Tre Johnson is the Future of the Washington Wizards

The Washington Wizards have turned the corner in recent years, following the trade of former franchise cornerstone Bradley Beal in June of 2023. Since that 2023 offseason, the Wizards have drafted names like Alex Sarr, Bilal Coulibaly, Bub Carrington and Kyshawn George, who all look like building blocks of the future.

While each of those players are talented, they seem to project more in a complementary role, supporting a potential offensive star with defense table-setting. Recent trades have set the Wizards up to have enough cap space to add a max contract in the 2026 offseason, but attracting a superstar to Washington isn't an easy task.

Enter Tre Johnson.

The Wizards selected Johnson with the No. 6 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft with the hopes he becomes the offensive firepower needed alongside their core. While they're far away from serious contention, Johnson can be viewed as the final piece of the puzzle for the long-term starting lineup – including himself and the aforementioned four building blocks.

In the first half of the season, it's likely C.J. McCollum or Khris Middleton may start, but with a bit of development, Johnson can take that spot by the trade deadline. Those two can also be great mentors for Johnson, as they've both scored over 12,000 career points – proven bucket-getters.

Johnson led the Southeastern conference with 19.9 points per game at just 19 years old. His mark of 19 points per game as an SEC freshman has only been reached by NBA All-Stars, 20 point per game scorers or Sixth Man of the Year candidates since 2014-2015 – proving faith in his scoring translation.

He's an elite perimeter threat, shooting 39.7 percent from 3-point range on an impressive degree of difficulty. Johnson regularly saw double-teams all season long as he carried the Texas offense on his back. His ability to take and make difficult shots could see him play a similar role that Jordan Poole ran last season, but Johnson will have four years to improve upon it.

All the pieces are in place for Johnson to become the Wizards leading scorer early on, and he's talented enough to do so. Within a few short years, it's possible that Johnson emerges as the leader of a promising Wizards squad.