Chucky Hepburn has found a home in the NBA.
The Wisconsin Badgers had one of their players selected in the 2025 NBA Draft on Thursday, as star John Tonje went No. 53 overall to the Utah Jazz.
Tonje, 24, broke out as a sixth-year senior, averaging 19.6 points and 5.3 rebounds on 46.5 percent from the field and 38.8 percent from deep. He was widely expected to go in the second round of the draft, but the exact teams interested weren’t clear.
Ultimately, he ends up on a Jazz team that added quite a bit of shooting with Ace Bailey and Walter Clayton Jr., and will look to make his mark starting in the summer.
However, he wasn’t the only former Badger to earn an NBA contract on Thursday, as former point guard Chucky Hepburn signed a two-way deal with the Toronto Raptors after going undrafted.
Hepburn was expected to go undrafted, but was also thought of as one of the best undrafted free agents available. Following the draft, he quickly signed with the Raptors, and will also look to earn his spot during summer league this offseason.
After three seasons at Wisconsin, Hepburn transferred to Louisville this past year and had a phenomenal season. He had career highs across the board, averaging 16.4 points, 5.8 assists, 3.5 rebounds, and 2.4 steals per game as the leader of a Cardinals team that earned a No. 8 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
As a two-way player, Hepburn will be able to spend between Toronto’s G-League affiliate, Raptors 905, and the Raptors next season.
He had worked out for the Raptors and the Charlotte Hornets prior to the draft, and that clearly paid off, with the former showing quick interest in signing him to a deal.
Now, he’s off to the NBA along with John Tonje.