Egor Demin’s offseason has been about one thing more than anything else: getting stronger enough to turn a weakness into a weapon.
The Brooklyn Nets have spent the summer talking about the former No. 8 pick’s body change, and coach Jordi Fernandez made it clear that the rookie-to-second-year jump is being fueled by more than confidence alone.
“Maybe you ask performance about his weight and how much bigger his biceps are. Maybe that's a way to quantify it,” Fernandez said.
“I'm very happy with the way he's played. We all know that he's a very smart player.
He sees the floor very well, and he's done a great job getting into the paint.”
That last part matters. Demin’s size and ability to see the floor were never in doubt, but his rookie season showed how much the physical side still had to catch up.
He struggled badly on interior scoring, and that deficiency showed up in his overall efficiency around the basket. To address it, he said he spent plenty of time in the “lifting room” trying to patch that hole in his game.
The 20-year-old isn’t handing out exact numbers on the changes, but he’s not exactly hiding the progress either.
“That's true… I'm not going to be able to get into numbers, but there was a growth, a significant growth in what dumbbells I'm picking up on arm day,” Demin said with a laugh.
As a rookie, Demin’s best calling card was still his outside shooting. He hit 38.5 percent from three on 12.2 attempts per 100 possessions, but his numbers inside the arc told a different story.
He made only 43.3 percent of his twos, the lowest mark among all players 6-foot-8 or taller. That lack of downhill pressure also showed up in his playmaking, with 6.5 assists per 100 possessions after averaging 11.6 per 100 at BYU.
The encouraging part for Brooklyn is that the new version of Demin has already shown up in flashes. At Summer League, he converted 22-of-29 two-point attempts over five games, and that trend carried into the preseason, where he looked far more comfortable attacking the rim.
In four preseason games, Demin attempted 8.5 two-pointers per 36 minutes, a steep rise from 3.5 per 36 during his rookie year. The finishing hasn’t been perfect yet - he converted just 35 percent of those looks - but the volume and aggression are trending in the right direction.
Egor Demin just crossed up LeBron and finished over Joel Embiid at the rim.
— Erik Slater (@ErikSlater_) October 8, 2026
Probably the most impressive drive of his Nets career thus far. pic.twitter.com/Sji2Wubz2r
Fernandez said the Nets want Demin to be deliberate once he reaches the paint.
“Being strong to finish. If not, play off two feet and look for the spray or keep your options open, but don't go in there without a plan,” Fernandez said.
“And I think he's done a great job. He's worked at it this summer.
And so far he's shown that he's way more comfortable getting there now. And as you guys know, when you're 18, 19, the game goes so fast, and now it kind of slows down because you're more confident, you're stronger.
And now we've seen it in preseason. He's just got to continue to do it in the regular season.”
Demin has already flashed that added force in traffic. One of his most eye-catching preseason drives came against the Philadelphia 76ers, when he crossed over LeBron James and finished through Joel Embiid at the rim.
For Demin, the goal is to make that kind of play feel normal.
“It's just having the game slow down for me,” he said. “Obviously, I haven't done that in a while, getting to the rim like that.
Asked Egor Demin what he’s focusing on when he reaches the paint on drives:
— Erik Slater (@ErikSlater_) October 19, 2026
“It’s realizing that I'm actually a big body… Just having a state of mind that nobody can stop me. And having that idea of getting there aggressively and finishing, rather than just showing that I got… pic.twitter.com/gVHMMWm5k6
And sometimes when I get there, it's hard to believe where I'm like, ‘Oh, I'm actually right here.’ And then I almost expect something to happen.
And it's easier than that. It's simpler.
So for me, it's realizing that I'm actually a big body. So when I get there, sometimes it's harder for people to defend, especially now.
So just having a state of mind that nobody can stop me. And having that idea of getting there aggressively and finishing with quality and not just [doing it] to show that I got to the paint.”
Brooklyn will get its first chance to see whether that mindset holds up when the Nets open the regular season at home Wednesday against the Charlotte Hornets.
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