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USC sophomore phenom JuJu Watkins is the subject of a new docuseries, On The Rise: JuJu Watkins. The first two episodes will debut on NBC on Nov. 23 at 3 p.m. ET, just before Watkins and the No. 3-ranked Trojans take on the No. 6-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish. The episodes will then be available to stream on Peacock beginning Nov. 24.
The series, which was produced by LeBron James’ production company Springhill/UNINTERRUPTED and executive produced by Watkins herself, chronicles her journey, beginning as a high school standout at both Windward School and Sierra Canyon School in her hometown of Los Angeles. It then goes into her still-blossoming superstardom at USC, the same program which produced legends Cheryl Miller, Lisa Leslie, Cynthia Cooper and Pamela and Paula McGee.
Last year, Watkins became a national sensation with her explosive game. She averaged 27 points, seven rebounds and four assists per game. She tied Miller’s mark with three-consecutive 30-point games. On Feb. 2, she scored 51 points in a 67-58 upset victory over Stanford. She won the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award, as the nation’s best shooting guard. She also was named the top freshman by the United States Basketball Writers Association and the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association. On Nov. 15, Watkins became the fastest player in USC history to score 1,000 points, accomplishing the milestone in just 38 games.
Along the way, Watkins captured the frenzy of fans from all over, especially in Southern California. Her humility and strong sense of self has made her a bona fide star who possesses the maturity to take it all in stride. The film crew got a taste of that back in her high school days.
Director Danny Barton told Swish Appeal:
I think her poise and her natural, sort of, leadership from a really early age, I think that’s my biggest takeaway. She just has this thing about her where she’s really in control of her game on and off the court, for that matter, giving back to the community and she’s so young and she still has such a great perspective on life on, like I said, on both on the court and off the court. I think I’ve just heard stories and knew a little bit about it, but then watching it and documenting it, you really get to know her even more and it’s incredibly impressive.
Watkins, who is represented by Klutch Sports, has lucrative NIL sponsorships with Nike, Gatorade and AT&T. She has used her Nike endorsement to give back to the community, sharing gear with local schools.
She is an athlete who’s spirit is the perfect product of her time, as executive producer Jamal Henderson explained to Swish Appeal:
She’s the embodiment of the type of athletes we want to work with. I mean she is giving back to her community. She’s a generational hooper, first and foremost. I think what’s possible is just really incredible and we were there early on in the high school days and then to see just how she impacted the college game in the first year was great and obviously proof that we guessed right. But beyond the court is just super impressive. I was never this impressive at that age and what she’s doing for the community and then also her family and her support structure and the village around her, which I think is so cool, keeps her humble, keeps her grounded. I think it’s really important to show what it takes for these young hoopers with all these distractions, staying home, NIL, a program on her back and she kind of handles it with such grace and maturity. So for us this is exactly the type of story we wanted to tell.
Then it helps that there’s a lot of beautiful beats of Watts and home and all the things that we love in storytelling that go beyond just how the games go. So I think you’re going to see a lot of real fun access in this show. You’re going to see behind the scenes, you’re going to see people that are really close to her telling you about her coaches, family members. So I think you get a real essence of it
Watkins’ on-the-court accomplishments, combined with her off-the-court humility, make her story worth telling. Barton emphasized:
I think a lot of people will take away that you can be a superstar and still be humble and also give back, really care about the people around you and lift everyone else up. I think for JuJu, that really comes across in the show. I think that’s a great lesson and thing.
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