Tre Johnson's nickname should be #00FF00 (maybe it can be pronounced, "Ooffoo") because that's the color code for the brightest shade of green on the color wheel — and also the color of the light Johnson will have to shoot the ball. Blinding green and flashing. Will Johnson's scoring aptitude and no fear of being reprimanded for shooting every time he touches the ball, can he average 20 points per game as a rookie?
We know the Wizards aren't going to be competing for a playoff spot this year, and Johnson will get (or maybe have) to shoot as many shots as his heart desires. Considering he attempted 15.9 shots per game as a freshman at Texas, his heart may desire a whole lot of shots.
So the opportunity will be there; still, reaching 20 points per game is incredibly tough, and gets tougher for Johnson when you look at the roster around him. Even as a rookie, he'll get plenty of defensive attention due to a lack of scoring upside throughout the Wizards roster.
The Wizards will need facilitation leaps from multiple players
Bilal Coulibaly and Bub Carrington taking leaps with their facilitation would go a long way in helping Johnson potentially hit that elusive 20-point mark as a rookie.
From year one to year two, Coulibaly doubled his assist output (1.7 to 3.4). I don't expect that to happen again, but if he can even become a five-assist-per-game guy for the Wiz, that's a huge development for Coulibaly himself, and for a guy like Johnson, who can create offense for himself, but (like all NBA players) would benefit more from having high-level passers flank him.
Carrington averaged 4.4 assists per game as a rookie. He's a wild card for the 2025-26 season, but if the vision he displayed last season continues to grow, then suddenly a Carrington / Coulibaly backcourt (or wing combo, depending on where you think they'll end up playing) could become the foundation for some offenses that move the ball well.
Tre Johnson would join impressive company by averaging 20 points per game
Luka Doncic, Zion Williamson, Paolo Banchero, Victor Wembanyama. Since 2018, that's the whole list of rookies who have averaged 20 points per game. It's a list full of stars, and Tre Johnson adding his name to that list would be a pretty monumental achievement.
I think the most comparable recent example to Johnson's situation this year is Jalen Green's rookie season with the Rockets. In 2021-22, the Rockets were in a rebuilding year, and Green was instantly given the go-ahead to shoot as much as he wanted. He was about as efficient as you'd expect from a rookie, and ended up averaging a little over 17 points per game that year.
It's hard to score in this league. Tre Johnson, who is in Washington to score, score, and score some more, will be given every opportunity to do so starting later this month. Whether he can actually join that elusive 20-point rookie club, though, would take a pretty herculean effort from him each night.