For the last two years, the headlines have kept their focus locked on Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese as women’s basketball’s interest and viewership grew to unprecedented heights. With their record-breaking rookie season, the two established themselves as one of the biggest names in the WNBA, leaving a void in the college basketball landscape. However, this void has now been filled by sports rivals Paige Bueckers and JuJu Watkins.

Last season, the two came face to face in the Elite 8 matchup and scored double-doubles in the tightly contested game. With that, let’s weigh out these two and explore all about their stats, NIL valuation, and other things.

Paige Bueckers and JuJu Watkins college stats

After being plagued by injuries, Paige Bueckers finally played her first full season last year, her first since 2020-21. With half of UConn’s roster down in injury dreads, Bueckers remained resilient and propelled the Huskies back to the Final Four.

During the season, she displayed her defensive growth and versatility as a power forward. Talking about her stats, she averaged 21.9 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 2.2 steals through 39 contests in 2023-24. This season as well, Bueckers has brought her A-game to the court while averaging 20.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 4 assists per game.

Through 11 games played so far, she has posted seven 20+ point games. Her field goal percentage is going steady at 58.4%. With her style of play, Bueckers makes it all look so easy and effortless. Playing in her final season at UConn, Bueckers has brought back a well-rounded game to Storrs.

As for JuJu Watkins, she surpassed expectations when she came in as a freshman with her dominance and transformative display. Last season, she averaged 27.1 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game. It was Watkins who led the Trojans to the Elite Eight for the first time since 1994.

Playing her sophomore year, she has been averaging 24.7 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game. More so, her field goal percentage has been 45.4% through 11 games into the season.

Having discussed Bueckers and Watkins’ on-court prowess, let’s talk a bit about their financial success off the court.

Weighing their NIL deals and valuation

Paige Bueckers made a name for herself even before she arrived at UConn. The Hopkins (Minnesota) High School graduate was the No.1 recruit in the country at the time. Besides, she had several accolades under her belt, including the 2019-20 Gatorade Female Athlete of the Year, 2020 McDonald’s, SLAM, Jordan Brand Classic All-American, and the 2020 Naismith Prep Player of the Year.

Internationally, she was also the 2019 USA Basketball Female Athlete of the Year and the 2019 FIBA U19 World Cup MVP. She has signed NIL deals with brands like Nike, Dunkin’, Bose, Unrivaled, StockX, Taco Bell, GoArmy, Nerf, Crocs, and Gatorade, to name a few.

Currently, she is ranked at No.38 on the NIL 100 list and No. 2 on the college women’s basketball NIL rank with 5.1 million followers across social media. On the other hand, JuJu Watkins’s name has been in the making.

In the Class of 2023, she was a 5-star prospect coming from Chatsworth (California) Sierra Canyon. After her senior year in high school, Watkins was named the Naismith High School Player of the Year. As a junior, she was named the Los Angeles Times Girls Basketball Player of the Year for her average of 24.8 points and 10.3 rebounds to help lift the Trailblazers to a 30-2 record.

A gold medalist for USA Basketball and a Gatorade Player of the Year selection, she was the first high school star to sign a NIL deal with Klutch Sports. The USC sophomore has garnered 1.2 million followers across social media and has signed NIL deals with various brands like State Farm, Funko, Gatorade, Nike, Cactus Jack, AT&T, Estee Lauder, Spotify, Morgan and Morgan, Nerd Wallet, Celsius, among others.