Former Badger John Tonje had another NBA workout this week with the Sacramento Kings. He's quietly piling up workouts ahead of the NBA Draft in about two weeks. He's had seven with five more to go unless others get scheduled between now and the draft. After his latest one, reporters interviewed him, and he told them exactly how he plans to impress NBA teams and what they are looking for from him.
You can watch the interview below, but Tonje used some version of "compete" throughout the entire 2:42 clip. He shared how his goal in all these workouts is to show his competitiveness both in his ability to play and his work ethic in the drills. That's all he's thinking about: showing them how he competes because that will help them win.
Wisconsin's John Tonje discusses today's workout in Sacramento with the Kings, his impressive season with the Badgers last season, the experience at the NBA Draft Combine & what he brings to the next level. pic.twitter.com/b1CZIoNAv8
— Sean Cunningham (@SeanCunningham) June 11, 2025
John Tonje is showing NBA teams that he loves to compete and he will help them win
The Sacramento Kings hold the 42nd pick in the NBA Draft, and without a first-round pick, they are making sure they do their due diligence on all the players who could be available for them at that slot. Currently, John Tonje is being projected right around that pick, which is the 12th pick of the second round.
There are plenty of other teams looking at Tonje, with 12 known workouts and plenty of NBA Combine buzz. He's flying a bit under the radar, which is often the case for a player in the second round. The teams that want him are keeping their cards close to their chest. Not all the teams have even made it known that they are working out Tonje as the Kings did.
The NBA Draft kicks off with the first round on June 25 at 7 p.m. CT and continues on June 26 with the second round at 7 p.m. CT.