Former Wisconsin basketball star wing John Tonje’s stock is on the rise after the NBA combine.
The veteran showed out during one of the event’s five-on-five scrimmages, totaling 17 points, seven rebounds and two assists in 27 minutes of action. That performance followed stellar shooting totals during earlier drills. According to ESPN’s Jonathan Givony, only four players shot a better percentage than the former Badger.
Just how much is Tonje’s strong combine showing helping his draft stock? According to one longtime basketball writer, he could sneak into the end of the first round.
However, that optimistic projection and positive momentum did not affect ESPN’s latest post-combine mock draft. Tonje is slotted at No. 48 overall to the Memphis Grizzlies. The update comes six days after the former Badger was projected No. 47 to the Milwaukee Bucks.
For a broader view, he goes off the board at No. 41 in The Athletic’s projection, No. 40 in Yahoo Sports’, No. 47 in Bleacher Report’s and No. 48 in Sporting News’. While outlets are skeptical of his rise near the draft’s first round, his status as a selection appears rock-solid.
Tonje’s current NBA trajectory is a major surprise after he joined the Badgers as the No. 296-ranked transfer during the 2024 offseason. Of course, it is not a surprise after his performance during the 2024-25 season, which included per-game averages of 19.6 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists, plus shooting totals of 46.5% from the floor, 39% from 3 and 91% from the free-throw line.
The first round of the 2025 NBA draft will be held on June 25 at 8 p.m. ET, broadcast on ABC and ESPN. The second round, where Tonje is likely to be selected, is scheduled for the following night at the same time. Wisconsin is set to have its first player drafted since Johnny Davis in 2022 and just the second since Frank Kaminsky and Sam Dekker both went in 2015.
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