<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/brooklyn-nets/nets-news-egor-demin-named-wild-card-win-rookie-of-the-year');   ga('set', 'title', 'Nets’ Egor Demin named wild card to win NBA Rookie of the Year');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Egor-Demin.jpg"><figcaption>Brad Penner-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Nets’ Egor Demin named wild card to win NBA Rookie of the Year</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-09-10T09:29:34-07:00">September 10th, 9:29am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-09-10T09:31:58-07:00">September 10th, 9:31am</time><address><a>Erik Slater</a>Erik Slater is the credentialed Brooklyn Nets beat reporter for ClutchPoints. He's a graduate of Lehigh University and the Newhouse School of Communications at Syracuse University, as well as a Lehigh Football and Syracuse Football alum.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Brooklyn Nets</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/nba-stories/nba-news-why-egor-demin-beat-yang-hansen-biggest-draft-reach-espn-poll">Brooklyn Nets’ selection of Egor Demin with this year’s No. 8 pick was controversial</a> within NBA draft circles. The Russian floor general will have ample opportunity to prove his value as the team’s starting point guard. His projected role has some eyeing him as a contender for the 2025-25 NBA Rookie of the Year.</p><p>Bleacher Report’s Dan Favale <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/25240840-2026-nba-award-favorites-sleepers-and-wild-cards" rel="noopener">recently labeled</a> Demin a wild card for the award.</p><p>“Demin quelled some of the draft-night “Really? Him?!?” reactions by proving he can work away from the ball on offense during summer league. Even after the Nets selected a trillion potential creators in the first round, he’ll have a prominent role that translates to standout scoring and assist averages,” Favale wrote.</p><p>Demin has an intriguing skill set as a 6-foot-9 point guard with elite passing ability. He eased worries about his outside shooting at Summer League, converting 43.5 percent of 7.7 three-point attempts per game.</p><h2>Is Egor Demin legitimate contender for NBA Rookie of the Year award?</h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Egor-Demin-2.jpg"><figcaption>Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>There are still glaring <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/brooklyn-nets/brooklyn-nets-2025-nba-draft-grade-for-no-8-pick-egor-demin">concerns about whether Demin’s ball-handling will hold up</a> against NBA pressure. He struggled to separate from defenders at BYU. That continued at Summer League, as he rarely got downhill or touched the paint, attempting just four of his 27 shots from inside the three-point line.</p><p>Yet, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/brooklyn-nets/nets-coach-reveals-reason-egor-demins-summer-league-role-change">Demin will have an extremely long leash</a> to work through struggles early this season. Favale isn’t the only media member to speculate that Brooklyn’s top draft pick could enter the rookie awards conversation.</p><p>NetsDaily’s Lucas Kaplan spoke about Demin as a First Team All-Rookie candidate when <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyeAds0OlZk" rel="noopener">giving his hottest takes for the 2025-26 season on the Locked On Nets podcast</a>.</p><p>“I think of all the Nets rookies, he’ll get the most minutes… There is a world where he makes enough threes. He’s going to have the highlight passes. I think he’ll just get his way into points, rebounds, and assists,” Kaplan said. “And voters will enjoy his style of play, more so than maybe a guy like Colin Murray-Boyles, whose per-game averages might really not look that good… Of that back half of the lottery, if Egor has the fattest counting stats and he makes enough threes and he has all these flashy passes and you look up and he has a 14-7-6 game once a week or every two weeks, which I think is feasible, I could see the voters going for it.”</p><p>Demin will shoulder a heavy burden this season as Brooklyn’s lead ball-handler. He’ll play alongside veterans Michael Porter Jr., Nic Claxton, Terance Mann and Cam Thomas, as well as fellow rookies Nolan Traore, Drake Powell, Ben Saraf and Danny Wolf.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Nets’ Egor Demin named wild card to win NBA Rookie of the Year

