Road to Duke
Tre Isiah Jones was born January 8, 2000, in Apple Valley, Minnesota — four years after Tyus, into the same basketball family, the same single-mother household. Debbie Jones had won a North Dakota state championship as a point guard. Rob Jones played at Division III Wisconsin-Parkside. Older brother Jadee played at Furman. Uncle Al Nuness captained the Gophers in 1969. Debbie and Rob divorced when Tre was five. Debbie, a paralegal, raised the boys on her own.
In 2010, Uncle Al took both boys to the Final Four in Indianapolis. While visiting Durham, Al told Coach K to remember the name Tyus Jones. Then he mentioned Tre: ‘Tre Jones is a Duke fanatic.’ Al got Krzyzewski to sign memorabilia and gave ten-year-old Tre a Blue Devils watch from Jostens. Tre created a Duke shrine in his bedroom — posters, signed memorabilia, the watch. Years later, when Coach K visited the Jones home on a recruiting trip and saw Tre’s room, the decision was already made. ‘It was pretty obvious where Tre had his mind set. He always had an infatuation with Duke and Coach K.’
But Tre had to earn it on his own. In Apple Valley, Tyus was a legend — a day named after him, a parade through the streets. Every time Tre played: ‘How does your game compare to your brother’s?’ He answered by being different. Tyus was the scorer. Tre was the defender.
Varsity as an eighth-grader. Two state championships (2015, 2017). In the 2017 final: 24 pts/18 reb/5 ast. Senior: 23.5 PPG/10.4 RPG/7.5 APG. Two-time Gatorade POY. Minnesota Mr. Basketball. McDonald’s All-American. #1 PG in the 2018 class. USA Basketball U-16 gold (American record: 19 steals). The shrine told you where he was going.
At Duke
Tre arrived in 2018 alongside Zion Williamson, RJ Barrett, and Cam Reddish. The most hyped freshman class in history. The spotlight burned on Zion and RJ. Tre was the one who made it work.
Freshman: started all 36 games. 9.4 PPG, 5.3 APG, 1.9 SPG. Set the Duke single-season record for A/TO ratio (3.62) — also an ACC freshman record. Duke went 32–6, reached the Elite Eight. Coach K: ‘They are big-time moment players.’ Tre was the steadier, the one who held superstars together while everyone else got the highlights.
Then the decision that separated him from his brother’s path. Tyus left after one year. Tre came back. He returned for his sophomore season determined to lead his own team — not Zion’s team, not RJ’s team, but Tre’s team.
Sophomore: 16.2 PPG, 6.4 APG, 4.2 RPG, 1.8 SPG. Career-high 31 vs Georgia State. On February 8, 2020, at Chapel Hill: hit a buzzer-beating jumper to tie the game against North Carolina, sending it to overtime. Duke won 98–96. Named ACC Player of the Year AND ACC Defensive Player of the Year — the first player to win both. Duke career record holder in A/TO ratio (2.88). 5.8 APG (3rd in Duke history). 1.8 SPG (5th).
Then COVID cancelled March Madness. No tournament. No championship chase. The season ended in silence. Tre declared for the draft.
After Duke
Drafted 41st overall by San Antonio in 2020 — a second-round pick, lower than his talent warranted. G League first: named to the 2020–21 All-G League Team. Earned minutes gradually as Dejounte Murray’s backup, then as a starter when Murray was traded in 2022.
As a starter: 13.5 PPG on 48.8% shooting, 7.5 APG, just 1.1 turnovers — the family DNA. April 2, 2023: first career triple-double (17/11/10) in overtime vs Sacramento. It came sixteen days after Tyus recorded his own first triple-double — against Tre’s Spurs.
Traded to Chicago in February 2025. Signed a 3-year, $24M contract in June 2025. Five years in, Tre Jones is a reliable starting-caliber point guard — not a star, but a professional, the kind of player teams trust with the ball.
Where Is He Now
Tre is 25. Plays for the Chicago Bulls. Married Maddy Torres in 2023. Three daughters. Plans to study kinesiology, inspired by brother Jadee, who studied it in college and now trains players and coaches at Apple Valley High and Minnehaha Academy.
When their mother was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2019, Tre was a sophomore at Duke. He and Tyus came together around her fight. After she beat the disease, they turned it into a cause. Tre partnered with the Susan G. Komen Foundation. Donated proceeds from pink sneakers. Promoted the More Than Pink Walk in San Antonio. He and Tyus collaborated on family advocacy videos. The brothers raised by a single mother found a way to fight the disease that tried to take her.
He was born four years after Tyus, into the same family, the same town, the same gymnasium. He built a Duke shrine in his bedroom at ten. Heard ‘How does your game compare?’ at every turn and became the first player in ACC history to win Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year in the same season. Came back for a second year when his brother left after one — not because he wasn’t good enough to go, but because he wanted to lead his own team. Hit a buzzer-beater at Chapel Hill. COVID stole his March. Second-round pick who earned a starting job and a $24M contract. Got his first triple-double sixteen days after his brother got his.
The Jones family produced two NBA point guards from a North Dakota point guard who raised them alone. Tyus was the trailblazer. Tre was the one who had to walk the trail his brother blazed and make it his own. He did. The shrine told you where he was going. The ACC trophies told you he’d arrived. And the pink sneakers told you what mattered most.