Jeremiah Fears in NBA Draft: What are three best fits for OU basketball star?
Freshman guard Jeremiah Fears raised his NBA draft stock in OU’s first-round NCAA Tournament loss to Connecticut.
Fears wasn’t efficient with his shot (5-of-14), but he stayed on the attack. He was 8-of-8 from the foul line. Fears had five rebounds and four assists — a number that should’ve been much higher had the Sooners not shot so poorly (32%).
Fears shared the floor with another projected lottery pick in UConn’s Liam McNeeley. They rarely matched up against each other, but Fears outshined McNeeley, who was 2-of-13 from the floor, including 1-of-8 from 3-point range.
ESPN has Fears going 11th to the Rockets (via the Suns) in its latest 2025 mock draft. Fears could go anywhere in the second half of the lottery.
Oklahoma City gets Philadelphia’s pick if it lands outside of the top-six. That would put the Thunder in position to draft Fears, but I don’t like his fit in OKC.
Fears, who would be a senior in high school had he not reclassified, needs developmental reps on the ball. He needs to be allowed to play through mistakes. Needs time to mature physically.
The Thunder isn’t in position to take on a long-term project like Fears, especially with another high upside/unproven guard on its roster in Nikola Topic. Topic, whom the Thunder took with the 12th pick last summer, is only 19 — a year older than Fears — and has yet to make his NBA debut due to an ACL injury.
Here are my three favorite NBA fits for Fears:
1. Miami Heat
The reeling Heat is projected to have the eighth pick. I love the idea of Fears in Miami.
The Heat under Pat Riley doesn’t rebuild (the allure of South Beach isn’t going away), but Miami needs to reset. Miami has nothing close to a “point guard of the future.” Fears could be that guy.
While it’s not a traditional rebuilding situation, I trust Miami’s infrastructure to develop him (#HeatCulture). Erik Spoelstra is one of the best coaches in the sport.
A Fears/Tyler Herro backcourt could be dangerous. Bam Adebayo would have to clean up a lot of defensive mistakes, but Fears could get better on that end as he gets bigger. Rookie Kel’el Ware could be a long-term pick-and-roll partner for Fears in Miami.
2. Brooklyn Nets
I like Fears’ fit in Brooklyn a lot better if the Nets trade Cam Thomas and cede a bulk of his usage to Fears.
Brooklyn could provide the laboratory-like situation Fears needs. The Nets aren’t going anywhere fast, which is just fine given the leash they should allow Fears.
Jordi Fernandez is well-respected as a developmental coach.
Fears is a realistic target for Brooklyn only if the Nets fall on lottery night.
3. San Antonio Spurs
San Antonio has its point guard of the future in likely Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle, but the Spurs — even with Victor Wembanyama being ready to win now — shouldn’t stop trying to add young talent.
Fears could provide a scoring and playmaking punch off the bench. He and Castle could eventually start alongside each other.
San Antonio is currently projected to pick 10th, right in Fears’ range.
Joe Mussatto is a sports columnist for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Joe? Email him at jmussatto@oklahoman.com. Support Joe's work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Jeremiah Fears in NBA Draft: Best fits for Oklahoma basketball star
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