The New Orleans Pelicans have created a low-pressure environment for the team's three rookies due to the overwhelming amount of veteran talent on the roster. When you're a rookie in this situation, it's all about stacking good days at practice, building winning habits, and getting good in-game reps. No one in the Pelicans rookie class has done a better job at that than Jeremiah Fears.
Despite falling 121-116 to the New York Knicks Tuesday night, Fears gave the Pelicans a strong 21 points, but more importantly, he went 3-for-5 from three.
The No. 7 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft has had his ups and downs this season, but one thing that hasn't changed is the work he puts in at the gym and on the court. At one point, it appeared Fears hit the inevitable rookie wall, but a decision to move him to the second unit has given his first season new life.
The switch of roles has helped Fears find more control over his game on both ends. Since the change was made, his playmaking has improved, his downhill scoring has become more efficient, and his defensive intensity has increased. But more important than any of those things, he's gotten back to being a threat from beyond the arc, which has always been the swing skill in Fears’ development as a prospect.
Jeremiah Fears is quickly developing into a versatile offensive weapon
Fears started the season as a league-average three-point shooter, but as teams began to respect his shot more and began guarding him more tightly on the perimeter, his numbers started to decline. But he didn't give in—he spent time in the gym working on it, and now, as the leader of the team's second unit, he has restored consistency as a shooter. Over his last 10 games, Fears is shooting 39.5 percent from three on 3.8 attempts per game.
As a prospect, he was never viewed as a real threat from a distance, but he had a ton of other traits that made that flaw in his game easier to overlook. Fears has always had elite speed, is a great downhill scorer, competes defensively, and can be trusted to run an offense. With his shot only getting stronger, it's becoming hard to find a real weakness in the rookie's game.
Becoming a shooter has opened up everything else for Fears and makes it easier for him to command the team's offense and run actions like pick-and-rolls more effectively.
To go from being a non-shooter to someone opposing defenses have to respect as a shooter in less than a season is putting him in a great developmental spot. With the Pelicans potentially gearing up for a run at a playoff spot next season, having a player on a rookie scale deal be as impactful as Fears is will be massive. His growth as a shooter has helped him evolve from a raw prospect into a well-rounded secondary guard that the coaching staff can truly rely on.