JuJu Watkins drops 21 points in long-awaited return from ACL injury to lead No. 3 USC past UNLV in opener

After spending roughly 19 months away recovering, JuJu Watkins finally made her official return to the court Monday afternoon in Las Vegas.

Watkins led No. 3 USC to a blowout 100-68 win over UNLV to officially kick off the 2026-27 campaign at T-Mobile Arena. It marked her first real outing since she tore her ACL during the NCAA tournament in 2025.

Watkins dropped 21 points and shot 9 of 22 from the field in the dominant outing. She dropped 11 points in the third period alone, while the Trojans outscored UNLV 31-10 to blow the game wide open. Watkins did miss all five of her attempts from behind the arc.

"It was great to just be out there with my team again, and to see the first one fall through, it really helped," an emotional Watkins said on the court. "Just grateful to be out here today … Just so many hours went into this, just really grateful that I'm at this point."

Her first bucket came midway through the opening frame, when she drove and made an and-1 layup through Jasmyn Lott down low. She followed that three-point play with an easy layup just seconds later, too.

Jazzy Davidson added 23 points and shot 10 of 11 from the field for the Trojans. Saniyah Hall finished with 22 points and seven rebounds.

Watkins went down in the second round of the 2025 NCAA tournament during the Trojans' win over Mississippi State. She was driving to the rim on a fast break and collided with a pair of Bulldogs players before crashing to the court awkwardly. She had to be helped up and carried off the court.

Quickly, USC ruled her out with an ACL injury. That's kept her sidelined ever since, and she ended up missing all of last season recovering .

Watkins averaged 23.9 points and 6.8 rebounds per game during the 2024-25 season while earning consensus national player of the year honors. The Trojans were a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament that season, and ended up losing to UConn in the Elite Eight. The Trojans went 18-14 without Watkins last season and reached the second round of the tournament, their fourth straight appearance under head coach Lindsay Gottlieb.

While it was a long time away, Watkins made the most of it.

"I think my injury let me reset and remind myself why I do what I do and why I love it so much," Watkins told ESPN's Kendra Andrews before the season-opener. "These days [my why] is a lot of knowing I've gone through such a long period of not being able to do what I love and just being present in the moment and grateful for how far I've come. "The pressures will always be there. I pray that the pressure gets even higher because that's a privilege."

"I think my injury let me reset and remind myself why I do what I do and why I love it so much," Watkins told ESPN's Kendra Andrews before the season-opener. "These days [my why] is a lot of knowing I've gone through such a long period of not being able to do what I love and just being present in the moment and grateful for how far I've come.

"The pressures will always be there. I pray that the pressure gets even higher because that's a privilege."

Watkins came to USC as the No. 1 recruit in the country, and she's widely considered to be the top pick in the WNBA Draft next spring should she decide to make the jump. The expectations of her leading USC to a national championship, something the school hasn't pulled off since 1984, are absolutely still there.

"I feel like her impact on us is probably more palpable than ever before," Gottlieb told ESPN . "I know when I had her freshman and sophomore year, well, shoot, you got a player like that, you are going to be in conversations to be great. But now it feels more."

It's still very early in her return, and there are several notable tests coming up before Big Ten play gets going — including a battle with No. 1 South Carolina on Nov. 15.

But Watkins is back, and has picked things up right where she left off.