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/brooklyn-nets/nets-news-egor-demin-reacts-executives-labeling-him-biggest-reach-draft');   ga('set', 'title', 'Nets’ Egor Demin reacts to NBA executives labeling him biggest reach of draft');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Egor-Demin.jpg"><figcaption>Brad Penner-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Nets’ Egor Demin reacts to NBA executives labeling him biggest reach of draft</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-08-14T09:02:35-07:00">August 14th, 9:02am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-08-14T09:03:56-07:00">August 14th, 9:03am</time><address><a>Erik Slater</a>Erik Slater is the credentialed Brooklyn Nets beat reporter for ClutchPoints. He's a graduate of Lehigh University and the Newhouse School of Communications at Syracuse University, as well as a Lehigh Football and Syracuse Football alum.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Brooklyn Nets</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Brooklyn Nets’ selection of Egor Demin with the No. 8 pick in June’s draft drew widespread skepticism. After the team endured a flurry of criticism on draft night, an ESPN poll of 20 NBA executives and scouts <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/nba-stories/nba-news-why-egor-demin-beat-yang-hansen-biggest-draft-reach-espn-poll">labeled Demin the biggest reach of the draft</a>.</p><p>The Nets point guard <a href="https://www.championat.com/basketball/article-6118142-intervyu-s-egorom-dyominym-posle-drafta-nba-pervye-vpechatleniya-bruklin-nets-i-buduschee-rossijskogo-basketbolista-v-lige-biograf.html" rel="noopener">recently reacted</a> to the narratives surrounding his selection.</p><p>“There were a lot of opinions and conversations around this, and it will always be like this, as far as I understand,” he said during an interview with Russian sports site Championat. “I try to simply isolate myself from any conversations and discussions of the public, I concentrate on my work and development together with people who help me to be the best version of myself.”</p><p>Demin represents the Nets’ first lottery selection since 2010. He carries heavy expectations as he begins his NBA career with Brooklyn.</p><h2>Egor Demin opens up on expectations for rookie campaign with Nets</h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Egor-Demin-1.jpg"><figcaption>David Banks-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The 6-foot-9 Russian floor general was widely considered the best passer in this year’s draft. However, concerns about his ball-handling and ability to create his own shot led him to fall in many mock drafts. He did little to quell those concerns at this year’s NBA Summer League, as he struggled to get downhill with the ball in his hands.</p><p>However, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/brooklyn-nets/nets-news-egor-demin-heat-check-admission-summer-league-daggers">Demin’s Summer League performance did ease concerns about his three-point shooting</a> after his struggles at BYU. The 19-year-old shot 43.5 percent on 7.7 attempts per game over four appearances in Las Vegas.</p><p>Given his raw ball-handling, many <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/brooklyn-nets/nets-coach-reveals-reason-egor-demins-summer-league-role-change">have questioned whether Demin will play point guard or wing</a> at the next level. However, he’s said numerous times following the draft that he’s focused on impacting the game as a playmaker, regardless of what position he plays.</p><p>“My main goals are adaptation and maximum concentration on development in everything,” he said during his interview with Championat. “I focus on putting in as much effort as possible every time I step on the court and off it. It is also necessary to give my best and be a sponge, absorbing all the information available to me.</p><p>“I think that is the truth, to try to find a balance and the right vector, where a player can do everything and can influence the game at any second of the 48 minutes. For some, it is a long process that they work on throughout their career, some are so talented that they find it pretty quickly, and some never manage to achieve it. So this is one of my main goals, which I have worked, am working on and will work on every day.”</p><p>Demin will likely open the season as the Nets’ starting point guard alongside veterans such as Michael Porter Jr., Cam Thomas, Nic Claxton and Terance Mann. He headlines a rookie class that features fellow point guards Nolan Traore and Ben Saraf, as well as North Carolina wing Drake Powell and Michigan big man Danny Wolf.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Nets’ Egor Demin reacts to NBA executives labeling him biggest reach of draft

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/brooklyn-nets/brooklyn-nets-biggest-egor-demin-concern-2025-nba-summer-league');   ga('set', 'title', 'Brooklyn Nets’ biggest Egor Demin concern after 2025 NBA Summer League');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Brooklyn-Nets-biggest-Egor-Demin-concern-after-2025-NBA-Summer-League.jpg"><figcaption>Egor Demin's performace breakdown in the 2025 NBA Summer League for Brooklyn Nets</figcaption></figure><h1>Brooklyn Nets’ biggest Egor Demin concern after 2025 NBA Summer League</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-07-25T06:55:00-07:00">July 25th, 6:55am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-07-25T06:55:00-07:00">July 25th, 6:55am</time><address><a>Rohan Brahmbhatt</a>Rohan Brahmbhatt is an adventure-driven sports writer, passionate footballer, mountaineer, and photojournalist. Rohan blends firsthand experience with storytelling—capturing the intensity of sport and the thrill of exploration. Whether on the field, a mountain trail, or behind the lens, he brings authentic, high-energy narratives that connect readers to the heart of the action.