All eyes in Brooklyn should be on Egor Demin when the Nets open the 2026-27 season Wednesday night against the Charlotte Hornets.
The offseason conversation around the Nets has centered on the additions designed to push the team back toward relevance after three lottery-bound seasons. Brooklyn brought in Julius Randle, Mikel Brown Jr. and others with the hope that the group can provide an immediate lift and help the franchise get back to the postseason.
But the biggest swing for the Nets may come from a player already in the building. Demin, Brooklyn’s top pick in the 2025 draft - the one that gave the team five first-rounders - enters the year as one of the more intriguing young guards on the roster. His rookie season gave Brooklyn a glimpse of what he can be, and now the next step is the story.
Demin has also become one of the more polarizing young names around the league, with supporters and skeptics alike circling his development. That makes the opener even more interesting, because the Nets are looking for signs that the areas they want improved can translate right away.
As a rookie, Demin put up 10.3 points, 3.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game while shooting 38.5% from 3-point range. Brooklyn would happily take another season of that kind of perimeter efficiency, but the bigger priority is growth in the rest of his game.
For Demin to become the point guard the Nets want him to be, the assist numbers need to climb. Creating easier offense would help Brooklyn in a lot of ways, and one path there is simple: get downhill more often, reach the paint more, and force defenses to react.
His shot selection is going to be under the microscope too. Last season, Demin averaged 6.2 3-point attempts per game, and the Nets would not mind that volume on its own. The concern is the shape of the diet if those tries once again make up 71.7% of his total shot attempts.
The hope is that Demin shows more creation inside the arc, more pressure on the defense and more evidence that his all-around game is moving forward. Game 1 won’t settle everything, but if he opens the season with an encouraging showing, Brooklyn will have plenty to like.
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Egor Demin has spent the offseason and preseason looking like a different version of himself, at least physically, and the early signs have been encouraging for Brooklyn. The Nets guard has added noticeable strength, and both he and coach Jordi Fernandez have pointed to a more confident approach when he gets downhill and tries to get into the paint.
The real examination comes now, once the games start counting and defenders are set to meet him at the rim every night. Brooklyn wants Demin to keep building on that aggression, but the next step is learning how to turn those drives into efficient offense against bigger, stronger resistance, which is where his early progress will either stick or get exposed. [Read more 🡒]