“That’s a future LA Spark”: Hoops fans react as USC’s JuJu Watkins reps special LA Lakers jersey

Los Angeles native, JuJu Watkins, showed her support for the LA Lakers on Thursday. The team posted a photo of the USC sophomore in the special purple and black jersey with the caption:

"Home grown — @jujubballin’s reppin’ #LakeShow."

Fans in the comments took this as a sign to manifest JuJu Watkins's continued stay in the city with the WNBA, after her college career with the USC Trojans.

“That’s a future LA Spark,” one fan wrote.

"We gotta draft her to the sparks. It's only right," another commented.

Meanwhile. some Lakers fans were hoping that Watkins would join LeBron James and his squad.

"She can take Gabe or Bronny's spot," one fan joked.

Here are a few more fan reactions:

Fans react to JuJu Watkins in Lakers jersey (Credit: Instagram/@lakers)

JuJu Watkins elevated her celebrity status in LA after her historic year with the Trojans. As a freshman, the guard led her team to the first Elite Eight appearance in 30 years. She averaged 27.1 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.3 steals.

Watkins' performances drew huge crowds back to the Galen Center, including famous sportspersons and celebrities. Lakers' LeBron James cheered the guard from the sidelines last season and even praised her.

"She's already a star," James said (via ESPN). "The way she plays the game, how fierce of a competitor she is, what she represents. ... It's everybody's dream to be able to play with that passion, to be able to shoot the ball, rebound the ball, push the ball, handle the ball. And she wants to win. Everybody can gravitate toward that."

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JuJu Watkins reaps the benefits of choosing to stay rather than move

JuJu Watkins was the No. 1 recruit in the 2024 class and had offers from some of the top programs in the NCAA, including Dawn Staley's South Carolina. While she had better opportunities to win a championship with other teams immediately, the guard chose to stay in LA and chose USC.

At the time, Watkins was the first Gatorade National Player of the Year to join the Trojans since Lisa Leslie in 1990. With this, she made the decision to bring the NCAA championship back to USC which they last won in 1984.

"Every day we see the two [national championship] banners in the gym and hope to add more," Watkins said (via ESPN). "That's definitely something I take pride in. Being able to bring more hardware here and bringing L.A. and USC basketball to what it used to be."

The USC Trojans are on a four-game winning streak and are one of the favorites to win the title this season.