The rivalry between UCLA and USC stretches back to 1928. That’s almost 100 years of pure animosity. Trash talk, heated arguments and an intense atmosphere are the norm between these two. And players on each team mark their calendars for when they face each other. Naturally, that includes Juju Watkins. Despite this intense rivalry, USC decided to mellow the mood out this time around via Watkins, something that has irked the fans.

Juju Watkins’ distaste for UCLA is well documented. In March last year, Kennedy Smith was filming ‘a day in a Trojan’s life’ on her vlog before USC faced UCLA. As USC waited in the locker room to walk out, Watkins was heard saying, “Bro, I hate UCLA.” And then she went on to drop 30 in their 80-67 win. 

The UCLA student section booed her throughout the game. When the buzzer sounded, Watkins stared down the fans and held up 4 fingers, signaling her 4 30+ point games against them. Despite this competitive fire between Juju and UCLA, USC made a questionable decision in their 2025-26 matchup. 

It was Juju Watkins who was chosen to give out flowers to the UCLA seniors on USC’s Senior Day. That included Lauren Betts, Kiki Rice, and Giana Kneepkens, among others. She gave out two in the span of seconds and then freshman Sitaya Fagan handed out three more. The clip of her honoring UCLA seniors has gone viral on social media, with many fans protesting this choice.

USC Fans Criticize Management For Juju Watkins Senior Night Decision

“They had Juju & Tay handing out them flowers to UCLA seniors. 😭😭😭 Juju’s face said it all, Ngl, 🤦🏻,” a fan wrote.  Naturally, Juju did not look too pleased with this arrangement as she handed out the bouquets. It seemed she wanted to get it over with. These were the same players she passionately wanted to beat for the better part of the last two years. Especially for someone as competitive as Juju Watkins. “You want to do your best,” Watkins has said. “You don’t want to let anybody down.” Aggression fuels her and this act went against her natural drive. 

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“Why the hell will they make Juju do this? 😔” Asked a fan. “why tf they got juju handing out flowers to ucla???? couldn’t be me lmfaooo,” joked another. Juju is USC’s face. She is the best player to come out of the program since Tina Thompson left in 1997. If you have a player of that stature figuratively bending a knee to your biggest rivals, it’s not a good look for the program. 

“What’s the point of USC celebrating UCLA seniors? Then they made Juju do it when her hate for UCLA is well-known and documented. I’m disgusted,” commented a fan. UCLA had their own senior night against Wisconsin, where they honored the Badgers’ seniors as well. So this gesture was not out of the norm. 

However, according to the fans, the dynamics should be different when it’s your fierce rival. Because the atmosphere other than this celebration was compliant to that theme. An hour before the game, the upper deck, which housed a group of UCLA fans, broke out an eight-clap. Hearing that, USC students at the Galen center clapped back. Cheryl Miller sat beside Watkins wearing a “Beat UCLA” shirt.

“Juju DOES NOT like them… PLAYFUL HATE!!?? We need more of it,” wrote a fan. Rivalries in basketball are like spices to food. They add that fire and that feeling is rarely replicated against anyone else. They also help promote the sport and grow the game.

For example, Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese are in the WNBA with the Indiana Fever and Chicago Sky. In both years of their tenures, the Fever-Sky clash has drawn millions of viewers on national TV. If that somehow gets lost with time, the game risks becoming too tame.