NBA Draft Analyst Breaks Down Egor Dëmin’s Summer League

The Athletic senior writer Sam Vecenie reviewed Egor Dëmin’s Summer League on his Game Theory Podcast.

The Russian playmaker was selected No. 8 overall in the 2025 NBA Draft by the Brooklyn Nets. Dëmin played three games in Las Vegas. He averaged 11.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 3.0 turnovers, and 1.0 steals in 11.3 minutes per contest. The Nets rookie’s shooting splits were 40.7% from the field, 43.5% from three and 100% from the free throw line.

“My issue with Egor was never just the shot,” Vecenie said. “It was the shot that fell here, but I still have some questions about long term — mixed with the fact that he doesn't really get by anybody.” 

Some important context is needed with the above stats, though. 23 of Dëmin’s 27 field goal attempts were three-pointers. He only shot two free throws in 75 minutes of action.

Vecenie said: “How does he ever get by anybody if he's not using a ball screen? And that kind of showed itself in Summer League. Like, how's he gonna get by guys at the next level then?”

Dëmin ran 442 possessions as the pick-and-roll ballhandler in college at BYU, per Synergy. He was used much more spotting up in Summer League.

“I think he's doing a good job of handling everything that we give him,” Summer League head coach Steve Hetzel previously said. “I wouldn't necessarily call it an experiment for him to be on the ball or off the ball. We don't really have a point guard. We have positions on the floor and try to get to them.” 

General manager Sean Marks echoed this sentiment after draft night. Brooklyn made history by drafting five players in the first round.

The New Zealand-born executive said: “They can play multiple positions, multiple ball handlers. [...] You've heard all the cliches, positionless basketball, and so forth, but you want high IQ guys, that's what we've got here. You want versatile guys, that's what we've got here.” 

Dëmin might not have had a pure label, but he operated much more like a wing than a guard. That could be his NBA future.

“Part of the idea of what the floor argument was for Egor, that he's 6-foot-8, he can dribble, pass [and] shoot, hopefully that'll be enough, right?” Vecenie said. “If he shoots it, he can be a wing, and he's big enough to be a wing. Okay. I'll hear it out.”

Dëmin addressed the tweaks to his game while he was in Vegas. He stressed that he needed time for this adjustment period.

“It's a big transition, same as it was when I just got to college and start[ed] playing conference games,” he said.