The Daily Demin: Egor Demin broke everyone's brains in his Brooklyn Nets debut

привет! You're reading The Daily Demin, an irregular update on Egor Demin's NBA journey. From Russia to Madrid. From Provo to Brooklyn, this is his basketball story.

The Brooklyn Nets are feeling pretty good about burning their 8th selection in the 2025 NBA Draft on that spindly Russian rookie out of Brigham Young University. In just one appearance in the NBA preseason, he's silenced the doubters, made the unbelievers believers, and most of all looked every ounce worthy of his top-10 status among his draft class.

Sure, one game is one game, and one could scribble out a thousand reasons why this 6-foot-9 point guard will actually be the biggest bust in the entire draft class and how Brooklyn couldn't have been more careless and wasteful with their precious draft ticket. One could do that, pitching one's tent or building a condominium in the alcove of the aptly-dubbed "Demin-is-a-bust-ville" (and in fact, many of my non-Lawless Republic colleagues would vehemently disagree with my Egor assessments), but one would be foolish in resisting the apparent signs that Demin Dam is moments from bursting. Because now it has, and the flooding may wipe out homes, ruin anti-Egor literature and suede jackets, and return every goldfish in town back into nature. Like the former BYU point guard, those golden creatures have finally been set free. May God have mercy on their environment.

Likewise, there was no mercy for those unfortunate enough to share the floor with this wiry rookie. Number eight in black enacted his will upon the Toronto Raptors (international crime), and the tape has Brooklyn fans excited about basketball for the first time since before Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden tore the soul out of an entire franchise (it's not your fault, they do that to everyone).

Egor Demin stats vs. Toronto:

14 points
3/5 FG
2/3 3PT
5 rebounds
1 assist
1 block
19 minutes

You did not read, re-read, nor re-re-read that incorrectly. Egor Demin was an offensive force. Tickling nylon, bullying cylinders, and burning up the touchscreen (shoutout Tim Kitzrow). Keeping in step with his excellent Summer League, Egor has been asked to be more of a scorer than distributor after parting the curtain separating the NBA from college hoops. In that role, he's been terrific, and all of a sudden, his gorgeous shooting technique is finally equally beautiful in the box score.

Watch the confidence, the determination, the luxury at which he peppers the basketball along the playing surface to slip behind a screen and -- with zero hesitation -- square his shoulders to the goal and elevate. Basketball on a pedestal above his already towering frame, the velvet pillow's gentle touch transitive to its destination. A careful, though deliberate, snap of the wrist, and the basketball was put on a first-class trip to its nearby destination, the net (Taylor Swift style, baby).

None of this is to take away from the fact that he retains world-class court vision and the tangy zip to hit his open teammates from anywhere on the floor. Magnetizing off-ball defenders into the paint with his dribble penetration, Egor's present spanned the court in a moment, delivered into the awaiting hands of an open shooter. In the NBA, that's a layup, so Demin was wise to upgrade from potentially two points of his own to three points from a friend. Remember: he chose the college route. That's good math.

At his size, Demin can be a defensive demon if he is put in the right position to make a play, and on several occasions, he was set loose to haunt the helpless Toronto perpetrators who dared trespass onto his size of the court. A timely block launched the basketball off the offender's knee and out of bounds.

Another flawless rotation and use of verticality (he's 7+ feet tall when perfectly vertical), a try at the rim became a helpless chuck towards the backboard, and no one likes a chucker. Well, no one but the defense. Egor turned this shooter into a chucker. I don't say this often, but advantage: Brooklyn.

For more reasons than one, snagging Egor out of BYU has been a major drafting victory for the Nets, despite his angry mob of doubters.

Previous edition of The Daily Demin: Egor Demin injury update, NBA coming-out timeline with the Brooklyn Nets

Calvin Barrett is a writer, editor, and prolific Mario Kart racer located in Tokyo, Japan. He has covered the NBA and College Sports since 2024.