Utah Jazz 2025 NBA Draft Profile: Jeremiah Fears

Stats: 17.1 points, 4.1 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.6 steals, 0.1 blocks, 43.4% FG, 28.4% 3P, 85.1% FT

Draft Range: Lottery

Player Comparison: Dennis Schroder/De’Aaron Fox

Analysis

Few players climbed draft boards this season more than Jeremiah Fears, the eighteen-year-old Sooner. Fears is a walking paint touch who uses his athletic tools and aggressiveness to get into the paint at will. His excellent first step helps him get downhill and put pressure on defenses. All in all, Fears was one of the most productive offensive freshmen in the country this year.

While his efficiency was less than ideal, few players were given as much offensive responsibility as Fears this year. He led all freshmen in this draft class in usage percentage while carrying an Oklahoma roster to the NCAA Tournament. Once you get outside the top group of prospects, it’s easy to see a team betting on Fears’ production level, responsibility, and natural tools developing into a high-level player.

While Fears has some tantalizing athletic tools, he’s not a great vertical athlete. So while he does have a great first step and change of direction, there are some questions about how well he will finish at the rim- something he was just okay at in college. One thing that helped his efficiency is how much he got to the line and his efficiency from there. His 51.8% free-throw rate is an excellent number for a young guard.

Another question for Fears is his shot. While he made 38 three-pointers during his freshman season, shooting sub-thirty percent is not good enough to be a high-volume guard at the next level. His high free-throw percentage is encouraging for his long-term shooting outlook.

He’s a good, not great, playmaker at this stage of his development. Because of the amount that was on his plate, it made sense that he would turn the ball over a lot, but he needs to cut down on the turnovers as he develops. Because Fears is so effective at getting into the paint, he occupies defenders and can make passes to shooters or his bigs.

Defensively, I’d put Fears in the same boat as many young guards in that he has a ways to go to be a consistently solid defender. His 6’4 listing seems generous, and at just 182 pounds, he doesn’t have the length or strength to be a versatile defender. He is quite active defensively and lives in passing lanes, as evidenced by his solid 3.1% steal rate.

Overall, Fears is one of the most intriguing offensive bets in this draft class. He’s wired to score and has the skills and mindset to do so at a high level. What levels he reaches as a shooter and how he commands an NBA offense will ultimately determine how high his ceiling can be, but it’s easy to see why he’s being coveted in the top ten.

He shares similarities with both of the Jazz’s young guards in Isaiah Collier and Keyonte George. Because of this, the Jazz would have to be convinced he was a clear upgrade over either guard to take him. Even then, it would likely require Utah sliding to fifth in the draft order to entertain the idea.

More Jazz Draft Content

• Utah Jazz 2025 NBA Draft Profile: Tre Johnson
• Utah Jazz 2025 NBA Draft Profile: Derik Queen
• Utah Jazz 2025 NBA Draft Profile: Kasparas Jakucionis
• Utah Jazz 2025 NBA Draft Profile: Kon Knueppel
• Utah Jazz 2025 NBA Draft Profile: Carter Bryant