Report: USC's JuJu Watkins joins Unrivaled ownership group

Field Level Media|published: Mon 16th December, 13:17 2024

USC Trojans guard JuJu Watkins (12) reacts to a call by officials during the first quarter of their game in the Acrisure Series in Palm Desert, Calif., Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024.

Southern California sophomore JuJu Watkins made an investment in her future, joining the ownership group of Unrivaled, the 3-on-3 women's basketball league that will make its debut in January, Sportico reported Monday.

Also joining Unrivaled's latest $28-million investment round were the Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Minnesota Timberwolves' Joe Ingles, South Carolina women's basketball coach Dawn Staley, former Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps, former Bucks owner Mark Lasry, Fenway Sports Group's Linda Henry and former NBA player Richard Hamilton.

Easily the youngest of the group at 19, Watkins has raised her profile after a standout freshman season at USC when the first-team All-American scored 27.1 points per game with 7.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists. She led the Trojans to a 29-6 record and a spot in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament.

USC has opened this season at 10-1 while Watkins has averaged 24.7 points with 5.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists.

While Unrivaled has NIL agreements with UConn's Paige Bueckers and LSU's Flau'Jae Johnson, Watkins elected to be associated with the league as an investor, president Alex Bazzell said.

"You need people that can see a vision and aren't worried about ‘How quickly can you exit?'" Bazzell told Sportico. "And then secondly, selfishly, for the business, we have to find partners who are willing to roll up their sleeves and utilize their networks and get us from point A to point B much quicker."

Unrivaled began to take shape in 2023 as a venture between the Minnesota Lynx's Napheesa Collier and the New York Liberty's Breanna Stewart. Original investors included former United States women's national team soccer player Alex Morgan, UConn women's head coach Geno Auriemma, former ESPN president John Skipper and former NBA MVP Steve Nash.

The six-team league will play 3-on-3 while using a full court, albeit one shorter than a regulation court. Play will be conducted over four seven-minute quarters.

--Field Level Media

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