Washington Wizards 2025 NBA Mock Draft Roundup 2.0

Washington ethically tanked and was punished for it. The Wizards have their big man of the future in Alex Sarr, so why not pair him with one of the best pure scorers in the class? Johnson has skyrocketed up draft boards during the last few months. He can impact winning at the next level with his elite shotmaking abilities.

The Wizards saw Johnson fall to them at pick No. 6 in this mock draft. With Washington's other first-round selection, the franchise selects a big man with a prolific offensive motor. Wolf is a fluid mover as a point-center and is a capable playmaker within the flow of the offense. His defense is a question mark at the next level, but his offensive engine makes him a likely first-round pick.

The SEC Freshman of the Year dazzled on offense at Texas by creating for himself and hitting difficult shots on the move or with his patented step-backs and side-steps. He can also set up teammates on offense and registered a 6-foot, 10 1/4-inch wingspan that should also intrigue teams on the other end of the court. Wizards general manager Will Dawkins put on a brave face after watching his team drop on Monday and said the team is comfortable drafting at No. 6. But what happened to the Wizards in the lottery on Monday was anything but luck after finishing 18-64.

Clifford took advantage of a larger role with the Rams, averaging 18.9 points, 9.6 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.2 steals on 37.7% shooting from 3-point range. He established himself as a versatile player who can score, defend at a high level and playmake for others. He is a prospect to watch throughout the predraft process who can climb higher, given his overall skill set.

Wizards general manager Will Dawkins comes from the Oklahoma City school of getting guys who can dribble, pass and shoot as well as make decisions. Queen has many of those skills and averaged nearly 17 points, nine rebounds and two assists as a freshman at Maryland. He's been exceptionally productive at every stage of his career, and he has real offensive talent that should lead to him putting up real numbers in the NBA.

Queen is also from the DMV area and is the kind of personality that this team could use as it looks to take the next step forward. I also love the fit of Queen next to Alex Sarr, as Sarr's struggles to rebound would be helped immensely by Queen's positional play on the interior, while still allowing the team to play with some fun five-out concepts. Sarr's ability to protect the rim from the weak side would also help Queen's play on the interior defensively, too. This is a fun match.

Dawkins comes from the Oklahoma City Thunder school, and he's tended to select players with similar attributes to what the Thunder value. They love players with plus positional size, skill level, processing ability and character attributes. This is the same organization that selected bigger guards in Josh Giddey and Nikola Topić over their time, with Topić coming after Dawkins departed. Demin fits the billing. He's a 6-9 guard who can play the point and is the best passer in the class. His vision is sublime. But he struggled to score this year. He struggled to get paint touches because his handle is not particularly developed yet, and he doesn't have the threat of the jumper to fall back on, having made under 30 percent from distance. Still, many teams think they can fix the jumper, and if so, it would open up the rest of his game as a passer and playmaker. I'm a bit lower on Demin than this, but I'd put his range from the late lottery to No. 22 or so.

Pro Comparisons: Dejounte Murray

Once Dylan Harper is off the board, teams interested in adding more backcourt creation, rim pressure and playmaking will focus their attention on Jeremiah Fears. Scouts are anticipating the 18-year-old drawing top-five consideration, particularly after he averaged 22.3 points and 4.8 assists over Oklahoma's final nine games.

Workouts will give Fears a chance to ease some concerns over his three-point numbers. His 38 made threes still indicate clear shotmaking ability, and he was a 42.6 percent mid-range shooter.

Unreliable range, a high turnover rate and limited off-ball skill will have certain teams looking elsewhere. But Fears seems to be a realistic candidate for guard-needy teams early in the lottery.

Team Fit: Fears brings plenty of creativity and confidence, both of which could mold him into becoming a high-end lead guard with time. The Wizards should value upside and can afford to let the 18-year-old play through missed threes and early turnovers —Zach Buckley, NBA Analyst

Pro Comparison: Josh Giddey

Egor Demin's playmaking at 6'9" will sway teams to look past some of the questions around his shooting and turnovers. He was still a capable shotmaker and strong driving finisher using his size and ambidexterity.

Teams will study his shot and mindset during the predraft process. The mid-first round remains a realistic range, with his suitors likely to be teams that want another ball-handler who can set the table.

Scouting report: Johnson is one of the draft's top scorers, capable of knocking down tough shots from all over the floor with a shoot-first mindset. He needs to round out several areas of his game -- finishing in the paint, playmaking for teammates and defensive consistency -- but NBA teams are drawn to his shooting, length and skill level. He has a good base skill set for a 2-guard, and if he can improve some of his tendencies over time, Johnson could be a strong building block for the future. -- Woo

NBA intel and fit: The NBA's youngest team, the Wizards have completely turned over their roster, front office and coaching staff over the past two years. And they still have plenty more room to grow, with several strong building blocks in place. Dropping four spots to the No. 6 pick can't be viewed as anything but a massive disappointment for their fan base, which endured an 18-64 season a year after sporting the NBA's worst record (15-67) and dropping to the No. 2 pick.

