After their latest 87-93 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers, the New Orleans Pelicans have officially dropped to 0-3 in the NBA 2K26 Las Vegas summer league, effectively ending their hopes of chasing the championship. But the title is a secondary goal in summer league, infinitely inconsequential compared to the development and evaluation of each team's young prospects.
Since the Pels have a handful of rookies and highly inexperienced players leading their squad, it's not super surprising that they haven't been dominating the competition. Against the Blazers, they rolled out a starting lineup featuring Jeremiah Fears, Antonio Reeves, Micah Peavy, Yves Missi, and Derik Queen. Of that group, the most experienced player is Missi, who has a career 73 NBA games under his belt, so their 0-3 record isn't particularly concerning.
What has been a little alarming for Pelicans fans so far has been the play of their seventh-overall pick, Jeremiah Fears. With the Oklahoma Sooners, he was an unstoppable force on the offensive side of the ball. That hasn't been the case so far. Summer league should always be taken with a grain of salt, but Jeremiah Fears has also already shown plenty of encouraging signs that should quell any worries that the New Orleans faithful might have about their new prized point guard.
There's no need to worry about Jeremiah Fears's future in the NBA
Straight off the bat, one reason not to be concerned about Jeremiah Fears' play so far is that he's already been improving steadily throughout summer league. He went from 14 points on 4-12 shooting with seven turnovers in his debut against the Minnesota Timberwolves to 15 points on 5-21 shooting and three turnovers in his second outing against the Los Angeles Lakers, to 14 points on 6-11 shooting and six turnovers against the Blazers.
He's also lived up to his "0 Fears" nickname, relentlessly attacking the rim game in and game out, even though he's been struggling with his efficiency. Through three games, he's racked up 14 free-throw attempts, which is a testament to his ability to get into the paint with ease and threaten opposing defenses.
That's another huge reason for optimism. If nothing else, Fears has proven that he can repeatedly get to the rim against NBA-level athletes and defenders. The finishing hasn't gotten up to standard yet, but he can clearly create scoring opportunities for himself off the bounce. That, along with his nose for the basketball, with four steals in three games, suggest that he'll be a quality point guard in the NBA.
The biggest causes for concern so far have been his outside shooting touch (2-12 from beyond the arc) and his lack of playmaking (three assists to 16 turnovers). His deep jumper was always going to be a bit of a project, but his passing should come along fine once he adjusts to the speed and length at the pro level. He shouldn't have a problem getting into the paint and collapsing defenses, and he showed good passing touch and vision in college. There's no reason that won't translate to the NBA once he gets his feet wet. Jeremiah Fears will be just fine.