With the No. 6 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, the Washington Wizards selected Texas Longhorns guard Tre Johnson.
When the Wizards took Johnson off the board, the 6’5, 190-pounder became the 20th first-round selection in Longhorns history, the highest pick from Texas since center Mo Bamba was drafted No. 6 by the Orlando Magic in the 2018 NBA Draft, and the first player from the Forty Acres picked at all since three Horns were selected in 2021.
Only four players in school history — Kevin Durant, LaMarcus Aldridge, Tristan Thompson, and LaSalle Thompson — have been picked more highly than Johnson.
Johnson helped himself during the pre-draft process with a wingspan that measured 6’10.25”, a vertical leap of 37.5 inches, and a lane agility time of 10.49 seconds, measurables that helped make his pure scoring ability all the more projectable to the next level.
“I think wherever Tre goes, he’s going to have a chance to have an impact because his skill set is so high,” former Texas head coach Rodney Terry said on Tuesday. “I had a chance to coach a young Kevin Durant in college at Texas as well. And I’m not saying he’s Kevin Durant, but I’ve never seen or been around a kid that scores the ball as easy as Tre Johnson does, and has a skill set in terms of shooting the basketball for his size. So I think wherever he goes, he’s gonna have a chance from an offensive standpoint to really make an impact.”
The selection matches the potential that produced significant hype around Johnson during his prep years.
When the 6’6, 190-pounder committed to Texas and former head coach Rodney Terry in late 2023, it was a huge coup for the Longhorns. Alabama, Kansas, Kentucky, and Baylor, his father’s alma mater, also hosted Johnson on official visits, but he made the mature decision to attend Texas because he felt Austin would prepare for him for the big-city environments where NBA teams are located.
A Garland native who finished his high school career at LINK Academy in Missouri, Johnson was a consensus five-star prospect ranked as the No. 5 player overall and the No. 2 shooting guard, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings.
“He said, hey, I want you to coach me to be one of the best players in the country,” Terry said prior to the NCAA Tournament. “Is that demanding? Is that holding him accountable to another level, other than just a freshman? Yes, it is. But I think he embraced that. I think his teammates embraced that, in terms of how good we were pushing him to be this year, and I think he’s excelled at a high level.”
Known as a superlative pure scorer, Johnson lived up to the expectations and more, earning SEC Freshman of the Year honors in leading Texas to an NCAA Tournament appearance, becoming the 10th player in program history to earn conference freshman of the year recognition by leading the SEC in scoring (19.9 ppg) by making 39.7 percent (89-224) of his three-point attempts and 87.1 percent (121-139) of his free-throw attempts.
Johnson also led the team in minutes (34.7 mpg) while ranking second in assists (90, 2.7 apg) and steals (31, 0.9 spg). His 19.9 ppg is the second-highest scoring average by a Texas player since Kevin Durant averaged 25.8 ppg in 2006-07 behind J’Covan Brown (20.1 ppg) in 2011-12.
Making his presence felt quickly, Johnson opened his collegiate career by shattering Kevin Durant’s freshman debut scoring record with 29 points on 10-of-20 shooting, including 5-of-10 shooting from three, in a loss to Ohio State. Johnson added four assists in that game.
A tireless worker in the gym perfecting his shot, Johnson is a high-level shooter in catch-and-shoot situations or off the bounce who improved his ability to get into the paint as the season went along. While Johnson isn’t an elite athlete in terms of his explosiveness, he’s worked hard to maximize his quickness and leaping ability and has a deep bag of layups to finish around the rim with either hand, although his 59.8 shooting percentage around the rim leaves room for improvement.
Because opposing teams often sent double teams against Johnson, he was afforded plenty of opportunities to show off his passing ability and consistently make strong, unselfish decisions with the basketball, finishing second on the team in assist rate at 16.5 while only turning the ball over on 11.3 percent of his possessions, all the more impressive because of his high usage rate.
As a defender, Johnson rarely had lapses in his mental or physical intensity, working hard on the defensive end to make an impact.
“I learned how hard you really have to play to win. I feel like I didn’t know how hard you have to play to win a college game when I first got here,” Johnson said in Dayton.
“Being in some of the close games that we’ve had made me realize that you can’t take any plays off or anything like that. You have to play extremely hard just to win one game.”
It’s knowledge that will serve Johnson well in an NBA career that projects as lengthy and productive.