Ricky O’Donnell of SB Nation thinks maybe it’s time for an Egor Demin apology form. Sam Vecenie of The Athletic doesn’t go that far … just says Demin was the best second year player in Las Vegas. So does Ben Golliver of ESPN. Demin’s got Zach Lowe “excited” about the Brooklyn Nets!
Time to forget, to excuse all that bad analysis from just after the 2025 NBA Draft when the Brooklyn Nets reached for the 6’9.5” Russian, taking him at No. 8 when most draftniks thought he was late lottery at best. One mock even had him as a second rounder. Those who put that mock together will remain anonymous to protect them.
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The analysis wasn’t limited to the media. Jeremy Woo of ESPN polled NBA executives back then and found Demin received the most votes for the biggest reach of the Draft. Demin got seven votes while the Trail Blazers received four votes for taking a Chinese 7-footer who spoke no English, Hansen Yang, at No. 16. Who can forget the laughter among the ESPN crowd on Draft Night?
So, it’s a good day to compile the apologies and analyses considering that Demin was named second team All-Summer League after putting up at least 20 points in each game he played in Las Vegas, just as he did in the California Classic in Sacramento earlier in the month.
First, O’Donnell in his list of Way too good for Las Vegas Summer League 2026.
He looks improved attacking the basket off the bounce, and he’s showing he can hit the defensive glass, too. The Nets have done a really good job developing Demin’s frame, and it’s paying off on both ends. Demin deserves a lot of credit himself for putting in the work to improve his jumper. I’m happy to be wrong about this one because Demin is a cool player with a fun skill set who should be a nice piece in Brooklyn’s rebuild for a long time.
Golliver in his list of best and worst of the Summer League called Demin the best sophomore. He struck the same tone as O’Donnell, a modified, “who knew?”
Boy, has the switch flipped for Demin, who was a timid and largely ineffective rookie for the rebuilding Nets. The Russian guard failed to make the most of his 6-foot-8 size last season, hanging out behind the 3-point line and rarely scoring at the rim.
Demin, 20, looked like a completely different and much more complete player this summer: He attacked off the dribble with greater regularity, finished in traffic and made good, assertive decisions as a playmaker. The Nets desperately need some of their recent draft picks to emerge as difference-makers, and Demin took a nice step in that direction by averaging 21.0 points and 4.3 assists in three Las Vegas exhibitions.
Also, in the didn’t-see-it-coming category were Vecenie and Bryce Simons, also of the Athletic, on Vecenie’s Game Theory podcast recapping how second year players did in Las Vegas.
“Egor was probably the guy who impressed me the most in Summer League among the returners,” Vecenie starts off. “Going from where he was at the end of last year before his injury to where he seemingly his now. Immediately from the first game, he looked way too good for the Summer League.
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“The patience, the poise, the confidence displayed on the court was exactly what the Brooklyn Nets probably hoped to envision when they drafted him.”
Simons agreed, noting Demin did what he did without shooting well from three which last season was his calling card.
“To me, he was the most impressive non-rookie or the player that stood out to me the most,” Simons said. “To me, he just looked like an NBA player, the way he moved around the court smoothly and confidently. I had the exact same thought in a couple of games I watched. I thought he was trying to play with more physicality. I thought he did a lot of the things he needs to do to be successful.”
Lowe said simply, “I’m excited for the Nets,” when asked about Demin on The Zach Lowe Show Tuesday. He spoke glowingly about the fit between Demin and rookie Mikel Brown Jr. in the two Summer Leagues.
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“The Nets best case scenario is the young guys looking good enough that someone (a free agent) looking around at them. I think they have a chance for the back court of the future – Egor and MBJ. That’s enough excitement for me.” he explained.
Rob Mahoney, also of the Ringer, joined Lowe. He said there’s anticipation about Demin and Brown Jr.
“Egor felt like one of the guys about to do something,” Lowe said. “Him and MBJ was one of my favorite combinations there. Egor may never get to the basket as much as others may like, I don’t know but as long as you put him with a dynamic slasher, I think it can really work – those two guys working together.”
Demin was of course one of the highest rookies from 2025 in Las Vegas. Cooper Flagg, Dylan Harper and V.J. Edgecombe, among others, were not on hand, but that said, what we saw from the No. 8 pick more than justified the Nets confidence in him early … and now pundits as well.
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