Mar 24, 2025; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Pelicans head coach Willie Green reacts to a play against the Philadelphia 76ers during the second half at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

New Pelicans Guard Makes Bold Career Prediction

Originally posted on New Orleans Pelicans on SI
By Austin Veazey | Last updated Jul 13, 2025 6:55 PM ET

The New Orleans Pelicans have added an influx of young talent this offseason as they try to overhaul the team. They plummeted last season due to injuries, so they sent out Brandon Ingram at last season's trade deadline, and continued shipping off veterans this offseason when they traded CJ McCollum and Kelly Olynyk to the Washington Wizards for Jordan Poole and Saddiq Bey.

New Orleans also got busy in the 2025 NBA Draft, selecting Oklahoma guard Jeremiah Fears 7th overall, then overpaid to trade up from 23 to 13 to select Maryland center Derik Queen.

Brad Penner-Imagn Images

The two lottery pick rookies have been participating in the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, and the results have been mixed, at best. Jeremiah Fears is averaging 14.5 PPG but shooting just 27.3% from the floor, and has 10 turnovers. Derik Queen has been slightly better, averaging 12.5 PPG and 11.5 RPG while shooting 42.9% from the floor, but he's also turning it over a lot with 9 turnovers.

It's the Summer League, so it's too soon to overreact, but Fears hasn't been lacking in confidence. In a TV interview at the Summer League, he was asked what he thinks his career could look like, and he has a lot of belief in himself.

"Top 2 point guard of all-time"

Jeremiah Fears when asked what he believes his career could look like
pic.twitter.com/gI4UZiSbw4
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) July 13, 2025

"I would definitely say top two point guard of all time, just bring a lot to the table, and just continue to show everybody what I'm capable of every time I step on the floor."

That means he sees himself as a future top 10 player of all time, and believes he could end up somewhere between Stephen Curry and Magic Johnson in NBA history. That's a bold claim, one that Pelicans fans hope he can live up to.

This article first appeared on New Orleans Pelicans on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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