Source: Catherine Steenkeste / Getty
Women’s basketball players like Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark have stood on the shoulders of players before them to help uplift the game, and the trend continues.
The leader of the next crop of NCAA athletes is USC’s Juju Watkins. Despite only being a sophomore, the WNBA is already interested in getting to know her, and fans will, too—thanks to a new docuseries on the 19-year-old.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Watkins is partnering with NBC and Peacock to star in and executive produce On the Rise: JuJu Watkins.
Few athletes like LeBron James and his childhood friends Rich Paul and Maverick Carter have controlled the narrative, so it is not surprising that Klutch Sports, Uninterrupted, and 4.4.Forty are also involved.
Watkins is a pretty private person, but she tells THR that she’s ready to open up.
“I’m an introvert, so I don’t really share that much online, honestly. I think to just give people more perspective into who I am, and my family, my friends, I think that’s also an important dynamic. And like I said, I’m introverted, so this is kind of my way of sharing myself a little bit with everyone else,” she said.
The NBA’s ratings have been falling steadily, and according to Front Office Sports, it’s partially because of star power. Sure, there are LeBron James, Steph Curry, and Kevin Durant, but the NBA has yet to find the next star as younger players like Ja Morant and Anthony Edwards wait in the wings.
But while finding the future face of the NBA has proved difficult, fans enjoy the stories behind the league, with shows like Netflix’s Starting 5, which picked five leaders from the best teams to document during the 2023- 24 season.
Uninterrupted’s Jamal Henderson now wants to take that story aspect and blow it up, so suddenly, you have more invested in the games, similar to what the Olympics do.
“The Olympics probably do this the best, right? You get these amazing, heartwarming packages, and now the stakes are so high when you’re watching that bobsledder. Now imagine if Caitlin [Clark] had this before when we were watching those Iowa games,” says Henderson. “I think this is the new, innovative model in storytelling, and that’s why we’re really excited to be a part of it.”
Sponsored by State Farm, the series will premiere its first two episodes on Saturday, Nov. 23. on NBC directly before USC’s game against Notre Dame airs. Episodes three through six will be exclusive to Peacock.
See how social media is reacting to Watkins pulling back the curtain.