Jeremiah Fears isn’t waiting around to become a better fit for the New Orleans Pelicans. At media day, the second-year guard made it clear he understands exactly where he can help: by stretching the floor more often and making life easier for everyone else on the roster.
That matters because New Orleans did not have much shooting to spare last season. The Pelicans finished with the fifth-fewest total threes made, and they didn’t add any real boost to the spacing picture this past season. If Fears keeps moving in the right direction from deep, that alone could change how the offense looks in 2026-27.
His rookie year already gave the Pelicans plenty to like. Fears played all 82 games, earned All-Rookie Second Team honors, and quieted one of the biggest concerns that followed him into the draft.
Coming out of his lone college season, where he shot 29.6 percent from three, his jumper was the major question. But once his NBA season got rolling, he answered it better than many expected, shooting 33.0 percent from three on 3.7 attempts per game.
What stood out at media day was not just that he said he was working on his shot. It was the way he talked about using more threes to create space for the rest of the team.
“[I'll] just continue to take more threes and open up the floor a lot a lot more and open up attacks and spacing for my teammates... They going to have to kind of get to me and it's going to open up the paint for Z, open up the paint for Murph...”
That’s the kind of thinking New Orleans needs. The Pelicans are leaning on downhill pressure and rim attacks, and Fears’ shooting growth could make that plan much more dangerous. If defenders have to respect him on the perimeter, the lane opens up for Zion Williamson and the other drivers the team is counting on.
Fears also talked about how he can beat defenders off the dribble and get downhill whenever he wants. That threat gets sharper if the outside shot keeps coming along. The more he can force defenses to close out, the more his first step can do damage.
The encouraging part here is the mindset. Fears isn’t talking like a young player satisfied with last season’s numbers.
He’s talking like someone who sees the fit, sees the problem, and wants to help solve it. For a Pelicans team that needs every spacing advantage it can find, that kind of self-awareness is valuable.
Jeremiah Fears doesn’t sound like a typical second-year player.
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