New Nets G Egor Demin on NBA Dream: ‘I Was Trying to Get Here as a Little Kid Coming From Russia'

Egor Demin, the Brooklyn Nets’ No. 8 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, took questions about his future on draft night and revealed his excitement to play for his new team. 

“Obviously, for me, it's a great opportunity to be in a team where I will be able to develop myself and also impact the game in ways I can,” he said. 
”And just learn a lot from the guys who's already on the team, from the coaching staff, from the front office. [This is] a historical club, historical organization, right? And obviously, it's [been] related to Russia in the past, a lot of Russian players were going through this organization, and for me it's an honor to be a part of the Nets.” 

Demin was the Nets’ first lottery pick since 2010. He was general manager Sean Marks’ highest pick ever. The BYU freshman averaged 10.6 points, 3.9 rebounds and 5.5 assists during his only college season. He had a case to be considered the best pick-and-roll passer in the 2025 draft class.

“The passing is something that I was always doing, and this is who I am,” Demin said. “I believe in the game of basketball as a creative place. It’s like an art for me, right? I want to play beautiful, I want to play pretty, I want to play efficient. And for me, there’s never a sacrifice of something [...] it’s about making the right decision, which I’m always trying to do.” 

Demin's swing skill might be his three-point shooting. The Russian prospect shot 27.3% from three on 154 attempts at BYU.

He said: “I have no doubt I’m gonna be a solid shooter. I’m seeing myself as a really good shooter in the future just because I know how much I [will] put into the work to become one.”