The first round concluded with the Los Angeles Clippers selecting Yanic Konan Niederhauser from Penn State, and John Tonje is still waiting to see which NBA team will draft him. This isn't overly surprising, as he's been projected around the 40th pick for weeks. The draft played out basically how it was expected to, with some surprises in terms of where players were selected, but overall, through 30 picks, it was mostly chalk.
According to draft boards and "best available" lists, John Tonje is one of the best players waiting for round two to start. Jay Bilas and ESPN have him as the 12th-best player left on the board, which would put him right around 40, just like most experts thought.
CBS Sports has him as the 14th best available player on the board, which keeps him right around his projected pick slot.
The final mock draft that ESPN put out had John Tonje going to the Toronto Raptors on the 39th pick, but there is still some smoke that he could be higher or lower. It's hard to know, as he's an interesting prospect. He's an elite scorer and a top-level shooter, but he's also a super senior and already 23 years old.
The NBA prizes young potential. They love players like Ace Bailey, who are super young but show a ton of potential. They will overlook a lot to make that happen, thinking they can help bring that player to their potential. For a player like Tonje, teams have to decide if Tonje is ready now, because they can't waste too much time with him developing in the G-League.
His elite shooting, especially his catch-and-shoot rate around 42% from 3-point range, is very desirable for NBA teams. Now that he's a second-round pick, they don't need to force him into a starting role. He can find a separate role off the bench and help a team win in other ways.
The NBA Draft round two will be on ESPN at 7 pm CST on June 26, 2025.