Texas Longhorns' Tre Johnson Shines in NBA Summer League Debut

He confirmed postgame the play was accidental.

"I thought Will [Riley] was going to keep going down to the paint," Johnson said. "So I tried to still throw it to him even when I stopped. And then I saw it go into [Maluach's] leg, so I just kept running with the ball."

Offensively, Johnson played the heavy majority of possessions off the ball. He tended to begin in the corner, then rotate upwards in search for the basketball or collapse into the key on a teammate's shot attempt. His off-ball movement will prove important in his rookie year, as Carrington and veteran CJ McCollum can be assumed to do most of the ball-handling in the regular season.

However, at times, Johnson was the one to bring the ball down the court, sometimes looking comfortable and other times very shaky. He was pressured while dribbling across half court to start the fourth quarter and was forced into a bad pass turnover, an example of how he can be hurried into poor decision-making as a playmaker. Johnson's ideas as a passer are there, he just needs to execute.

As a shotmaker, Johnson showed how polished he is. He was smooth and confident, finding his spots and demonstrating ability to shoot over taller defenders, rise off the dribble while leaning, as well as spot up off transition. He paired that with good awareness when driving downhill, though his shot selection in and around the lane will be a point of focus as he gets going in his professional career.

Defensively, there is a limit to the takeaways you can get from a single game, that being his first on the professional level. But Johnson struggled navigating screens, and the Suns employed pick and roll against him quite a few times. Even so, he overall looked more poised as a defender than he did most of the time at Texas, picking up opposing players farther up the court when on the ball. He has ways to go on defense, but improvement may come slow and steady.

Johnson said postgame picking up full court is an adjustment he is working on as he transitions to the NBA.

"I really [haven't] done that besides from when I'm told to. So that is something I have to get better at and get used to," Johnson said.

The Texas one-and-done product, who averaged 19.9 points per game last season to lead the Southeastern Conference in scoring as a freshman, didn't hesitate to put the NBA on notice about his skillset.

“Tre [Johnson] doesn’t have nerves,” Outlaw said postgame. And Johnson re-established that soon after.

"It's just a regular game," he said about his Summer League debut.

Johnson will return to the court on Sunday against the Brooklyn Nets as the Wizards look to get into the win column in Vegas.