John Tonje reflects on Wisconsin basketball career, preparation for 2025 NBA Draft

Badgers guard John Tonje delivered one of the best seasons in Wisconsin men’s basketball history. Now he's climbing NBA Draft boards headed into June.

You don’t just replace a player like John Tonje. Not with a quick dip into the portal. The University of Wisconsin men's basketball program will tell you as much. Because after just one season in Madison, Tonje didn’t just leave his mark—he redefined what’s possible for a transfer.

And now, after delivering one of the most statistically dominant campaigns in Wisconsin Badgers history, he’s putting that résumé in front of NBA decision-makers. Tonje is officially in the mix.

The 6-foot-5, 211-pound guard out of Omaha, Nebraska, capped off his college career with a 2024–25 season that will live in the Wisconsin record books. He averaged 19.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.8 assists while shooting 38.8% from deep and 90.9% at the free-throw line.

His 724 total points were the second-most in a single season in program history, trailing only Frank Kaminsky, who was named the National Player of the Year in 2015. Tonje connected on 85 threes—third-most all-time in a single season—and his 231 made free throws set a new program record. Not too shabby.

Still, ask Tonje what this draft process is about for him, and he doesn’t talk numbers. He talks about improvement.

“I think it’s just a steady improvement every day,” Tonje said after the NBA Draft Combine. “I love the game, I love to get better, and I love to compete and win. I’m someone that can see myself getting better and continue to grow. I love the game, so I think the sky’s the limit.”

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That mindset isn’t new. Tonje came to Wisconsin as a low-profile transfer addition after a year riddled with injuries at Missouri. But with the Badgers, Tonje thrived—both on and off the court. He became a Second-Team All-American. He led the Badgers to a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament. And when the lights were brightest, he didn’t flinch.

Tonje averaged 25.1 points per game against ranked opponents, dropped six 30+ point performances, and scored 20 or more in 15 games, including a career-high 41-point outburst against No. 9 Arizona at the Kohl Center on November 15.

Then he followed it up with 37 points in the NCAA Tournament loss to BYU in the Round of 32, a final performance that showed exactly the kind of competitor NBA teams are evaluating for the future.

But make no mistake—Tonje is being evaluated on more than just his ability to get buckets and find his way to the free-throw line. They’re digging into personality, leadership, and how he carries himself when no one’s watching. And that’s the part of the process he’s embraced.

"I really just wanted to be myself," Tonje said. "That’s what I was told by my agency—that a lot of the stuff is about who you are the person, not just who you are the basketball player. They just encouraged me to go out there and be myself, and I think that gave me a good chance."

Tonje didn’t try to oversell. He didn’t try to rehearse answers. He leaned into what got him here in the first place: consistency, humility, and a quiet confidence that resonated all year with Wisconsin fans.

“Man, it was amazing,” Tonje said about the combine. “It was a blessing to be out there and see all the people I grew up seeing on TV and seeing some of the other college athletes so it was fun to compete and all the drills, get to go through everything. That was my first time doing everything, so it was just kind of fresh and new to see everything that goes into the draft. I was excited to be there."

And based on how NBA teams are projecting him, that excitement is mutual.

Tonje is currently viewed as a mid-second-round pick in several mock drafts. ESPN has him going No. 48 to the Memphis Grizzlies. The Athletic slots him at No. 41 to the Warriors. Yahoo has him at No. 45 to the Bulls, calling him “a readymade movement scorer and shooter” who could stick as a rotation piece.

He’s aiming to become Wisconsin’s fourth player drafted since 2015, following in the footsteps of Kaminsky, Sam Dekker, and Johnny Davis—who went 10th overall in 2022 and was the first player selected during Greg Gard's tenure as head coach.

And it’s easy to see why Tonje is next.

“Wisconsin is a top-match place to play,” Tonje said when asked what allowed him to flourish at UW. “Great coaches, great players. Every day, I was able to push myself and compete with those guys.

“The coaching staff was amazing, preparing us every day for each game. It was just a surreal year, and I learned so much from playing with the Badgers.”

That kind of appreciation isn’t performative—it’s earned. It’s part of what made Tonje a seamless fit for a Wisconsin men's basketball team that needed high-level scoring output and leadership. And it’s why his season is now being compared to that of another short-term transfer who changed the trajectory of a Badgers football program: Russell Wilson.

Wilson transferred in from NC State, led Wisconsin to a Big Ten title and Rose Bowl appearance in 2011, and left a legacy in just one year. Tonje’s impact felt strikingly similar—he didn’t just score a ton of points, he elevated everyone around him. He brought poise, presence, and professionalism to a program that ended up with one of its best offensive seasons in school history, finishing No. 13 nationally in adjusted efficiency per KenPom. And for a player known as much for his maturity as his production, that’s exactly where his draft stock quietly began to rise.

Even now, when Tonje reflects on the season, he doesn’t default to a highlight reel. He points to connection.

“I would say the Greenbrier Championship when we were down there in West Virginia," Tonje said when asked about his favorite moment at Wisconsin. "It was our first team trip together. We all got to bond and figure out who we were off the court. We won the tournament as well, so that was a huge experience.”

It’s easy to get caught up in the points. And they matter. His 5.6 PRPG (points above replacement) wasn’t just the highest on the team—it was the best Wisconsin has seen in over a decade. But Tonje's intangibles—the buy-in, the drive, the loyalty—keep popping up.

“I wanted to play in the Power Five, being a mid-major kid first,” Tonje shared. “I got to play against some of the most athletic guys in the nation, and some of the best talent, so the Big Ten was huge.

"A lot of the Big Ten guys made it to the NBA Combine as well, so it was good to see the Big Ten out there representing.”

He earned that stage. And now he’s doing what he always does—quietly maximizing the opportunity in front of him.

For NBA teams, the decision on Tonje may come down to fit or need. But whoever lands him won’t just be getting a shooter or a scorer. They’ll be getting a tone-setter. A grown-up. A leader capable of producing and being a strong culture piece in an NBA locker room.

And as Wisconsin just found out, that’s a pretty rare thing to stumble across. We’ll find out where Tonje lands on Wednesday, June 25, when the 2025 NBA Draft officially gets underway at 7 p.m. Central.

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