He was walking the halls of Lake Highlands just a few school years ago and now he’s on the largest basketball stage in the world. It’s rare to have a player transition from high school to the NBA so fast, but it’s not surprising to see an extraordinary talent like Tre Johnson do it.

At 19 years old, he has already made a tremendous impact on the Lake Highlands community. He led the Wildcats to their first state championship in 54 years. As a result, there were hundreds of local families that made the 4 hour drive to support.

It was a late spring night in San Antonio and a sea of red and white filled the Alamodome. The game was a tense 4 quarter nail-biter against Beaumont United that would determine a whole season’s outcome. When Tre stepped up to the free throw line with a chance to put the game to bed, there was never a doubt. Everyone knew he would sink them both.

We all knew Tre would be successful at the next level of basketball while at The University of Texas. We all knew Tre would be the first NBA draft pick from Lake Highlands. But did people know he would lead the SEC in scoring and be a top 10 draft pick? The SEC had the best basketball conference year of all time in 2025 and a Lake Highlands Wildcat led the league in scoring.

The night of the NBA Draft was very special for not only Tre, but the large community that he has immensely impacted. Families gathered at Underdog Restaurant & Sports Club to celebrate the once in a lifetime moment when NBA commissioner Adam Silver stepped on the stage and announced “with the 6th pick in the NBA Draft, the Washington Wizards select Tre Johnson.”

From that point on, Wizards jerseys have become quite popular among kids at Lake Highlands. Soon, Tre will return to Dallas when the Mavericks host the Wizards for their second home game of the season.

I’m sure there will be a lot of support for Tre, just as there was for the state championship and NBA draft. There may be a little more red in the American Airlines Center than Mavs fans expect.