On Wednesday at Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn, Texas Longhorns guard Tre Johnson will be in attendance in the green room for the 2025 NBA Draft as he becomes the 20th Longhorn selected in the first round and the first Texas player selected since 2021.
Johnson has a chance to become the highest draft pick from the Forty Acres since forward Tristan Thompson was selected with the No. 4 pick in the 2011 NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers, but is likely to come off the board in the range of center Mo Bamba’s selection at No. 6 by the Orlando Magic in 2018 or center Jaxson Hayes at No. 8 by the Atlanta Hawks in 2019.
Those were the last two lottery picks for the Horns, who have produced good college players like Marcus Carr, Timmy Allen, Dylan Disu, and Max Abmas in recent years, but haven’t had a player selected since three players were picked in the 2021 NBA Draft — forward Kai Jones at No. 19 by the New York Knicks, forward Greg Brown at No. 43 by the New Orleans Pelicans, and center Jericho Sims at No. 58 by the New York Knicks.
The top two picks in the draft seem locked in with the Dallas Mavericks set to select Duke forward Cooper Flagg with the No. 1 pick and the San Antonio Spurs set to select Rutgers guard Dylan Harper with the No. 2 pick.
After that, things could get more interesting with Rutgers wing Ace Bailey creating a self-imposed, Shedeur Sanders-like fall in the draft out of his position as the No. 3 prospect on many big boards.
There are significant questions about the fit of Baylor shooting guard VJ Edgecombe with the Philadelphia 76ers roster, but his athleticism gives him a ceiling that the Sixers may find hard to pass up.
Duke wing Kon Knueppel fits into the next group of prospects that more firmly includes the tumbling Bailey, Johnson, and Oklahoma point guard Jeremiah Fears, creating some fluidity in the range between No. 4 and No. 8 with a number of mock drafts slotting Duke center Khaman Maluach at No. 7 to the New Orleans Pelicans.
So there are scenarios in which Johnson could go No. 4 to the Charlotte Hornets, No. 5 to the Utah Jazz, or No. 6 to the Washington Wizards with the belief that the the floor for the Texas standout is the No. 8 pick held by the Brooklyn Nets.
The draft will begin on Wednesday at 7 p.m. Central on ABC and ESPN in addition to streaming on the ESPN app with the second round scheduled for Thursday.