Which Rising Wizards Star has Gone Most Overlooked by Early Record Forecasts?

The upcoming NBA season is just a month away from tipping off, but the basketball lurking around the corner won't start feeling tangible until fresh pictures of players wearing the jerseys they're set to represent start hitting the internet. That's exactly the purpose that Media Day regularly fills, yet national outlets aren't waiting to start submitting their broad expectations for each organization and roster that's set to debut.

The Washington Wizards, regularly used to getting beaten up by other on-court squads and analysts alike amidst their tanking antics, are attempting to move into a new direction this fall. They made a few of their strongest long-term investments in signing Trae Young and drafting AJ Dybantsa during the offseason's early goings, but several loud detractors refuse to consider that they've enhanced their regular season formula in any meaningful way. The Ringer, for instance, ranked the Wizards as the No. 28 team with the regular season looming, squarely behind several less-than-competitive peers.

Washington Wizards Lineup — Mar 5, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Injured Washington Wizards forward Anthony Davis (M) watches from the bench against the Utah Jazz in the first halfat Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

As dependent as Washington is on more established stars like Young and Anthony Davis reminding the rest of the NBA world of their residual post-trade value, they'll benefit greatly from their young studs similarly-embracing the open opportunities ahead. Those stakes aren't just limited to likely-starters like Dybantsa, Alex Sarr and Kyshawn George, either; despite his rockier path to instant minutes, Tre Johnson, too can push the Wizards to new competitive heights with his own unique brand of impact.

Johnson's Spot-Starting Upside

The race for the Wizards' final premium wing spot between Young and Dybantsa was generally-understood to be between Johnson and George, but the older forward's superior defensive package and lengthier track record as a distributing playmaker seem to have ultimately pushed him ahead as the friendlier, more versatile fifth starter. Thus, Johnson will hit the bench after a rookie season spent exploring his scoring role.

Tre Johnson step-back/parking lot threes

Who does he remind you of? pic.twitter.com/lx3GAkAokn
— Role Player Performances (@BenchHighlights) March 15, 2026

The guard shouldn't see his production seriously-damaged by any fluctuation within the Wizards' rotations, even if his value is heavily-tied to his shooting variance. Johnson's as comfortable dashing to familiar shooting zones and pulling up from eyebrow-raising range as anyone in Washington, offering a degree of pull-up ambition that even rivals that of Young.

His one-and-done NBA Summer League appearance further reinforced how useful that quiet scoring versatility will be in a bench role. When he's without a dominant on-ball presence in Young, it'll be Johnson who'll get to enjoy making reads out of the pick-and-roll and warping defenses with his inherent floor-spacing gravity.

Tre Johnson (26 PTS) went to work on Day 1 of NBA Summer League 💪

The @WashWizards pick up the win over the Jazz! pic.twitter.com/eu8VflZ9Ef
— NBA (@NBA) July 10, 2026

Some Johnson detractors will point to his rookie season's shooting splits, once-strong marks that plummeted from 40% territory to the mid-30s as the campaign trudged on, but concerns posed by his skinnier body may be alleviated by an altered reserve role. He may be spared from doling out quite so many minutes in settling into life as the primary backcourt understudy, where he'll be surrounded with the defenders to get his shot-creating game off.

While he and Young sharing minutes certainly won't do that defense any favors, he'll be a candidate to slide into a starting gig whenever one of the brittle bigs in Davis or Sarr has to miss any time, a move that'll compliment bigger options like Dybantsa and George sliding up in the positional order.

Johnson, as well as the early Rookie of the Year favorite, will attract a fair share of buzz as bets to land invitations to the Rising Stars game, as the oft-forgotten 2025 draft prize will be prioritized as the secondary shooting prospect he's been propped up to be entering a season filled with anticipated jumps. Just because he's slightly slipped as an organizational centerpiece doesn't mean that Washington's done ascertaining what he's capable of providing alongside bigger alternatives.

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