Jan 1, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Wizards bench celebrates during the fourth quarter against the Chicago Bulls at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images

Two Bold Predictions for Wizards vs. Raptors

Originally posted on Washington Wizards on SI
By Scott Conrad | Last updated Oct 12, 2025 2:30 PM ET

The Washington Wizards will be away from the nation's capitol when they play the Toronto Raptors. This will be the first of three preseason games for the Wizards in the next four days.

After a disappointing season last year, the Wizards barely won 18 games and missed the NBA Playoffs again. With veterans CJ McCollum and Khris Middleton on the roster to start the season, the Wizards' young core of Bub Carrington, Alex Sarr, Bilal Coulibaly and rookie Tre Johnson can hopefully grow and develop.

Coulibaly is listed out for Sunday's game in Toronto. Alex Sarr is expected to play but is still recovering from an injury, just like forward Corey Kispert. That still leaves the rest of the team to take the court and work off some of the cobwebs or rust from having the last six months off.

Here are two bold predictions for the game between the Wizards and the Raptors.

Welcome to D.C., Tre! #ForTheDistrict | @Cisco pic.twitter.com/XA7eEdNSrO
— Washington Wizards (@WashWizards) June 26, 2025

1. Tre Johnson goes off and puts on a show.

Washington used the sixth-overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft to select Johnson. The 19-year-old guard shined in his lone season for the University of Texas Longhorns.

Johnson scored almost 20 points a game thanks to his 39.7% shooting percentage from deep. The Wizards were not the only team from the Southeast Division last season that struggled to do well from behind the three-point arc. Washington shot 33.5% from three, second-worst behind only the Orlando Magic (31.8%) and next to the Charlotte Hornets' mark of 33.9% during the 2024-25 season.

Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

The Dallas, Texas native was drafted with the hopes that he would help create more offense for a team that ranked fourth-worst with only 108 points per game. Johnson is easily capable of going off for 13-17 points during this exhibition. He may struggle finding his shot for his first game at the NBA level since the Summer League.

Johnson played in two games for the Wizards during the Summer League. He averaged 19.5 points on better than 58% shooting from the floor. The rookie made 45% of his shots from deep.

Thus, Washington's high-scoring guard could perform well at the Capital One Arena against the Raptors.

Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images

2. Washington wins and starts drops the Raptors to 2-2.

A win on Sunday for the Wizards would be a high point early on for the new season. Toronto is 2-1 entering the game in D.C.

Washington went 18-64 last season and missed the playoffs again. The Raptors were the eleventh best team in the NBA Eastern Conference last year.

The Wizards would consider a similar finish as a success this season. With a young core during head coach Brian Keefe's second full season with the team, Washington is hopeful for a turn in fortune and a win during their first preseason game.

This article first appeared on Washington Wizards on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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