Six players were drafted before Jeremiah Fears and he plans to outdo them all

Jeremiah Fears is confident he's the best player in the 2025 NBA Draft class. Now, he gets to prove it.

Despite what Fears believes about himself, no other NBA scout or draft expert thought the same. Every major mock draft had Fears going between picks 5-8 leading up to the draft, and that's exactly where Fears went when the New Orleans Pelicans took him No. 7 overall in the 2025 NBA Draft on Wednesday night.

"Upset," Fears told ESPN's Marc Spears before the draft about his projections. "There's more work to be done, and whoever goes in front of me, I'm coming for them."

Fears confident he's the best player in 2025 NBA Draft class

The draft started the way everyone predicted -- with the Dallas Mavericks taking Duke's Cooper Flagg with the top pick. Then the Spurs took Dylan Harper, the 76ers nabbed VJ Edgecomb and at No. 4, Kon Knueppel went to the Hornets.

In its final mock draft, ESPN predicted the Utah Jazz to take Fears at No. 5. Instead, the Jazz pulled a surprise move and jumped on Rutgers' Ace Bailey, even though Bailey refused to work out for the Jazz beforehand. After that, the Washington Wizards took Tre Johnson from rival Texas.

The Pelicans then finally drafted Fears at No. 7 to make him the ninth Sooner to ever be selected inside the top 10 and fourth in the past 20 years. Fears spent just one year at OU and led the Sooners with 17.1 points a game last season as a freshman.

For most, being a lottery pick and reaching elite status from your college program would be an accomplishment. But for Fears, it was a knock and put a chip on his shoulder before his NBA career even tips off.

"I see myself as the best player in this class," Fears told Spears. "Somebody that can bring everything to the table -- bring you wins, bring you a leader, bring you just the best overall player in this whole class."

Fears has always hit the jackpot when betting on himself. He reclassified from the 2025 class to 2024 last summer to start his OU career a year early. Even as an underaged freshman, Fears still planned to be a one-and-done player to also start his NBA career early. So far, Fears has never let himself down.

Read more about OU basketball