Jeremiah Fears definitely can't be late to the NBA Draft.
Mock drafts have been flowing all basketball season, but projections are now clearer after Monday night's NBA Draft Lottery solidified the order of the 2025 NBA Draft on June 25-26. As soon as the Dallas Mavericks were gifted the No. 1 overall pick and Cooper Flagg, outlets started releasing updated mock drafts, including FanSided and ESPN.
The national outlets had a consensus on where Fears will start his NBA career after just one season with the Oklahoma Sooners. Both mock drafts projected Fears as the No. 5 overall pick to the Utah Jazz, which was a drastic rise compared to past predictions.
National outlets project Fears as top-5 pick in NBA Draft
When ESPN released a mock draft during the midst of March Madness, the outlet had Fears outside of the top 10 -- let alone the top 5 -- going to the Houston Rockets with the 11th overall pick. Just last week, CBS Sports gave Fears a slight boost as the 10th pick to the Portland Trail Blazers.
Most outlets, though, predicted the Jazz to land a top-3 pick, with most even having the Jazz with the No. 1 overall pick with the worst record in the NBA this season. As the worst team in the league, the Jazz still need to find a star to help turn the franchise around, and many believe Fears is the guy for them as the Jazz hope for a steal after falling in the order.
"Jeremiah Fears is a blur with the ball in his hands," FanSided's Christopher Kline wrote. "Oklahoma's 18-year-old point guard fearlessly led a mediocre roster to the NCAA Tournament in college hoops' toughest conference. He needs to get more efficient as a finisher, but his ability to create advantages and draw fouls around the rim is a promising sign. He's still developing as a decision-maker as well, but Fears freely attempts high-level passes on the move. If it all clicks, he's one of the few smart heliocentric bets in the 2025 draft."
The biggest upside for Fears is his age. He's one of the youngest prospects and won't turn 19 until October. Fears reclassified from the 2026 class to 2025 last year, meaning he jumpstarted his college career and skipped his senior year of high school.
Even as a young freshman, Fears still led the Sooners with 17.1 points a game, rarely turned the ball over down the stretch at point guard and pushed OU to its first NCAA Tournament appearance in four seasons.
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