New Orleans Pelicans' Rookie Duo Shines in Overtime Loss to Spurs

The New Orleans Pelicans may be off to an 0-2 start to the 2025-26 campaign, but there is still reason for optimism in The Big Easy.

Each of New Orleans' losses have come in close games, losing by 6 points to the Memphis Grizzlies and 4 points to the San Antonio Spurs, while two of the Pelicans' young pieces have performed well.

After Fears' tallied 17 points in 18 minutes on the floor while shooting 70% from the floor against Memphis in his NBA debut, the Oklahoma product looked solid once again in his second career game.

Fears was joined by fellow 2025 first-round pick Derik Queen, who suffered a wrist injury over the summer, but appears to be healthy once again after undergoing surgery. After a decent showing against the Grizzlies, Queen was much more impactful on Friday night.

In a 120-116 overtime loss at the hands of third-year sensation Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs, Fears and Queen each scored in double figures off the bench.

In 35 minutes of action, Queen logged 15 points, 6 rebounds, 2 blocks, an assist, a steal and just one turnover while shooting 6-of-11 from the field. Fears tallied 13 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, an assist and 2 turnovers in 29 minutes, shooting 5-of-8 from the floor.

Queen finished as a +5 in the box score, while Fears finished as a +7, indicating that the two gave New Orleans solid minutes against Wembanyama and company. Queen played the fourth-most minutes of any Pelicans player on Friday night, while Fears checked in at No. 5.

As the two continue to find their rythym in the NBA, they could continue to see high minute totals as the season progresses, especially on a team without much depth. Zion Williamson is the No. 1 scoring option for New Orleans, but having a pair of solid role players around the former top pick should give the Pelicans a better chance at being competitive this season.

Fears was selected with the No. 7 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft after averaging 17.1 points, 4.1 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.6 steals per game in his lone season at Oklahoma. The talented point guard turned 19-years-old earlier this month, and seems to have acclimated well to life in the NBA so far despite his age.

Queen was selected No. 13 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft following one year at Maryland that saw the skilled big man average 16.5 points, 9 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.1 blocks per game.