La Jolla Country Day High School junior Jada Williams is one of the best high basketball school players in the nation.
She can do it all on the court, and she's a team player.
"I'll guard the best player, I'll guard the biggest player, I'll do whatever I gotta do, I'll have 10 points and we win, that's cool with me," said Williams. "Basketball is just something I love to do, I'm passionate about it and I'm kind of good."
She's actually really good!
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She's already committed to play college ball at UCLA. She won a gold medal on the junior Team USA and she's a true basketball globetrotter.
"I've had some super amazing opportunities to play in Sweden, I played in Canada, I played basically in every state," she said.
Jada Williams is a huge presence on the court, but she may be even bigger off the court.
Her TikTok videos have received over 4,000,000 likes, she has nearly 14,000 Twitter followers and those aren't even her social media platforms of choice.
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"I'd say Instagram. Instagram is kind of my go-to. It just kind of blew up out of nowhere. It wasn't something I was looking for. It wasn't like mom, I want to be famous on Instagram, it just kinda happened. People kind of gravitated towards me because I was so real and I wasn't like famous, as people thought I was so famous in Hollywood, but really I'm just a cool person. I love to have fun, I'm goofy," she said.
Jada's prime personality, her super skill as a hooper and her enormous reach on social media have allowed her to capitalize on her name, image and likeness.
Recent law changes in California have allowed amateur athletes to capitalize on their name, image and likeness via sponsorship and endorsement deals.
Jada has signed deals with Spalding, Move InSoles, Sole Premise and many other companies, becoming one of the first high school girls basketball players to sign major sponsorship deals.
"Before we couldn't really benefit off ourselves, we couldn't provide for our families in the future. We couldn't set ourselves up for success once we get out of college because we never know when the ball is gonna stop bouncing. So, if we have the opportunity to kind of fall back on it and just use it positively, like this is something we love to do, we're not doing it just for the money, but it helps," she said.
Dollar figures for her deals have not been released, but it's a significant amount. Jada says she's careful not to get caught up in the money or the notoriety.
"That was my number one thing that my mom and me talked about, was that I just have to know who I am and I don't touch the money now. I want to put it up and save it because I don't need it now, I'm so successful with my mom, I still am a kid, I still do the dishes and take out the trash. But you just have to understand and find a good balance."
Jada has found that balance because she's not just using her fame to better herself.
"I would always sit down with my family and just talk about, like, I could actually use this (notoriety and endorsement power) for something good and use my platform for much greater things than just basketball," she said.
One of the charities she's involved with is the Kay Yow Foundation to fight breast cancer. During her just completed junior season, Jada raised thousands of dollars with pledges for made free throws. It's a cause that's close to heart.
"Cancer has really affected my life for a long time. I've had a lot of family members and friends that have battled this disease and are still battling today," she said.
Jada says one person can really make a difference.
"The power of one, one person like me and you can can make one donation and save one life. And so I think that's super important that I'm able to use that platform to just save people and have it and put a smile on somebody's face."
Jada Williams, she's money on and off the court.... and in the new wild world of name, image and likeness, she's staying true to herself and those that know her best.
Jada says the best thing someone once told her is, "I'm not trying to prove people wrong. I'm trying to prove those people that know who I am, prove them right."
