On Friday night, the New Orleans Pelicans once again had a second-half collapse, falling to the Sacramento Kings 117-113. In the second half, the Pelicans were outscored 62-47 and blew what had been a 17-point lead. Despite the disappointing loss, rookie guard Jeremiah Fears had another huge game and is only continuing to solidify himself as a foundational piece as New Orleans moves forward.
In the loss, Fears put up 28 points, eight rebounds, and six assists to just one turnover, while shooting 10-for-19 from the field and draining five threes. Coming out of college, Fears was never considered a three-point shooter, and that was the biggest knock on him as a prospect. But over the course of the season, he's worked on his shot and gained confidence to the point where he is connecting on 40.4 percent of his threes over the last 20 games.
Since moving to the bench, it's like he's a different player. His ability to process the game and the things he's seeing, and the control he's playing with are like that of a veteran guard. The growth Fears has shown in the back half of this season is putting him on track for a huge year two.
Playing with control has been key for Fears
Fears' problem early on in his rookie campaign wasn't a lack of skill---it was a lack of awareness and control. Last night against the Kings, he had countless fastbreak opportunities, which helped the Pelicans convert by either swinging the ball or attacking himself. Just a few months ago, those fastbreak situations often resulted in a bad shot or a turnover because Fears would be playing too fast and lose control. But now he makes the most of those chances and really punishes opposing defenses as he's learned not just to control the pace he plays at, but also the pace the game is played at.
This development all stems from him learning that his incredible speed and lightning-quick first step aren't a crutch but a tool that he can use to manipulate the defense.
Whether it's his shooting, his vision, his rebounding, the above-the-rim finishing, or the way he commands and steers the Pelicans' offense, Fears is becoming a high-level guard just 78 games into his career. At one point, many of us saw Derik Queen as the player to build the team around long-term, as the idea of building around an offensive hub big is enticing. However, given how Fears has developed and how versatile his skill set is with an improved outside shot, who's to say the Pelicans shouldn't be building around him instead?
During the entire 2025 NBA Draft process, Fears was widely viewed as a raw talent with high potential, but that timeline may have just sped up. If Fears can show this amount of growth in just his rookie season, the rest of the league should be worried about what an entire offseason could do for the Pelicans' point guard of the future.