The Wizards will likely need to take a swing on the scoring talent of a player such as Johnson here and then take another run at next year's loaded lottery and hope that the basketball gods smile more favorably on them. -- Givony

Scouting report: One of the youngest prospects in this class at 18, Essengue has put together a terrific season in Germany and given himself a chance to be the first international player drafted. His size and versatility at forward aligns well with where the modern NBA is trending. He shows strong feel producing off the ball but also is capable of making plays in a pinch.

He needs to add a good amount of strength to his frame, but Essengue has the potential two-way impact teams are often eager to develop. Shooting well in workouts could vault him into the lottery, which will be in play depending on how the board falls. -- Givony

NBA intel and fit: With four picks in the top 40 and no real pressure yet to win just two years into a comprehensive roster teardown, the Wizards can go in a multitude of directions in this part of the draft, with all eyes first being on their selection at No. 18. -- Givony

Queen is a fascinating upside bet as a beefy big man with significant face-up scoring polish and developing playmaking chops. Queen is a load to deal with when he gets the ball on a spaced floor, attacking defenses with a combination of physicality and touch that's tough to contain. He's already very good at drawing fouls inside, and has shown he can finish through contact. He can create his own offense off the bounce without an assist, and he's good enough as a passer to kick out the ball when the double team comes. The issues with Queen's NBA projection comes when he doesn't have the ball in his hands. He struggles defensively whether he's playing the four or the five with limited length and explosiveness. He doesn't always play with a high motor defensively, which can be frustrating to watch. Queen also isn't a reliable floor spacer yet for his teammates in the halfcourt, making only four three-pointers all year. If Queen is allowed to play with the ball in his hands early in his career, there's a pathway to big offensive impact, but the fact that his role player skills are so limited is a concern.

Sorber is a physical big man who sets screens, crashes the glass, protects the paint, and offers some playmaking from the five. He outperformed his RSCI ranking during his freshman year at Georgetown by having more substance than style in his skill set. He's a tad short for an NBA center at 6'10 but makes up for it with strength, length, and a bruising style of play. He's not the most explosive leaper, and he's not yet a threat to shoot from three, but Sorber's old school game feels built to last in the league.

The Wizards took one of the bigger flaming arrows to the heart on lottery night, but now that they're picking at no. 6, they might as well lean all the way into the insane length that they already have. At just 18 years old, Maluach was easily the most dominant gravitational force in college basketball this year—drawing defenders into the paint and deterring would-be finishers who'd entertained misguided ideas of driving to the basket. Some rim protectors are so big and so long that they become deterrents simply by being on the floor, and Maluach is one of them. Concerns about his balance and narrow frame bubbled up during the last stretch of Duke's season, raising questions about whether NBA-level physicality might immobilize him in a way that neutralizes his great size. But this young big guy has a lot of room to get stronger. Will offenses even be able to see through the forest of limbs that Maluach, Alex Sarr, and Bilal Coulibaly will create playing side-by-side? The glimpses Khaman has shown on offense are simple—but they might be more than enough, considering the upside of his total package.

The UN needs to look into whether there's a factory in Europe that creates 6-foot-5 guards who orchestrate brilliantly but lack that extra scoring punch to justify putting the ball in their hands full-time. But Saraf separates himself from that archetype by pairing passing creativity with more aggressive wiring, including unique rim and ball pressure for his player type. He doesn't shoot it quite well enough to justify full-time creator duties, but Saraf can do enough off the catch that one can easily imagine him hitting shots when he isn't driving against closeouts. This young Wizards team needs gasoline for their offense, and Saraf can provide that.

Knueppel finished as a 40% 3-point shooter and averaged 14.4 points per game on a Duke team that won 35 games and made the Final Four. He'd make a fine addition to Washington for a Wizards team heading in the right direction.

Dare I say the Washington Wizards are looking like they may be ... a fun team to watch? Adding Clayton Jr. to the mix would double the fun. He's one of the draft's most dynamic shot-makers and is coming off a legendary NCAA Tournament title run at Florida in which he showcased his scoring and playmaking.

As crushing as it is for the Wizards to get leapfrogged in the draft, maybe it could end up a blessing in disguise. The Wizards were last in offensive rating this season, so they are badly in need of scoring punch from someone like Johnson. At Texas, Johnson showed he's a clutch shot-maker who can catch fire from all over the floor, drilling step-backs and off-screen jumpers with ease. But he needs to continue developing his point guard skills while also honing his shot selection and dramatically improving his defense.

Newell has springs in his legs, regularly slamming lobs and swatting shots. Even though his discipline reflects his youth, his energetic style suggests he'll someday become a highly versatile defender. Pairing him with Alex Sarr and Tre Johnson would make for quite an exciting foundation in Washington.

Tonje will enter the NBA at age 24 with some readymade skills as an off-ball movement scorer and shooter. But his athletic ceiling and defense will determine if he's more than just a backup. Learning from Khris Middleton could end up being one of the great blessings of his career.