The NBA draft process has been going well for Michigan State point guard Jeremy Fears Jr. thus far but he’s facing an uphill battle if he wants to play his way into a first-round pick.
After measurement day and the first day of scrimmages, Fears was looking like a legitimate first-round pick, hitting threes, playing stingy defense, and showing off his skills as a passer, but he may have set the bar a little too high. His second scrimmage performance on Thursday wasn’t quite as efficient and it brought him back down to earth a bit.
After scoring 17 points with five assists and just one turnover in the first scrimmage on Wednesday, Fears followed that up with a nine-point outing on Thursday.
Although he did have 11 assists in his final NBA Combine scrimmage on Thursday, he only shot 3-for-9 from the field and turned the ball over seven times. That’s not exactly the type of efficiency you want from a point guard entering the 2026 NBA Draft, but this performance may have just done enough to show that he needs to come back and work on some things.
Fears entered the draft with the goal of getting some feedback and competing against the best prospects in the class to see where he stands, and he’s done a solid job.
In the absolute best-case scenario, Fears is projected as a mid-second-round pick and I don’t think that you can do enough at the NBA Combine to go from undrafted to first-round prospect in a week. There’s just too much film out already on Fears that he needs another year or two to perfect his craft.
Thursday’s scrimmage showed that he has work to do and he can thank his unbelievable first scrimmage for setting the bar too high.
A Jeremy Fears Jr. return is likely
Before the Combine, Tom Izzo spoke on the Fears situation and said that the Spartans were in a good place and that his point guard has held good communication throughout the entire process.
Prior to that, reports surfaced about Fears being set on returning but he’s going to wrap up his draft process after he receives his feedback. He could still go through the process a little longer, but unless he’s guaranteed a first-round pick, he’s not staying in.
I don’t see that happening.
The soon-to-be junior point guard struck some fear into Spartan fans this week with his breakout performance at the NBA Combine, but it wasn’t quite enough to draw first-round projections.
While I wouldn’t say a return is a lock, it’s pretty likely given his mindset entering the process and the fact that he still isn’t projected as a first-rounder. He’s not leaving early for less money and no guarantee of a roster spot in the NBA. He has a national title to win.
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