All eyes have been on JuJu Watkins this season, and for good reason. The USC Trojans’ freshman guard has been dominating the NCAA, turning heads at every step. Even NBA stars can’t help but take notice. Milwaukee Bucks’ Damian Lillard compared her rise to an 18-year-old Carmelo Anthony leading Syracuse to an NCAA championship in 2003. But here’s the kicker—Melo doesn’t agree. Instead, he thinks Watkins is on track to be the Michael Jordan of women’s basketball.

Carmelo Anthony shared his thoughts on Watkins during his 7PM in Brooklyn podcast. While others on the show discussed Watkins’ potential as a leader, Melo offered a fresh perspective. “Some people just want to play ball and be out the way, and there’s nothing wrong with that,” he said. For Melo, leadership doesn’t always have to come from vocal commands or huddles—it can ooze straight from a player’s game.

But Melo then put a big expectation on Watkins. “She’s a Michael Jordan coming,” he declared, showering praise on the young star. “Shout out to JuJu, man. JuJu is an incredible player.” However, not everyone agrees with that comparison. Lillard, clearly impressed, sees Watkins as a younger Melo instead.

“Juju like Melo at Syracuse fr… you wana win, give her the ball man,” Lillard posted on his X account. He’s not wrong. Watkins has been putting up jaw-dropping numbers this season. Yet, unlike Melo, who led Syracuse to the 2003 NCAA championship, Watkins hasn’t reached that pinnacle just yet.

Still, Watkins’ track record is insane. Scoring over 20 points in every NCAA tournament round and leading her team to a Pac-12 title? It’s no surprise people are drawing comparisons to legends.

Melo sees himself in JuJu Watkins’s game

Back in April, Carmelo Anthony took to his 7PM in Brooklyn podcast to break down USC women’s basketball phenom JuJu Watkins’ game, drawing comparisons to his own days at Syracuse. He highlighted how Watkins’ style of play mirrors his approach at Syracuse, noting how she gets to her spots on the court. “For me it’s fun to see that type of game kind of translate into the women’s game, right, because it looks so good when you’re doing it,” Melo said.

Melo also pointed out that Watkins’ basketball IQ is something rare for someone so young. He recalled how challenging it was to develop those skills at her age. “She works on her spots, she knows how to get to her spots. That’s very hard to fathom as a young’un, that’s hard to do,” he said. For Melo, that’s one of the pillars to success—understanding how to control the game at such a young age, just as he did during his own freshman season.

What excites Melo even more, though, is that Watkins’ talent is still on the rise. “What excites me is we get to see that for the next couple of years,” Melo said. He compared it to the excitement surrounding Caitlin Clark and hinted that JuJu’s records could be something special in just a few years.