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What is Tre Johnson’s NBA Draft consensus?

by:keenanwomack•04/05/25
Tre Johnson
Tre Johnson (Petre Thomas-Imagn Images)

The 2024-2025 Texas men’s basketball season was one marked by inconsistency as the Longhorns struggled through a historically difficult SEC slate, finishing 13th in the conference with a 19-15 record entering the NCAA Tournament. Technically, Texas was not even a part of the Field of 64, as they were selected to appear in a First Four game against Xavier, which they lost, 86-81. 

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Of course, the team’s struggles were no fault of phenom Tre Johnson, a consensus five-star shooting guard from Link Prep that averaged 19.9 points per game in his first and only collegiate season with Texas. Johnson managed to lead the SEC in scoring as a freshman, a feat completed just six times in the history of the conference, done most recently in 2023 by Alabama’s Brandon Miller.

Despite the team’s lack of success, Johnson’s draft stock rose throughout the season as he demonstrated high-level scoring ability from all three levels, aided by an advanced functional handle that allowed him to get to his spots on the floor. He’s drawn comparisons to Cam Thomas (Brooklyn), Tyler Herro (Miami), and Buddy Hield (Golden State) as an off-guard that can fill it up at the pro level. 

With such promising scoring upside as well as positional size at 6-foot-6, Johnson has been consistently projected in the top 10 of this summer’s NBA Draft. Here are some notable mocks, and where Johnson falls in each of them. 

ESPN – Pick 5, Philadelphia 76ers

Though this is a fairly common projected landing spot for Johnson, it makes much more sense for Philadelphia to fortify their front court than it does to add another guard to the mix on top of Tyrese Maxey, Jared McCain, and Quentin Grimes. The 76ers should probably draft Derik Queen, Khaman Maluach, or some other big if in fact they are considering moving on from the Joel Embiid experiment. If Johnson were to land in Philadelphia, however, he would have the benefit of working off of playmaking guards, which could open him up for some clean looks. 

No Ceilings NBA – Pick 6, Brooklyn Nets 

Brooklyn already has a high-volume shot maker in Thomas, but the idea here would be that Johnson could play the wing spot for the Nets while Thomas played the shooting guard spot. Thomas has also struggled quite a bit with injuries, and the Nets need as much offensive firepower as possible, so a player whose primary skill is scoring would be a welcome addition. At a certain point, the NBA Draft is about best player available, and with the ambiguity surrounding the middle lottery, taking Johnson could be viewed as a high-floor pick. 

SI NBA Draft – Pick 7, Toronto Raptors 

The Raptors are another team that has players at Johnson’s position already in Gradey Dick and Ja’Kobe Walter, but frankly, Johnson has higher upside than both of these players (as good as Dick has been this year). They also have wings in RJ Barrett and Brandon Ingram, meaning Johnson would almost certainly play the shooting guard role for this team instead of the three. Having a post hub like Scottie Barnes that can facilitate an offense from the block could lead to great opportunities for Johnson off the ball. 

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Jonathan Wasserman, Bleacher Report; Kevin O’Connor, Yahoo! Sports – Pick 8, San Antonio Spurs

Arguably, the place that makes the most sense for Johnson is right down the road from the Moody Center. The San Antonio Spurs badly need spacing around De’Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle, and Victor Wembanyama, and Johnson would immediately provide that with his ability to score both off of the dribble and off of the catch. He would fill the Devin Vassell role of off-ball scoring threat and provide consistent shooting for a team that is currently below league average in three-point percentage.

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