Could Rookie Tre Johnson Play Point Guard for Wizards?

At the 2025 NBA Draft, the Washington Wizards zagged somewhat in selecting Texas guard Tre Johnson.

At 6-foot-6, Johnson checked a few of the boxes Washington has sought after in their rebuild — namely positional size at 6-foot-6 with a solid wingspan — but he doesn’t match the play-style of many of their previous picks.

At the core of most of their draft selections in their new rebuild has been defense. But Johnson, having averaged nearly 20 points per g ame in his time with the Longhorns, is virtually all offense. 

Still, it’s easy to see why the Wizards fancied a hyper scorer with the No. 6 pick — especially given he could check another box the team looks for: positional versatility.

In college, Johnson played the two-guard, largely scoring via his blistering 3-point shooting on the wing. While he’s certainly capable of handling the rock and creating for himself, his simple spot-up ranged scoring was the most effective. He shot 40% on nearly seven attempts per game from three, doing so off other creators, and projects to do the same at the NBA level.

Still, Washington may very well be banking on the fact Johnson can improve his lead guard skills, or even move to that position full-time down the road.

Johnson’s collegiate passing numbers looked somewhat pedestrian at first glance: 2.7 assists per game to 1.8 turnovers. But diving into the tape shows some truly elite skill in this area with touch, accuracy and reactivity to defense. His creative dribble allows him fairly unique driving angles, and he’s able to parlay his own s coring gravity into advantageous situations for his teammates.

Additionally, Johnson is fairly polished in terms of set actions, able to function as the pick-and-roll handler, either scoring for himself or setting up others.

Still, Johnson will have an uphill battle if he wants more on-ball reps. The lead guard position is among the hardest to learn in the NBA, and the Wizards will have several prospects or veterans battling it out for those minutes.

Johnson looked far from a point guard in Summer League action a month ago, scoring a blistering 19.5 points through two games, but adding just 1.5 assists in the process.

Ultimately, Johnson will likely remain a two-guard who can provide a secondary play-making punch, opposed to moving to lead guard full time. But the Wizards’ current roster construction could allow him some trial by fire moments this upcoming season.