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Guard · 2025–26

John Tonje

Drafted 53rd overall in 2025, signed to a two-way deal, spent his months with the Salt Lake City Stars and was traded to Boston in February 2026 without an NBA appearance for Utah.

Drafted 53rd overall by Utah in 2025 after a winding six-year college road through Colorado State, Missouri and Wisconsin, he signed a two-way contract and spent his months in the organization with the Salt Lake City Stars, the G League affiliate. In February 2026 the Jazz traded him to Boston — before he had made an official NBA appearance for Utah.

He is in the roster book without a box score: a Jazz draft pick who wore the badge, worked the practice floor and moved on before the record books caught up with him.

HOW HE CAME & WENTUtah drafted him 53rd overall in 2025 and signed him to a two-way contract that August. He was traded to Boston in February 2026 without ever appearing in an official game for the club.

Full name
John Herbert Tonje
Utah Jazz tenure
2025–26
Position
Guard
Born
2001, Omaha, Nebraska
College
Wisconsin
Drafted
2025, 2nd round, Utah
In the archive
2025-26 Bowman Chrome Green Geometric 10/99 #BCA-JE Jazz RC KH2.

With the Jazz

JOHN TONJE · 2025–26

No official games for the franchise. He was on the roster without ever appearing in a box score — the story of his short stay is in the biography above. Every man who wore the badge belongs in the checklist.

Why he is in the checklist. A 2025 Bowman Chrome autograph names him as a Jazz man — drafted 53rd overall, signed to a two-way deal, traded to Boston before his first NBA minute. The signed copy is in this archive.

More info: Basketball-Reference ↗  ·  Wikipedia ↗

Did you know

JOHN TONJE · 4 NOTES
  • Went out of college with 37 points in his final game — an NCAA-tournament loss to BYU at age 23, after six seasons and three schools.
  • His surname is pronounced tahn-JAY, and his father Jean played soccer for the Cameroon national team.
  • Despite leading Nebraska in scoring as a senior he drew only three college offers, and hometown Creighton never recruited him at all.
  • He won a January 2021 game at San Diego State with a four-point play, capping a Colorado State comeback from nearly thirty down.