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John Tonje impresses in NBA Summer League debut with efficient shooting for Utah Jazz

After recovering from an ankle injury, Wisconsin Badgers second-round pick John Tonje made his NBA Summer League debut for the Utah Jazz with a strong shooting performance in an overtime loss.
Lorin Cox|
Jul 14, 2025; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Utah Jazz forward John Tonje (17) drives towards the basket against San Antonio Spurs forward Carter Bryant (11) during the first half of a NBA basketball game at the Thomas & Mack Center.
Jul 14, 2025; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Utah Jazz forward John Tonje (17) drives towards the basket against San Antonio Spurs forward Carter Bryant (11) during the first half of a NBA basketball game at the Thomas & Mack Center. | Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images

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Wisconsin Badgers

After missing his first few NBA Summer League opportunities with an ankle injury, John Tonje finally made his Utah Jazz debut Monday night and looked like he belonged in the pros.

He started and scored an efficient 16 points in 23 minutes of the Jazz's 93-91 overtime loss to the San Antonio Spurs.

The second-round pick hit five of his nine attempts in the game, including four of his seven shots from deep. His shooting efficiency was second only to Jazz breakout rookie Kyle Filipowski, who led the team with 35 points in the game.

Tonje was active from the opening tip, assisting on Utah's first basket, then rebounding the Spurs' first miss and immediately following that with a catch-and-shoot three-pointer of his own.

He went from being doubtful for Sunday's game with the ankle injury to starting Monday's game, so he may not have been operating at 100 percent.

Tonje will have another opportunity to show the Jazz what he can do when they play the Wizards in on Wednesday night, assuming the ankle recovers properly from his debut.

His Wisconsin teammate, Steven Crowl, has yet to see the floor for Utah this summer, failing to crack the rotation as an undrafted player.

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Lorin Cox
LORIN COX

Lorin Cox is the managing editor of Wisconsin Badgers on SI. He has been covering Badgers sports since 2014, when he was an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin. He previously wrote for the Wisconsin State Journal, NBC Sports Chicago and USA Today Sports Media Group, and he is a former analyst for Pro Football Focus.

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