-Team All-Pac-12 honors.

Stephen A. Smith says JuJu Watkins deserves more recognition like Caitlin Clark

Since arriving in college, JuJu Watkins has drawn national attention for her prolific scoring abilities. She broke the freshman record for most points in a season, averaging 27.1 points per game, second only to Caitlin Clark for the NCAA's lead.

ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith praised Watkins recently on his show "First Take," saying she is the next superstar in women's basketball.

"She's is spectacular. And when are we gonna start talking about her the same way we talked about Caitlin Clark? I mean you look at her skills," Smith said. "She is she is special. When are we gonna start doing that?

"This sister's got game, averaged 27 last year, averaging 24 this year. USC is winning ... She is the package, and she's been the package. We saw her coming last year, but now that Clark is gone, we should be focusing on her even more so now."

JuJu Watkins still has two more years of college eligibility left and is poised to surpass Caitlin Clark's historic numbers. However, it's still a long road for Watkins to become a household name like Clark.