New Orleans Pelicans select Jeremiah Fears in 2025 NBA Draft

The New Orleans Pelicans have selected Jeremiah Fears with the No. 7 overall pick of the 2025 NBA Draft. The point guard played his college basketball for the Oklahoma Sooners.

Fears played his high school basketball at Compass Prep in Arizona. There, he was a four-star recruit in the Class of 2024. Fears was the 71st-ranked player nationally, the 11th-ranked point guard, and the fourth-ranked player from the state of Arizona in his recruiting cycle.

In one college season, Jeremiah Fears played in 34 games while making 31 starts. In those games he played, he’d average 30.2 minutes per game. He’d also perform well enough to earn SEC All-Freshman honors.

For the year, Fears averaged 17.1 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game. He was able to do that on 43.4 percent shooting from the field, 28.4 percent from three-point range, and 85.1 percent from the free throw line. On the defensive end, he’d average 1.6 steals and 0.1 blocks per game.

The 2024-25 season was the first for the Oklahoma Sooners in the SEC. They’d go 20-14 overall and 6-12 in SEC play. Along the way, the Sooners managed to win the Battle 4 Atlantis. That was good for 14th in the regular season standings. It also earned Oklahoma a spot in the NCAA Tournament, where they’d lose in the first round to the UConn Huskies.

In the loss to UConn, Jeremiah Fears played 38 minutes and had 20 of Oklahoma’s 59 points. He also put up five rebounds and four assists. A couple of weeks later, after considering his options, he made the decision to declare for the NBA Draft.

What NBA Draft experts are saying about Jeremiah Fears

The success that Jeremiah Fears had at Oklahoma is undeniable. Transitioning to the next level is never easy, though. So, ahead of that, On3’s NBA Draft expert James Fletcher broke down what he sees from Fears as he looks to make that move to the next level.

“Jeremiah Fears built up quite the highlight reel during the early portion of the college season, but struggled in a big way after the calendar turned. Inefficiency has plagued his game at times, between missed shots and turnovers,” Fletcher wrote. “However, between the athletic flashes and his young age, there is plenty promise he can grow into the game and become a force.”

Jeremiah Fears knows where he’s headed in the NBA now. With that, he can begin to make that jump to the NBA and begin developing to hit his potential.