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Brooklyn Nets</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>When the Brooklyn Nets selected Egor Demin with the No. 8 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, many analysts and fans alike raised an eyebrow. A 6-foot-8 playmaker out of BYU with a shaky shooting history and vague positional projection, Demin was a high-upside gamble. But after three games at the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, that gamble already looks more intriguing than questionable.</p><p>Demin was one of the surprise sharpshooters of the event, drilling 43.5% of his threes on 23 attempts and showcasing fluid mechanics, confident footwork, and strong off-ball instincts. According to CBS Sports analyst Cameron Salerno, Demin’s outside scoring was one of the most unexpected developments in Las Vegas, especially considering his sub-30% three-point percentage in college.</p><h2>Nets’ biggest Egor Demin concern: Can he run the offense?</h2><p>Despite the shooting display, Demin’s role as a primary or even secondary playmaker remains the<a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/brooklyn-nets/nets-coach-reveals-reason-egor-demins-summer-league-role-change"> biggest concern for the Brooklyn Nets</a> coming out of Summer League. Though <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/brooklyn-nets/nets-news-egor-demin-heat-check-admission-summer-league-daggers">he averaged 5.5 assists per game</a> at BYU, Demin dished just 1.3 assists per game in Las Vegas and had zero assists in two of his three outings.</p><p>Even more troubling: he finished the Summer League with a negative assist-to-turnover ratio, a stark departure from what was once considered a strength.</p><p>“<a href="https://www.si.com/nba/nets/news/nets-egor-demin-graded-for-summer-league-performance" rel="noopener">He’s not a true point guard</a>,” said Cameron Salerno. “I still don’t know exactly what he will be in the NBA.”</p><p>That ambiguity is critical. Brooklyn’s guard rotation is unsettled after several moves, and the team leaned heavily into selecting players with shared playmaking responsibility in the 2025 Draft. The idea was less about slotting a traditional point guard into the lineup and more about building a collective system of ball movement.</p><p>Still, for a top-10 pick, you want some level of offensive organization and initiation, especially for a 6-foot-8 prospect often compared to oversized guards like Josh Giddey or Deni Avdija. But Demin’s hesitancy with the ball and lack of consistent pick-and-roll reads were glaring against more physical Summer League defenders.</p><h2><b>Why the playmaking gap matters for Brooklyn’s development plan</b></h2><p>Summer League coach Steve Hetzel acknowledged Demin’s challenge adjusting to the physicality of the NBA game, particularly against older, more developed athletes.</p><p>“The physicality of these players he’s going up against… their bodies are fully developed,” Hetzel said. “He’s got to focus on the weight room, getting stronger, being able to hold off his defender, and then be able to play in the play-and-roll.”</p><p>That’s no small hurdle.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">catch, shoot, cash out! </p><p>🎯 <a href="https://twitter.com/whoisegor3?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@whoisegor3</a> <a href="https://t.co/WTmtTaQfQS">pic.twitter.com/WTmtTaQfQS</a></p><p>— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) <a href="https://twitter.com/BrooklynNets/status/1943458457731973509?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 10, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Demin’s frame, though long and fluid, isn’t yet NBA-ready for consistent dribble penetration. He often deferred under pressure or gave up his dribble early. And though he can navigate a pick-and-roll in theory, as he did at BYU, the quick decisions needed to manipulate defenders and hit shooters or roll-men were mostly missing in Las Vegas.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/nba-stories/nba-news-why-egor-demin-beat-yang-hansen-biggest-draft-reach-espn-poll">The Nets drafted Demin</a> partially because of his unique combination of size, vision, and upside. But after the Summer League, it’s clear the vision doesn’t yet translate under pressure, and the ball-handling remains vulnerable against physical guards.</p><p>This leaves the Nets with a conundrum:</p><p>Either path has risks, especially on a roster already loaded with developmental players like Dariq Whitehead, Noah Clowney, and Jalen Wilson.</p><h2><b>The good news: Demin’s shooting might be real</b></h2><p>The most encouraging takeaway from Demin’s Summer League, however, is that his three-point shooting wasn’t just a fluke. He shot 40.0% on 7.5 attempts per game, many coming in rhythm, off movement, and against live closeouts. This wasn’t a spot-up-only display.