NBA Draft 2025: Why Jeremiah Fears Has Star Guard Potential

After a breakout freshman season at Oklahoma, Jeremiah Fears entered himself into lottery discussions for the 2025 NBA Draft. I broke down his game in a recent video on my YouTube Channel, making the case for fears as a top-five player in this excellent draft class.

Rim pressure often forms the foundation for elite shorter guards at the NBA level. Fears isn’t outlier short, measuring at 6’2.5 without shoes with a 6’5.5 wingspan. He’s still one of the shorter players in the class, so he relies on his ability to crack defenses with his paint pressure. Fears averaged over 10 rim attempts per 100 possessions, according to Databallr. That ranks third among guards in the class, only trailing Dylan Harper and Kam Jones.

Fears’ historic offensive usage

Fears carried an enormous offensive load this season, leading all draft-eligible guards in usage rate (31.9%) and only trailing Eric Dixon (32.9%). Despite his high offensive burden, Fears maintained solid efficiency (56.2% true shooting) and assisted more than he turned the ball over. We shouldn’t underrate that quality, especially at the helm of an SEC team that made the NCAA Tournament.

As a shorter guard, Fears must find ways to score efficiently at the hoop. He wasn’t a strong finisher this season, converting a poor 45% of his half-court rim attempts. While his size will limit him in the NBA, Fears’s excellent strength, physicality, touch and foul drawing (51.8% free-throw rate) provide optimism he can improve at the hoop.

His touch relates to another major swing skill: developing a reliable outside shot. Fears shot just 28.4% on threes this season, but his underlying shooting indicators paint a more positive picture. He’s a phenomenal free-throw shooter (85.1%) who excels as a mid-range shot creator (45.9%), which historically points to future shooting growth.

Ball-dominant guards who aren’t great defenders can bring teambuilding challenges in the NBA. Fears’s talent could help him become one of the better point guard scorers in the league. His ball handling, burst, change of direction and scoring touch all point towards possible offensive stardom.