The New Orleans Pelicans received a failing grade on the night of the 2025 NBA Draft. It was an absolute evisceration of the franchise's decision to select Jeremiah Fears at No. 7 and Derik Queen at No. 13, with the latter selection being made after trading up 10 spots.
It's still early in the 2025-26 regular season, but Fears is already proving that critics were far too harsh on the Pelicans for their draft-night strategy.
Fears turned in an impressive 2024-25 season with the Oklahoma Sooners, earning SEC All-Freshman Team honors. Concerns over his jump shot created a polarizing draft profile, however, and resulted in many calling New Orleans' selection a reach—or at least not enough to offset the trade for Queen.
Kevin Pelton of ESPN spoke positively about Fears, but graded the Pelicans with an F and stated that New Orleans would've done better for itself by simply drafting Queen and not making a later trade.
"I liked New Orleans eschewing the need to take Fears at No. 7, when he was the consensus best prospect on the board. But with hindsight, the Pelicans would be better off having drafted Queen with their own pick than landing both prospects."
For as fair as those concerns may be, Fears is showing exactly why New Orleans felt it necessary to add him while they could and find another way to draft Queen.
Pelicans' Jeremiah Fears is already a productive scoring guard in the NBA
Fears turned heads during the preseason by scoring 48 points between his final three appearances. That includes a 20-point game against the Houston Rockets during which he proved adept at slicing through defenses and scoring at all three levels.
Outside of a 1-of-11 showing against the Boston Celtics, Fears has picked up where he left off by showing out during the regular season, as well.
Fears began his career by scoring 17 points in 18 minutes against Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies. He turned in 13 points in 29 minutes the next time out, shooting 5-of-8 from the field and coming up with two steals for good measure against Stephon Castle and the San Antonio Spurs.
Fears struggled against Boston, but bounced back with a career-high 21 points, six assists, and two steals against Jamal Murray and the Denver Nuggets.
In each of those performances, Fears did exactly what the Pelicans believed he would be able to. He created for himself in isolation, got to the rim with his crafty handle and advanced body control, and made his presence felt in the passing lanes on both ends of the floor.
It may not be enough to overshadow the concerns about the team at large, but Fears is offering a simple reminder: The future of the Pelicans may not center around the current core.
Jeremiah Fears showing clear potential as a dynamic combo guard
A small sample size admittedly only goes so far, particularly for a team that's 0-4. What Fears has accomplished, however, is establishing early evidence of the potential that makes his selection justifiable and perhaps even transformative.
Some may question how Fears fits with the current personnel, but there's a harsh reality that goes hand in hand with his success: No one on New Orleans' roster is untouchable.
Injuries ravaged the Pelicans' rotation in 2024-25, but there were already cracks in the armor. New Orleans has won just three playoff games since 2011 despite spending most of the Zion Williamson era with multiple All-Stars on the roster.
With this in mind, drafting Fears can't be viewed as a simple matter of evaluating how he complements a roster that may undergo drastic changes as soon as the trade deadline.
Instead, Fears must be evaluated for who he is as a player and what his potential may be. It hasn't taken long for an intriguing picture to be painted, as the first-year guard is scoring with a versatile skill set and an intriguing determination.
The Pelicans were laughed out of the building at the 2025 NBA Draft, but they're already looking smarter than anticipated for selecting Fears.