</p><p>Nets’ coaches didn’t explicitly design plays for him to shoot that often; it happened naturally within the flow of the offense.</p><p>“It’s more how it played out than anything we planned,” Hetzel said. “He showed a willingness to let it fly. That’s good to see.”</p><p>Given his reluctance to shoot in college and questionable percentages, this evolution is critical. If the shot holds up, Demin can at minimum be a floor-spacing wing with defensive upside and a secondary playmaking role. That alone justifies his lottery pick status, even if the point guard experiment fades.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">3GOR!!! (x2) <a href="https://t.co/kcv67VDxGn">pic.twitter.com/kcv67VDxGn</a></p><p>— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) <a href="https://twitter.com/BrooklynNets/status/1944559266330976376?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 14, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>It’s still very early, but the Nets leave Las Vegas with a clearer view of who Egor Demin is today, and a more complicated sense of who he might become. The shooting surge is promising, the athletic frame is undeniable, and his defensive instincts on closeouts and rotations show potential.</p><p>But the biggest concern, his ability to orchestrate an offense, remains unsolved.</p><p>Demin will likely require at least a season to adjust to NBA physicality, sharpen his passing under pressure, and grow his offensive presence inside the arc (just 4 of his 27 shots came inside the three-point line). He may not be a lead guard, but he could still become a very valuable piece in a modern, switch-heavy, positionless Nets system.</p><p>For now, Brooklyn fans can dream on the shot and wait on the rest.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Brooklyn Nets’ biggest Egor Demin concern after 2025 NBA Summer League

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/nba-stories/nba-news-why-egor-demin-beat-yang-hansen-biggest-draft-reach-espn-poll');   ga('set', 'title', 'Why Egor Demin beat out Yang Hansen for biggest draft reach in ESPN poll');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Nets-rookie-Egor-Demin.jpg"><figcaption>Brad Penner-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Why Egor Demin beat out Yang Hansen for biggest draft reach in ESPN poll</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-07-24T10:25:34-07:00">July 24th, 10:25am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-07-24T10:25:34-07:00">July 24th, 10:25am</time><address><a>Josue Pavon</a>Josue Pavon is an Associate Editor and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat writer for ClutchPoints. He started his career as a credentialed media member writing about the Boston Celtics for WEEI.com in Boston, where he grew into a local on-camera NBA reporter and podcast host for CLNS Media. Alongside the Celtics radio broadcaster and two-time NBA champion Cedric Maxwell, Josue is the co-host of the Cedric Maxwell podcast.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Brooklyn Nets</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>In a survey of 20 anonymous NBA executive and scouts, Brooklyn Nets’ Egor Demin, the eighth overall pick in this year’s draft, received the most votes for prospect with the biggest reach. Portland Blazers’ No. 16 overall pick, Yang Hansen, came in second, losing 7-4 in votes. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/brooklyn-nets/nets-coach-reveals-reason-egor-demins-summer-league-role-change">Demin showcased his offensive versatility in Summer League</a> as a facilitator and an off-the-ball scorer. It seemingly left a lasting impression.</p><p>Demin, who was drafted with the expectations of becoming a main distributor for the Nets, also played off the ball in Las Vegas, <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/45807536/2025-nba-draft-executives-debate-espn-poll-rookies-year-best-picks-summer-league" rel="noopener">giving him the slight edge</a> in comparison to Blazers’ Yang, per ESPN’s Jeremy Woo.</p><p>“Even if you believe in [Demin] as a starting NBA point guard — and I don’t — it seems like he would’ve been gettable at the end of the lottery, or even later,” one Eastern Conference executive said.</p><p>While Hansen, who was projected to be an early second-round pick, was taken early by the Blazers with hopes of him reaching a high ceiling.</p><p>“I like [Yang] — just didn’t see it coming, with him going right outside of the lottery,” another Eastern Conference executive said.</p><p>Yang Hansen also had an impressive showing at Summer League, including his playmaking abilities and offensive skillset. He averaged 10.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 3.8 assists in three games.</p><h2><b>Coach reveals reason for Egor Demin’s role change for Nets</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Nets-rookie-Egor-Demin-2.jpg"><figcaption>David Banks-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The Nets’ <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/brooklyn-nets/nets-news-biggest-question-rookie-guards-must-answer-after-summer-league">Egor Demin is one of five first-round picks</a> that showcased their skillsets at Summer League in Las Vegas. Shooting was undoubtedly a priority, as it is for many team in today’s NBA, and the Nets selected a few of the better shooters in this year’s draft class. While Demin displayed his facilitating abilities, he also demonstrated his range.