Pelicans guard Jeremiah Fears scores season-high 25 in loss to Clippers
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The gist
Pelicans guard Jeremiah Fears scored a season-high 25 points in Sunday's 139-123 loss to the Clippers.
The 2025 top-10 pick has four 20-point games in his last six.
Background
Jeremiah Fears is a New Orleans Pelicans guard and the seventh overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, now in his second NBA season. The Pelicans were high on what he showed as a rookie, though he posted one of the league's worst plus/minus metrics that year and was expected to open this season on the bench. New Orleans lost its first four games, then won four straight — the last two in overtime — before falling to Minnesota. Fears has since moved into a bigger role under first-year coach Jamahl Mosley, even after Dejounte Murray returned from a personal absence.
How it unfolded
- Oct 6, 2026Fears scored 12 points with two rebounds and one assist in 17 minutes off the bench in a 116-110 preseason win over Oklahoma City.
- Oct 31, 2026Fears scored 20 points as the Pelicans beat the Atlanta Hawks 121-99 in New Orleans, his second straight 20-point game.
- Nov 2, 2026Fears had 12 points, four rebounds and seven assists over a season-high 38 minutes in a 135-134 overtime win over Memphis, New Orleans' third straight victory.
- Nov 6, 2026Fears scored a then season-high 24 points with five rebounds, five assists and two steals in a 115-109 loss to Minnesota.
- Nov 8, 2026Fears set a new season high with 25 points (10-14 FG) plus six rebounds, five assists and two steals in a 139-123 loss to the Clippers.
Key terms
- start/sit
- A player chosen for a virtual team in a game scored by real-world basketball statistics.
Source: Wikipedia
Who’s saying what
- Analysts
- RotoWire Staff noted Fears has been inconsistent shooting and has had turnover issues at times, but said the 20-year-old has played well overall, averaging 15.0 points, 4.6 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.1 steals in nine games.
- Analysts
- CBS Sports said Fears has seemingly found his groove in his sophomore campaign, averaging 20.3 points, 6.5 assists, 5.7 rebounds and 1.5 steals while shooting 52.7 percent over a six-game stretch.
- Analysts
- FantasyPros correspondent Chris Schommer said Fears has been steady on both ends, with at least 12 points, four rebounds and two assists in each of his last five games.
- Analysts
- In CBS Sports' Week 4 start/sit advice, Fears has kept his momentum despite Dejounte Murray's return, scoring at least 19 in five of six games and rating as a borderline top-50 fantasy player.