New Orleans Pelicans guard Jeremiah Fears during practice at Smoothie King Center on Friday, October 10, 2025. (Photo by Chris Granger, The Times-Picayune)
STAFF PHOTO BY CHRIS GRANGER
It would have been the best 19th birthday celebration ever if the 29-foot shot as time expired had swished through the nets.
Instead, Jeremiah Fears’ shot clanged off the back of the rim, one of the few things that didn’t go his way in Tuesday night’s 130-128 preseason loss to the Houston Rockets.
But for the Pelicans’ rookie guard, it was another leap in the right direction.
Just three preseason games in, Fears is showing just how quickly he is growing. His numbers have steadily improved from his first two games in Australia to Tuesday’s game in Birmingham, Alabama against the Rockets.
In his first game two weeks ago against Melbourne United, Fears shot a dismal 3-of-15 from the floor (0-for-6 on 3-pointers) and finished with seven points. In the second game against South East Melbourne Phoenix, Fears played better, knocking down 5 of 10 shots and finishing with 12 points. But he saved his best for Tuesday in his first game against an NBA opponent. Fears finished with a game-high 20 points to go with six rebounds, four assists and two steals. He made 8 of the 15 shots he took, scoring 14 of his points in the final five minutes to help the Pels erase a 15-point deficit and almost pull out what would have been an amazing comeback.
“If you look from the first preseason game to now, I feel like I’ve done a great job just continuing to get better each game,” Fears said.
It's just the preseason, so it’s not time to anoint Fears the future face of the franchise just yet. But we can dub him the baby face of the franchise for now. He's young, but potential is there for him to be special. You can see the “it” factor and a “want-to” that you like to see in a player who should be entering his first year of college.
“He works at it,” said Pelicans' head coach Willie Green. “When you work that hard and you’re one of the first guys in the gym… he’s receptive to coaching. We saw some really good glimpses.”
There’s still plenty of room for improvement. He had three turnovers in the game. But when it came down the stretch, he stepped up big. Both teams had pulled their starters by then, but Fears showed what he can do in clutch moments.
"Just helping the team in any way possible," Fears said. "Sometimes we might have a stretch where we’re not playing the greatest. Being in the point guard position, you’ve got to talk to the team and tell them we haven’t had a really good stretch these last three minutes so let’s try to execute plays and get some good shots. And just continuing to be the coach on the floor."
During the final five minutes, Fears converted on two 3-point plays, knocked down a pair of 3-pointers, and drained a fadeaway jumper.
“His pace is high the whole game,” said Zion Williamson. “In the fourth quarter he was able to find a rhythm and pick his spots and it definitely carried us in the fourth quarter.”
Although his potential game-winner didn’t fall, Fears was pleased with how he played.
“The main thing for me was just going out there competing until it says zero on the clock,” Fears said. “Just going out there and giving it everything I had until the buzzer rang. Being able to take that shot was super dope, especially on my birthday. Being able to take the NBA floor for the first time was super dope as well.”
Fears and the Pelicans get their final preseason tune-up Thursday night on the road against the Orlando Magic.
"It means the world to me," Fears said. "I've been watching the NBA for a long time. I'm finally being able to step in here and show what I’m capable of."