JuJu Watkins hosts shoe line debut for Watts youth
The Naismith Trophy winner debuted her shoe collaboration with LeBron James.
By ANNA JORDAN
For just a few hours, the back lot of the Nike Community Store in South Central Los Angeles transformed into JuJu Watkins Park, complete with a customized basketball court, hoop and DJ Malski behind a turntable. For the children of Watts, however, the event’s message will last a lifetime.
Wednesday marked JuJu’s NXXT Gen Jam, an event celebrating not only the debut of the junior guard’s footwear collaborations with Nike and LeBron James, with another shoe slated to release this summer, but also the youth of Watts and Watkins’ own origins.
With this event, Watkins said she hoped to show children growing up in the same environment as she did that they could reach heights as great as being a First Team All-American D1 collegiate athlete, and more, if they put the work in.
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“Go out there and chase your dreams; nothing is impossible with hard work,” Watkins said in an interview with the Daily Trojan. “It sounds cliché, but I think that’s just the reality.”
In her second year of a multiyear contract extension with Nike, Watkins’ collaboration with James is part of the Nike Lebron NXXT Gen line, a series of sneakers aimed to be budget-friendly and accessible. James debuted the shoe on the court Sunday in a game against the Golden State Warriors, sporting the first-ever NXXT Gen collaboration between himself and another athlete.
“Hopefully, I [can] continue to diversify myself and stay present in the moment,” Watkins said. “Whether that be investments or giving back to my community in any way that I can, it’s continuing to grow as a person, as a player, and see where we end up.”
Watkins shared the spotlight of the event with her home city, paying homage to Watts and its children. Upon entering the event, attendees could add flower-shaped sticky notes to a wall reading “Give Watts its flowers: plant your dreams,” writing messages to Watkins and putting their future goals into words.
“[Watkins] is the rose that blossomed from the very concrete we are standing on,” said DJ Malski, a USC athletics mainstay and the event’s emcee.
In addition to the flower wall, the event featured a digital photo booth where people could pose with a basketball, as well as a photo op with one of the shoes in front of a poster of Watkins and a sign welcoming them to “JuJu Wrld.” Attendees could also visit a booth offering customized airbrushed Nike socks.
However, the main activity of the day was a knockout tournament between three local schools, emceed by Malski and former Harlem Globetrotter Briana Green. Green facilitated all of the games and taught several children basketball tricks, hyping up the kids for Watkins’ arrival.
“I think representation matters, and seeing someone that looks like you, seeing a woman that’s holding it down for the ladies, is super important,” Green said in an interview with the Daily Trojan at the event. “Growing up and having that figure, just someone to admire and be a role model, is necessary.”
The USC women’s basketball team supported its injured star guard at her shoe line debut event. The team is pictured at the event Wednesday. (Anna Jordan / Daily Trojan)
The top three students from each school received posters of Watkins and would move on to the finals of the tournament, the winner of which would be awarded a pair of the Nike LeBron NXXT Gen “JW” colorway shoes.
After the last game of knockout, DJ Malski introduced the USC women’s basketball team and Head Coach Lindsay Gottlieb to enthusiastic applause from attendees.
“When I first got to know JuJu and started recruiting her, the vision was for her to give back to her community and kind of be bigger than just the game of basketball,” Gottlieb said in an interview with the Daily Trojan. “To be here, with the debut of her shoe collab with LeBron, to be in Watts, it’s a dream come true.”
The team sat courtside while Malski had children volunteer to shoot 3-pointers, free throws and trick shots for posters and other prizes. Malski himself played knockout against sophomore guard Kennedy Smith, losing after two shots.
USC’s team offered advice to those attempting to win prizes on their technique and mindset, even rushing the court in celebration after a girl made a 3-pointer following several adjustments from their suggestions.
Malski then cleared the court for Watkins’ arrival, which was met with significant fanfare and enthusiasm from the children waiting in front of the court. Watkins smiled and gasped when her team came into view, who met her halfway as she ran to greet them on the court in a huddle of smiles and jumping.
“I really take pride in being a part of the team,” Watkins said. “It’s a team — nobody’s bigger than the program. I’m super grateful to be a part of something bigger than myself and show up every day like everybody else does.”
Watkins watched the deeply competitive final round of knockout, with the girl who the team had been advising taking home the gold — or in this case, the silver, as the Nike LeBron NXXT Gen “JW” colorways are based on the idea of a “silver lining” and feature a metallic silver finish. Malski also personally offered the boy in second place a pair of the shoes.
After taking pictures with the two finalists and giving the winner her prize, Watkins joined Green in the center of the court for a brief interview on the details of the shoe and her collaboration with James. Watkins said she has deep respect for James and appreciated the opportunity to be more creative with her love for basketball, citing her favorite shoe, the Nike Kobe 6, as an inspiration.
Though the interview was the last scheduled part of the day, Watkins stayed for over half an hour to take pictures with children and other eventgoers.
“With JuJu, there’s just no ceiling,” Gottlieb said. “I think she’s going to be generational in every possible way.”
