ROSEMONT, Ill. — On one side of town is a defending national champion that reloaded like a rich kid with his parent’s credit card at Erewhon.

On the other side is a team that might feature even more talent, including the most electrifying basketball player in Los Angeles.

The real winner in the renewal of a rivalry that’s ready to push past maximum volume and go to 11?

Everybody.

Whether you root for UCLA or USC, it’s going to be a slam-dunk season for women’s basketball in LA.

“I think we’ll see record crowds everywhere we go,” Trojans coach Lindsay Gottlieb said Wednesday at Big Ten media days, “but there’s a special buzz when it’s the crosstown showdown.”

The first clue that these teams will hold sway in this ficklest of places can be found in the names.

JuJu. Jazzy. Sienna.

Last names aren’t necessary when you possess this kind of star power

JuJu Watkins was recognized walking around Chicago on Tuesday, humbly pausing to indulge those who tried to engage her.

Jazzy Davidson drew millions of views on social media just by throwing up the two-finger Victory Salute at a recent USC football game.

Sienna Betts is also instantly recognized, not just for the older sister who plays in the WNBA but her own emerging fame.

This rivalry has been veering into overdrive for several years now, with sellout crowds, massive TV ratings and sibling rivals Reggie Miller (UCLA) and Cheryl (USC) sitting courtside.

It took a slight dip last season when Watkins, a onetime Wooden Award winner, sat out with the devastating knee injury she suffered in the 2025 NCAA Tournament. UCLA went on to wallop the Trojans in both meetings before doing the same thing to the other USC — South Carolina — while winning its first NCAA championship.

The days of one-sided showings are over.

Watkins’ return means that the rivalry might be on the verge of unprecedented heights.

“Just super excited to see how everything pans out,” Watkins said.

The Trojans have a Big 3 in Watkins, Davidson and five-star freshman Saniyah Hall — along with a strong supporting cast — though Gottlieb doesn’t use the term superteam.

“I’ve never called it that,” Gottlieb said. “We’ve just tried to assemble a team that we think can have championship aspirations. We’ve got a lot of excellent players that are all going to play whatever role they’re asked to the best of their ability, and if you do that at the highest level, it becomes a superteam.”

Across town, the intrigue revolves around the Bruins replacing their top six players after losing Lauren Betts, Kiki Rice, Gabriela Jaquez, Angela Dugalic, Gianna Kneepkens and Charlisse Leger-Walker to the WNBA.

They went about it with a heavy infusion of players from the transfer portal, including the telling return of a player who departed the previous year. Finding there was indeed something finer than North Carolina, point guard Elina Aarnisalo came back to UCLA after having spent her freshman season with the Bruins in 2024-25 and her sophomore season as a Tar Heel.

But will it be enough to make UCLA a contender in 2026-27?

The Bruins suffered a big setback earlier this week when guard-forward Lena Bilic, who was expected to be a major contributor, suffered a knee injury that will keep her out for the entire season.

Betts and fellow returner Timea Gardiner — who sat out last season while recovering from her own knee injury — said their team might be overlooked despite being the defending national champs.

“Isn’t that cool?” UCLA coach Cori Close said, adding that adopting that mindset would allow her team to focus on its own values and process while ignoring outside expectations.

“I do think we’re a little bit overlooked, but the only thing that does the talking is just go win and the rest will take care of itself.”

Long a champion of women’s basketball, Close considers herself in a partnership with USC to grow the game in LA. This season, that growth can continue to transcend gender.

“We have an opportunity just to impact Los Angeles for basketball — forget just women’s basketball — for fans of the game,” Close said, “because both programs are going to play it at such a high level.”

The teams are scheduled to meet twice in February, with another matchup or two possible in the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments for teams with championship aspirations.

Anyone who wants to be part of the greatest showdown in town shouldn’t wait.

“If you intend to come,” Gottlieb said, “you should get your tickets early.”