It sounds like selecting Egor Demin eighth overall wasn't as much of a stretch as many would like to believe.
The Oklahoma City Thunder, with their recent championship victory and bottomless history of shrewd basketball decision-making, have reportedly shown significant interest in moving up the draft to select the BYU-tied playmaking giant Demin. Instead, he was ultimately selected eighth overall by the confetti-popping Brooklyn Nets.
Per report
— NetsFrequent (@Nets_Frequent) June 26, 2025
OKC was very interested in Egor Demin, they attempted to package multiple picks to move up & select him.
Sam Presti even had Demin over to his home during the pre-draft process. pic.twitter.com/JrEgwvPP62
Though Demin was frequently projected to slide out of the lottery, Brooklyn jumped at the chance to secure his rights on draft night. Oklahoma City's apparent interest is a fascinating wrinkle in the story, suggesting there may have been much more going on behind the scenes with teams taking shots at the Russian.
Against Demin, a growing narrative was constructed that while his size and playmaking were intriguing, his inconsistent jump shot made him nothing more than a second version of Josh Giddey, now a Chicago Bull.
But why would Oklahoma City, the team that dealt Giddey in the first place, be willing to part with precious draft picks to select a player they could project to fill the same archetype? My opinion? Egor's workouts and improvement over the season are impressive enough to squash any concerns about developmental walls in his future.
His jump shot looks smooth, repeatable, and reliable in drills. His ball-handling can use improvement, but that's why teams draft young players: to mold them to their potential.
Egor Demin remains one of the most intriguing prospects in the entire draft class. Though some still question how his game will adjust to the speed and skill of the NBA game, there remain many who expect Demin's name to stand near the top of the list when the re-drafts arrive in the coming years.
For now, Egor has a fascinating journey ahead of himself.