Juju Watkins' ultimate women's player has two of Caitlin Clark's best traits

USC Trojans guard JuJu Watkins showed love to Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark during a sit-down with Sports Illustrated. Watkins, who is one of the highest-rated women’s basketball players in college, has been on a roll with the Trojans.

She has played 67 games through her first two seasons, averaging 23.9 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.4 assists, shooting 42.6%. In March 2025, during the second round of the NCAA Tournament, Watkins suffered a season-ending injury as she tore her ACL.

Her injury didn’t stop her from being recognized for her stellar play as Watkins won multiple player of the year awards in 2025. On Friday, X account @Krysta____ shared a clip of Watkins’ interview with Sports Illustrated, where she picked traits from WNBA players to assemble the ultimate women’s basketball player. Listed below are Watkins’ picks:

Speed: Arike Ogunbowale
Accuracy: Caitlin Clark
Handles: Chelsea Gray
Strength: Brittany Griner
Range: Caitlin Clark
Clutch: A’ja Wilson

Picking Clark’s traits for the “ultimate” women’s basketball player is a tall compliment from the Trojans guard. While Watkins has been making progress in her injury recovery, she is set to miss the entirety of the 2025-26 season.

“Will come back stronger than ever”: Caitlin Clark sends message to JuJu Watkins after ACL injury

After JuJu Watkins went down with a knee injury in March, the basketball world was quick to react, sending their thoughts and prayers to the USC guard. Among those wishing her well was Caitlin Clark, who shared a message for Watkins on X:

“Sending all my thoughts and prayers to JuJu. Kid will come back stronger than ever."

A few months later, Clark finds herself in the same boat as Watkins after an injury-riddled season held her to 13 appearances in 2025. Clark averaged 16.5 points and 8.8 assists per game, last suiting up for the Fever in July before a groin injury sidelined her for the rest of the season.

Despite missing one of its best players, Indiana was one win away from booking a trip to the WNBA Finals. With Clark returning in 2026, the Indiana Fever are expected to be a force to be reckoned with. And so are the USC Trojans when JuJu Watkins returns in the 2026-27 season.

About the author

Sameer is an esports and gaming journalist at Sportskeeda who covers a diverse range of topics. He is currently pursuing a BSc degree from BITS, but his love for video games pushed him to pursue a gaming journalism career. He relies on diligent research and fact-checking to deliver top-notch content. He has previously worked in the hospitality sector with the Oberoi Group.

Sameer’s gaming journey began with Rockstar Games’ GTA franchise, specifically
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories. He strongly prefers multiplayer games, with FPS being his favorite genre, and has devoted 6K+ hours to CS:GO! However, he also dabbles in open-world, story-based games from time to time. Solo RPGs like Horizon Forbidden West hold a soft spot in his heart, and he would readily drop in it given a Jumanji-type scenario.

Sameer makes sure to follow Counter-Strike and Valorant esports tournaments, as he believes that watching a game being played at the highest level can be highly educational. He derives inspiration from Tarik's meteoric rise to become one of the biggest FPS streamers in the world following the release of Valorant.

Outside of work, you can find Sameer playing football or cheering for FC Barcelona. He also likes to read and write poetry.

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Edited by Sameer Khan