JuJu Watkins’ Collectibles Market Up In The Air With Injury News
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On Monday, March 24th those in attendance and watching from around the sports world the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament saw USC’s star JuJu Watkins suffer an ACL tear in her right knee and as a result her sophomore season has come to an unfortunate end. Although USC would go on to win the game against Mississippi, the team also confirmed that she will undergo surgery and begin rehab immediately.
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JuJu Watkins, who was selected as an Associated Press All-American was averaging 24.6 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 3.5 assists, which were numbers that not only powered USC to a No. 1 seed in their region, but also made her a top contender for national player of the year. Her absence is a devastating blow to a USC squad eyeing its deepest tournament run in decades.
What does this do for JuJu’s draft stock come 2026? Watkins' injury introduces a level of uncertainty into her projected draft stock as a future member of the WNBA. Does this weaken her trajectory to become a superstar? It may in fact have an impact, and some critical injuries such as an ACL tear could determine where and when she’s drafted come 2026.
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From a hobby perspective, what does an injury of this magnitude mean for her collectibles market?
Generally speaking, an injury of this degree would signal a short-term dip in the value of JuJu’s autographs, her cards, and her collectibles as she's entering some uncharted territory. Some hobby experts, not me, but some, would ever go so far as to call it a potentially buying opportunity.
However, I dont in fact see that much of a prolonged dip in her market, and in fact I'd be stocking up on her cards and her menroiabilia, especially since recent NIL deal with Fanatics begings to take shape this April and features Watkins wearing her USC Trojans jersey.
According to ESPN, "The deal includes signed Fanatics-branded memorabilia -- including photos, basketballs and more -- and autographed cards and game-worn memorabilia inserted into cards.
Watkins had previously appeared in Bowman U products but at the time NCAA team names and logos hadn't appeared on her cards as the product wasn't unlicensed back in 2022-23.
Although there’s an 80%-90% chance of a full recovery, there’s still a slight chance that she won’t fully recover and I think that if she doesn't, such an injury could impact her future performance at both the NCAA and WNBA levels and impact her collectibles marketplace. Don’t get me wrong, JuJu Watkins is one heck of a talent, but her future from both perspectives depends heavily on how she rehabs an injury as crucial as her torn ACL.
Passionate sports card collector and writer based in Queens, NY. Lifelong fan of the New York Mets, Jets, and Rangers. Covering sports cards and collectibles with deep industry knowledge and enthusiasm, while bringing a fresh perspective to the ever-evolving hobby world on http://SI.com/collectibles.
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