Wear was an All-American in high school and won a silver medal with United States U-18 national team at the FIBA Americas Under-18 Championship in 2008.

[3] Wear and his twin brother, David, played for the defending national champion North Carolina Tar Heels in their freshman year.

[5] The Tar Heels missed the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) tournament, which upset their fans.

However, UCLA coach Ben Howland was fired after the season, prompting Wear and his brother to consider transferring.

Knicks president Phil Jackson said Wear was "overshadowed at UCLA but has the skill set to play every position from 1 to 4."

"[10] The Knicks lost their 2014–15 season opener in a 104–80 blowout to the Chicago Bulls, but Wear made his pro debut in the fourth quarter with the game already decided.

[16] On September 1, 2016, Wear signed with the Los Angeles Lakers,[17] but was waived on October 12 after appearing in two preseason games.

[18] He played 2016–17 with the Los Angeles D-Fenders of the NBA Development League as an affiliate player of the Lakers,[19] and averaged 12.7 points and 7.3 rebounds per game.

[20] Wear played with the Lakers in the 2017 summer league, and again joined the NBA team for their training camp.

[21] Two days later, he made his Los Angeles debut against the San Antonio Spurs, playing the entire fourth quarter and scoring seven points with two rebounds to help the team rally to a 116–112 win.

[22] After his second 10-day contract expired later that month,[23] Wear signed a deal for the remainder of the season[24] and was assigned twice to South Bay.