Locked On Pelicans - Daily Podcast On The New Orleans Pelicans · Locked On Podcast Network, Jake Madison

HISTORIC: Jeremiah Fears DOMINATES with 40 points as Pelicans SMASH records

April 8, 2026·27 min·2 clips

Jeremiah Fears scored 40 points on 59% shooting with six assists and three steals, placing him alongside Victor Wembanyama and Anthony Edwards in the rookie record books.

Host Jake Madison opens by calling Fears' performance one of the most impressive of the season, noting the rookie finished with 40 points on 17-for-29 shooting — nearly 59% from the field — along with five rebounds, six assists, three steals, and only two turnovers. Citing Andrew Lopez, Madison notes only Cade Cunningham, Victor Wembanyama, Trae Young, and Anthony Edwards have posted a 45-and-five game as rookies in the last decade. Madison acknowledges the asterisk of playing Utah, which is actively tanking, but says Fears still had to outplay NBA players who were competing for their own future contracts. He emphasizes that Fears' value is not just scoring volume: when the Jazz adjusted, Fears shifted to distributing and then resumed scoring, displaying the two-way playmaking the Pelicans have lacked at guard. Madison traces Fears' recent form: a 19-point game, then 28, then 21, and now 40, calling it a 'run of form' culminating in this performance. He also frames Fears as more buildable around than Zion Williamson, partly because Fears is a guard archetype better suited to modern NBA offense. In team records, the Pelicans scored 95 second-half points — fourth in NBA history — and set a franchise high of 156 total points. Fears broke Marcus Thornton's Pelicans rookie scoring record of 37 points. The episode notes all major contributors in the win: Micah Peavy with 20 points on 9-for-13 shooting, Jordan Hawkins with 25, and Jordan Pool with 34. Despite the missing stars — Zion, Herb Jones, Sadiq Bey, Trey Murphy, DeJounte Murray, and Kira Lewis — Madison reports the Smoothie King Center crowd was louder than expected, stayed engaged through the end, and cheered team plays rather than individual stars. He interprets this as evidence that the fanbase remains passionate despite an exhausting season, and that the city is 'begging for a sustainable winner.' Madison then details the Jazz's tanking mechanics: they played a former G-League cut, refused to double-team scorers, and made in-game adjustments specifically designed to worsen their chances. He compares the experience to watching a bad movie that becomes compelling, noting the Jazz have 'perfected the art of tanking.' The episode ends with a preview of tomorrow's coaching search discussion.

As heard by us

A weird late-season blowout becomes a sharp Jeremiah Fears watch.

Jeremiah Fears is the center of the piece, and the episode makes a convincing case that a 40-point rookie game still carries weight, even in a lost season.

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Why you'd press play

You want a 40-point rookie eruption inside a very odd Pelicans blowout.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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