JuJu Watkins and Jayden Daniels are supposedly just friends. There is no confirmation that they are dating but they are not cousins like people on the internet often suggest.
It is a mystery!
Nobody seems to know whether the best player in women’s college basketball is in a relationship with the reigning NFL rookie of the year. Their latest public appearance creates even more confusion.
JuJu Watkins and Jayden Daniels are not cousins.
JuJu Watkins hails from Los Angeles, California. She played high school basketball at the Winward School and Sierra Canyon in Chatsworth.
Jayden Daniels hails from Fontana, California. He played high school football at Cajon High School in San Bernandino.
They did not grow up together. They are both high-profile athletes from the same region and both sponsored by Nike but they are not childhood friends. Nor are they related.
Watkins’ mom, Sari Watkins, is one of five daughters. At no point in the 2024 docuseries ‘On The Rise: JuJu Watkins’ does she mention Regina Jackson as being part of her family.
Regina Jackson is the mother of Jayden Daniels. She tagged her two sisters in a post on Instagram in 2014 to celebrate National Siblings Day. Sari Watkins was not tagged.
That debunks the narrative that Jayden and JuJu are cousins. They are not. I do not know where that came from. It is not true.
Are they dating?
Here is where things get murky. Jayden Daniels and JuJu Watkins have never confirmed their relationship. Nor have they posted together on Instagram. Nothing romantic.
However, they are often spotted together.
The rumor mill really started to turn last spring. Jayden was sitting next to JuJu at March Madness.
His mom later interrupted.
And then JuJu and Jayden left a birthday party together in July.
She pulled up to his game and sat in his box in October. They have a secret handshake.
That leads us to Friday night.
JuJu Watkins became the first basketball player to have her jersey retired at Sierra Canyon. Jayden Daniels was in the crowd to support her.
Maybe they are just friends. If that is true, they are really, really, really close friends. It requires an extremely tight bond to pull up to a jersey retirement ceremony. Or they are dating…