Egor Demin is attacking this offseason like a player determined to leave no doubt about what kind of guard he can become for the Brooklyn Nets.
After a rookie year that hinted at real shooting value right away, Demin is heading into his second season with a bigger assignment: turn promise into a noticeable leap. Brooklyn already leaned on him as both a shooter and a facilitator, but the expectation now is that he does more than fill a role.
No Ceilings’ Albert Ghim described that approach on a recent podcast with Corey Tulaba, painting a picture of a player grinding through every available hour. “He is absolutely locked in, laser-focused man on a mission. He is so hard and ferocious on himself,” Ghim said of Demin.
Ghim added that Demin’s routine has been relentless throughout the offseason. “He's working out with Zach [ Gonzales, his personal trainer] in the morning, he's playing in the pro runs at the new NBPA facility in Playa Vista, he's [lifting weights], he's doing extra workouts at night when possible, he's going so hard like truly a man on a mission, and this is a guy who clearly knows where he needs to continue to grow,” Ghim continued on Demin.
The 20-year-old backed up that reputation during the summer circuit. Across the California Classic and Las Vegas Summer League, he averaged 21.8 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.8 steals per game while shooting 47.3% from the field and 28.9% from three.
That production only adds to the case that Demin could be one of the starting guards for head coach Jordi Fernandez. But Brooklyn’s hopes for a better season will still depend on growth from more than one player.
The Nets traded for former Minnesota Timberwolves forward Julius Randle to make life easier for Demin and forward Michael Porter Jr., but the roster still has plenty to prove. From Ghim’s account, Demin has embraced that challenge and is working on every part of his game to become the player Brooklyn believed it was getting when it selected him with the No. 8 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.
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