Damian Lillard’s McKenzie Forbes Warning To JuJu Watkins Immediately Backfires

The USC Women’s Basketball team is currently facing off against the Connecticut Huskies at the Moda Center in Portland. Fans and viewers are being left in awe as star freshman Juju Watkins has built up the offensive momentum by adding 13 points and 4 rebounds to the overall score till now. However, she is finding a tough competition in her teammate McKenzie Forbes, who has managed to surpass her scoring effort through her 16 points. Furthermore, Forbes has been on an intense shooting effort, having shot 6-16 field goals and 3-9 3Ps. The game has hyped various individuals, including some from the NBA fraternity.

Milwaukee Bucks star Damian Lillard recently took to his official X account to send out a tweet to be seen by his 3.3 million followers and more. Highlighting an update from the ongoing game, the player wrote “Forbes tryna get to it… Juju gone have to watch lol”. Watkins has managed to place herself as the lead scorer for the USC Trojans over the past few games, while Forbes has been occupying the second place. Through the veteran guard’s ongoing performance, Lillard was highlighting that Forbes has taken the lead at least for one game.

Damian Lillard’s warning to the college player seems to have backfired, as social media users are taking to the comments section to criticize the NBA player himself. While paying less heed to what is going on at the Moda Center, people are instead egging Lillard on not to disappoint them during the ongoing NBA season. Remarks like “Win a ring lame time” are being found quite easily.

The above individual was not alone, as another person took to the comments and used the same quote to urge the NBA star to not let go of the championship ring this time. Both remarks might have been a reference to the Bucks point guard’s nickname ‘Dame Time’ and/or the iconic gesture that involves the player pointing to an imaginary watch on his hand in order to celebrate a recent feat.

Despite having been a constant presence on the basketball court, Damian Lillard has made himself unavailable during the final stage of the regular season. He had dropped out from the Bucks’ previous game against the Atlanta Hawks due to “personal reasons” and now won’t be playing their matchup against the Washington Wizards because of a groin strain. This led one social media user to question Lillard’s presence during such a crucial stage.

While many criticized the player, others didn’t mind handing out their two cents on the ongoing matchup. A person provided an insight on the NCAA matchup by highlighting that McKenzie Forbes needs to let her point guard capabilities take the front seat and use it to add further value than the one she is currently adding.

Another user felt that Forbes’ ‘stat-padding’ is not going to help the Trojans later on. He wrote, “Forbes going to cost them the damn game”.

For sure, there were mixed reactions to this tweet. However, something that Damian Lillard wouldn’t have imagined is for the plot to be twisted towards himself with criticism! Anyway, that raises a much-anticipated question.

How has JuJu Watkins been performing this season?

Despite the ongoing NCAA season being her first one, the 19-year-old JuJu Watkins has already begun making waves through her stellar performance. Out of the 33 games she has played till now, the college basketball player has managed to secure an impressive average score of 27 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 3.3 assists. She has also been a dependable individual through her playing time, having averaged 34.5 minutes per game. While her scoring is on another level, Watkins does not possess the same impressive stat when it comes to her shooting ability.

At an average of 9-22.4, the player’s field goal percentage currently stands at 40.2%. Her three-pointer percentage is even below that, currently standing at 31.9%. In the end, however, it is her overall contribution that has helped propel the Trojans upwards. In a joint team effort, the franchise has created a score record of 29-5 and currently occupies the 2 place on the Pac-12 standings.

Similarly to other stars like Caitlin Clark, the 18-year-old is standing out as an icon of women’s basketball. According to sports analyst LaChina Robinson, the player possesses the capabilities to “transcend the sport and really be at the intersection of women’s basketball and culture”. While her performance during her sophomore season is not enough to have her be claimed as a ‘prodigy in the making’, it is a good start to what fans can expect from JuJu Watkins.

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