Jeremiah Fears - NBA Mock Draft Roundup 1.0
Leading up to the 2025 NBA Draft, we will track where Oklahoma Sooners guard Jeremiah Fears appears in the latest NBA mock drafts.
Jeremiah Fears NBA Mock Drafts
Here are some of the latest mock drafts in which Jeremiah Fears has appeared:
Round 1, Pick 7 — Brooklyn Nets
Oklahoma's Jeremiah Fears is another player who has given fans some amazing highlights as he continues to climb up draft boards. Fears can score at multiple levels from the floor and he is a fantastic playmaker on both offense and defense as well. Fears leads all freshmen in alley-oops assisted this season, per CBB Analytics. He is the second-youngest NCAA prospect we have projected in the first round behind only Flagg.
Round 1, Pick 17 — Oklahoma City Thunder (via LAC)
Fears is the most pleasant surprise in this freshman class so far. The question is whether he can sustain it. He's a big, playmaking lead guard who needs a ton of volume and isn't always especially efficient but has playmaking tools. It would be a big swing for an OKC team that is very comfortable betting on its player development.
Bleacher Report — Jonathan Wasserman
Round 1, Pick 6 — Brooklyn Nets
Jeremiah Fears' handle, burst, rim explosion, shotmaking flashes and two-way playmaking have scouts thinking top-five potential.
It's speed and decisiveness with the way he moves off the bounce and gets to spots that suggest he can continue to creating advantages in the NBA.
There are questions about his shooting and decision-making for a projected lead guard, but Fears doesn't turn 19 until next October. He'll earn a semi-pass from scouts for the inconsistency and turnovers. At his age, with how dangerous he is off the dribble, his 17 threes, strong mid-range pull-up and floater and 29.2 assist percentage should highlight enough shotmaking and passing capability to bet on long-term.
It's speed and decisiveness with the way he moves off the bounce and gets to spots that suggest he can continue to creating advantages in the NBA.
There are questions about his shooting and decision-making for a projected lead guard, but Fears doesn't turn 19 until next October. He'll earn a semi-pass from scouts for the inconsistency and turnovers. At his age, with how dangerous he is off the dribble, his 17 threes, strong mid-range pull-up and floater and 29.2 assist percentage should highlight enough shotmaking and passing capability to bet on long-term.
Round 1, Pick 12 — Houston Rockets (via PHX)
Fears is arguably the most interesting player in this draft class outside of Flagg, Harper and Bailey. On the one hand, he's carried Oklahoma to a terrific, unexpected start to the season at 13-1 with wins over Michigan and Arizona. He's averaging 17.9 points, 3.6 rebounds and 4.4 assists with an above-average true shooting percentage. On the other hand, Oklahoma's advanced metrics all give pretty serious cause for concern, and Fears' underlying metrics also are quite messy.
First, the good stuff. He's 6-4 or so with a great first step, great last-step acceleration and a real ability to change pace. Fears gets to the rim at an exceedingly high level and creates a significant number of shots for himself there. Fears is also quite skinny, and his half-court finishing numbers are nowhere near where his overall finishing numbers are. He's made only 48.8 percent of his shots at the rim in half-court settings, per Synergy. His pull-up jumper and floater from the midrange have been quite effective so far, as he's made those shots both at over 50 percent. But he's making under 30 percent of 3s, and that's not even the biggest red flag. Fears has turned the ball over 3.6 times per game for a turnover rate of 22 percent. While Fears has played well against teams like Michigan and Arizona, his overall stats are likely a bit inflated by the fact that Oklahoma's nonconference strength of schedule is ranked 332nd in the country, per KenPom.
So what does all of this mean? Scouts are highly intrigued by Fears and are enthusiastic to watch him in SEC play. Already, we got some interesting tape against Alabama, when Fears got to the rim but also shot 5 of 15 and turned it over three times. Essentially, Fears is this season's wait-and-see guy. He might end up being much higher than this on draft night if he continues to prove that he can get to the rim at will and starts making them more consistently there. He also might end up being a guy who is better off returning to college if teams in the SEC can adjust to him and figure out ways to slow him down. It's worth noting he is a late reclassification from the recruiting class of 2025, which means he is extremely young compared to the rest of the class. There's a lot of time for him to work on his weaknesses and become a serious NBA prospect in the Monta Ellis-style mold.
First, the good stuff. He's 6-4 or so with a great first step, great last-step acceleration and a real ability to change pace. Fears gets to the rim at an exceedingly high level and creates a significant number of shots for himself there. Fears is also quite skinny, and his half-court finishing numbers are nowhere near where his overall finishing numbers are. He's made only 48.8 percent of his shots at the rim in half-court settings, per Synergy. His pull-up jumper and floater from the midrange have been quite effective so far, as he's made those shots both at over 50 percent. But he's making under 30 percent of 3s, and that's not even the biggest red flag. Fears has turned the ball over 3.6 times per game for a turnover rate of 22 percent. While Fears has played well against teams like Michigan and Arizona, his overall stats are likely a bit inflated by the fact that Oklahoma's nonconference strength of schedule is ranked 332nd in the country, per KenPom.
So what does all of this mean? Scouts are highly intrigued by Fears and are enthusiastic to watch him in SEC play. Already, we got some interesting tape against Alabama, when Fears got to the rim but also shot 5 of 15 and turned it over three times. Essentially, Fears is this season's wait-and-see guy. He might end up being much higher than this on draft night if he continues to prove that he can get to the rim at will and starts making them more consistently there. He also might end up being a guy who is better off returning to college if teams in the SEC can adjust to him and figure out ways to slow him down. It's worth noting he is a late reclassification from the recruiting class of 2025, which means he is extremely young compared to the rest of the class. There's a lot of time for him to work on his weaknesses and become a serious NBA prospect in the Monta Ellis-style mold.
Round 1, Pick 9 — Houston Rockets (via PHX)
Houston could land a top-10 pick unexpectedly if the Suns' struggles in the loaded Western Conference continue. Still, it's unknown what the Rockets' appetite will be for adding more young players after drafting (and retaining) seven players in the first round over the past four years.
Fears has been one of college basketball's best freshmen and has firmly entrenched himself in top-10 conversations thanks to his impressive combination of speed, pace, playmaking creativity, pull-up shooting, confidence and scoring instincts. The 18-year-old has a lot of room to grow.
He is spearheading an Oklahoma team that has exceeded expectations but will be tested over the next few months by a challenging SEC schedule that will tell us quite a bit more about where he stands in the draft's pecking order. -- Givony
Fears has been one of college basketball's best freshmen and has firmly entrenched himself in top-10 conversations thanks to his impressive combination of speed, pace, playmaking creativity, pull-up shooting, confidence and scoring instincts. The 18-year-old has a lot of room to grow.
He is spearheading an Oklahoma team that has exceeded expectations but will be tested over the next few months by a challenging SEC schedule that will tell us quite a bit more about where he stands in the draft's pecking order. -- Givony
Round 1, Pick 6 — Portland Trail Blazers
He is the biggest stock riser in this class, leading the Sooners to a 13-2 start this season. The 6-4 Fears is averaging 17.6 points, 4.3 assists and 3.7 rebounds per game, possessing an amazing ability to finish in the lane and a speed factor that makes him extremely difficult to stop in transition. While the perimeter game needs to evolve, he has shot in the neighborhood of 60% on 2-point field goals.