Egor Dëmin made his name in Brooklyn as a rookie shooter, but the Nets need more than a guy who lives behind the arc. If his second season is going to mean anything bigger, he has to start hurting defenses in more than one way.
That’s the challenge after a first year in which 72% of his shots came from three. Dëmin averaged 6.2 threes per game and only 2.4 two-point attempts, though he still finished as the fifth-best rookie shooter by percentage at 38.5% and ranked fourth with 124 made threes. For a player who shot 27.3% as a freshman at Brigham Young, it was a huge jump.
Brooklyn bet on the upside anyway. Mock drafts had the BYU product going late in the first round, but the Nets took him in the lottery and accepted the risk that came with his shooting profile.
Now the ask is different. At 20, Dëmin has to become a more complete scorer if he wants to make a sophomore leap, and his early offseason work suggests he knows it. Plantar fasciitis shut him down in March, and he used the time to add muscle and fill out his frame, which has helped him absorb contact on drives.
That added strength showed up in summer league. Dëmin played with more force attacking the basket and looked like one of the better players in the event. In his first two California Classic games, he shot 100% inside the arc.
Against the Sacramento Kings in the opener, he posted 23 points on 8-for-15 shooting and pulled down seven rebounds. His three-point shot was off that night at 2-for-8, but his ability to pressure the rim kept the performance from turning into a bad one.
Across five summer league games, he averaged 21.8 points and shot 47.3%, up nearly 8% from 39.9% last season. That run earned him a spot on the All-Summer League Second Team.
The buzz has followed. Media outlets have called him Brooklyn’s breakout player and best player in three years, and the summer work points to why. If that downhill scoring carries over, he could become a much more efficient and versatile offensive piece for the Nets.
That matters for a team that enters the year with low expectations. ESPN projects Brooklyn to go 18-64, two wins worse than last season despite an active offseason that brought in more rookies and veterans.
For the Nets, Dëmin’s growth is about more than individual progress. If he develops into a steady contributor, Brooklyn gets one of its five 2025 rookies to stick on a rookie contract and takes a step toward building real depth. The team will need Danny Wolf, Ben Saraf, Nolan Traoré or Drake Powell to follow the same path.
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