Paige Bueckers reacts to losing shooting game vs JuJu Watkins: “I’m tired”
UConn Huskies senior Paige Bueckers and USC Trojans sophomore JuJu Watkins took some time off their busy schedule to partake in a shooting challenge. On Saturday, Jan. 25, the Overtime Select YouTube channel uploaded a video where both college stars played a game of "reverse knockout" in the Overtime Elite practice facility.
They were playing the contest alongside other collegiate standouts in LSU Tigers junior Flau'jae Johnson and Arizona Wildcats second-year guard Jada Williams, content creator Duke Dennis and class of 2027 prospect Jezelle "GG" Banks. The parameters of the challenge, besides a reverse knockout stipulation, was that as each round progressed, the next ball would get harder to shoot with.
Starting with a regular basketball to a foam ball to the infamous airless basketball, both Bueckers and Watkins would eventually make it into the top three alongside Banks. They were using the unorthodox basketballs by this time, with Banks being the first to advance. As the college sensations were going tooth-and-nail, Watkins eventually won, which led to Bueckers giving a deflated reaction.
"If you get stuck with the airless ball, good luck. That's all I have to say. I'm tired. I got bronze," she said. (5:12)
It looks as if the Hopkins, Minnesota native is not a fan of the black airless basketball. The same could be said for Watkins, as despite using it to advance to the next rounds on some occasions, she ended up losing the last round to Banks when she was using the aforementioned basketball.
Rounding out the results of Overtime's challenge were Dennis getting eliminated first with Johnson lucking out against the eventual winner next and then Williams narrowly reaching the halfway point in the third round.
JuJu Watkins also defeated Paige Bueckers earlier this year in NCAA setting
Back on Dec. 21 of last year, the USC Trojans got their first-ever win against Paige Bueckers and the UConn Huskies in a non-conference game on the road, 72-70. It was one of the most hyped-up fixtures of the 2024-2025 season, as it drew in, at its peak, 3.76 million viewers which became FOX Sports's second-highest-rated game ever.
Along with beating their squad, JuJu Watkins also won the individual matchup between her and Paige Bueckers as the second-year spitfire scorer finished with a game-high 25 points, six rebounds, five assists, a steal and three blocks as opposed to Bueckers' 22 markers, three boards, two dimes and a steal.