DURHAM, N.C. — The training camp held at Duke University this upcoming weekend for the U.S. women’s national basketball team is full of firsts.
It’s the debut camp for first-time Team USA head coach Kara Lawson and newly appointed managing director Sue Bird. Over the course of three days, the duo will evaluate a crop of 17 players for crucial upcoming competitions. Right around the corner in March is a qualifying tournament for the 2026 FIBA World Cup, and that competition will take place in September. The 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles is years away, but preparation for it begins now for the Americans who have won eight consecutive gold medals.
The roster for the camp is heavy in youth as it features 10 players who will be participating with the senior national team for the first time ever. Among them are some of the biggest names and rising stars in the sport, from Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, to Paige Bueckers and UCLA All-American Lauren Betts.
One invitee to the camp won’t be participating in practices, drills, workouts or anything physical happening on the court. JuJu Watkins will be watching from the sidelines and soaking it all in.
A junior at USC who was the consensus National Player of the Year last season in women’s college basketball, Watkins is still recovering from surgery following an ACL injury she suffered last March in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. But a player of Watkins’ potential and talent — she’s twice been named a First Team All-American and has led the Trojans to back-to-back Elite Eight appearances — figures to be heavily involved in the future of Team USA once she’s healthy.
For Bird, extending an invite to this camp to Watkins was a no-brainer, even if she isn’t out there swishing 3’s, wowing with her athleticism or dishing out assists.
“I think it’s more about the exposure,” Bird said Thursday during a Team USA media availability. “… Even when you’re just around a team, it’s helpful, like something is building, something is happening there. So, I think it’s great for JuJu, who’s obviously incredibly talented.
“People learn by osmosis a lot, and so just to have her in the environment, like, why not?”
A 20-year-old electric guard from Sylmar, California, Watkins has donned the stars-and-stripes before, just not for the senior national team. The 6-foot-1 product of Sierra Canyon High School was named the MVP of the 2022 U17 World Cup, leading Team USA to a gold medal by averaging 13.1 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.3 steals per game.
In Durham this weekend, Watkins will reunite with former USC teammate Kiki Iriafen, who is also making her senior national team debut. Alongside the likes of Clark, Reese, Bueckers and others, Watkins is part of what seems like a period of transition for the national team and a youth movement.
Bird says that aspect of the national team isn’t new. Older players go out and younger players come in. But it does feel more noticeable this time as this crop of youngsters come with massive followings and their own established brands. Watkins, for example, has north of 1.2 million followers on Instagram, has invested in Unrivaled and the NWSL, and has inked NIL deals with companies like AT&T, Celsius, Gatorade, Nike, State Farm and United Airlines.
Clark, Reese and Bueckers each come with similar massive profiles and expansive portfolios. It’s easy to argue that more eyes will be on the national team as they continue to be involved with it.
“All the cycles kind of have their own, you know, like transition period. I think there’s some that are a little more glaring than others,” Bird said. “But they all have elements of that, where you want to have people who have been there, of course, but you also need to keep the pipeline going with the younger players and get them experience. That balance is always existing. It’s just sometimes it looks a little different. So we’ll see how this one shapes up.”
Watkins is expected to return to the court for USC’s 2026-27 season. The Trojans are 7-2 with her sidelined so far this season and are ranked No. 16 in the latest AP Top 25 Poll. She’ll have a year of college eligibility left beyond that, but will also be eligible for the WNBA Draft in 2027 because she turns 22 that year.
Regardless of when and where she gets drafted, Watkins could still be playing basketball on a big stage in Los Angeles in 2028 if she’s selected for the Olympic team.
“I think what we’re all hopeful for in this first camp is really having it be a tone-setter,” Bird said. “There’s also an aspect of, this is Kara’s first camp. This is the first time everybody’s together. And you also want to have a sense of clarity on what our identity is going to be. And that kind of comes down to the details… For the young players, it’s just a great opportunity to get their first feel, to get their first taste.”