</p><p>Demin’s <a href="https://twitter.com/erikslater_/status/1945678722465661107/" rel="noopener">three-point shooting came naturally</a> in the flow of the offense, according to Nets Summer League head coach Steve Hetzel.</p><p>“I would say it’s more how it played out [than anything we planned],” Hetzel said. “The physicality of these players he’s going up against, some guys have been out of college for a while now. Their bodies are fully developed, and the physicality is something that he’s going to have to get used to. We saw the same things in his days at BYU in his ability to play pick-and-roll, and he’ll get there. But right now, he’s got to focus on the weight room, getting stronger, being able to hold off his defender, and then be able to play in the play-and-roll.”</p><p>In his first three outings, Demin shot 40.0 percent from three on 7.5 attempts per game.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Why Egor Demin beat out Yang Hansen for biggest draft reach in ESPN poll

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/brooklyn-nets/nets-news-egor-demin-reveals-nba-players-drew-inspiration-from');   ga('set', 'title', 'Nets’ Egor Demin reveals which NBA players he drew inspiration from growing up');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Egor-Demin-reveals-NBA-players-he-drew-inspiration-from-growing-up.jpg"></figure><h1>Nets’ Egor Demin reveals which NBA players he drew inspiration from growing up</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-07-21T13:09:54-07:00">July 21st, 1:09pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-07-21T13:12:14-07:00">July 21st, 1:12pm</time><address><a>Erik Slater</a>Erik Slater is the credentialed Brooklyn Nets beat reporter for ClutchPoints. He's a graduate of Lehigh University and the Newhouse School of Communications at Syracuse University, as well as a Lehigh Football and Syracuse Football alum.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Brooklyn Nets</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Brooklyn Nets top draft pick <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/brooklyn-nets/sean-marks-reveals-nets-motivation-egor-demin-selection">Egor Demin is attempting to carve out a legacy</a> as the centerpiece of the team’s rebuild. The Russian floor general <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MnY5f3kNZU" rel="noopener">recently revealed</a> which NBA players he drew inspiration from during his youth.</p><p>The list includes two point guards with close ties to the Nets organization.</p><p>“I have guys I like. When I was growing up, I was watching a lot of Jason Kidd and Steve Nash,” Demin said on NBATV during Brooklyn’s final Summer League game. “I’m a big history guy. I like to watch how it was before and see Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Kidd, Stockton. [Guys] where I see the beauty of basketball of creating for others. The beauty of the pass. Now, I can say Luka [Doncic]. That’s probably the biggest comparison to me, I guess. Where I want to be at in a couple of years.”</p><p>Demin, the No. 8 pick in this year’s draft, represents Brooklyn’s first lottery selection since 2010.</p><h2>Nets draft pick Egor Demin reveals favorite NBA players to watch as a kid</h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/USATSI_25744680.jpg"><figcaption>Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>He is widely regarded as the best passer in this year’s draft. The 19-year-old <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/brooklyn-nets/brooklyn-nets-2025-nba-draft-grade-for-no-8-pick-egor-demin">excelled as a pick-and-roll playmaker with BYU</a> last season, averaging 10.6 points and 5.5 assists per game.</p><p>“It’s always been natural,” Demin said of his passing ability. “Obviously, now it’s a little bit harder. Defensive players are really good here [in the NBA]. It’s the best defenders in the world. Now, it comes to the skill, too. Really, how can I read and react? Not just put everything on my instincts.”</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/brooklyn-nets/nets-coach-reveals-reason-egor-demins-summer-league-role-change">Demin will need to take significant strides as a ball-handler</a> if he hopes to be a primary initiator at the next level. The 6-foot-8 Russian struggled to handle pressure at points during his lone college season and at this year’s Summer League. He played primarily off the ball with the Nets in Las Vegas, attempting 23 of his 27 shots from three-point range over three appearances.</p><p>Demin’s ability to hold off opposing defenders and create separation will determine his viability as a point guard. The next time he’ll appear in a game will come when the Nets open the preseason in October.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Nets’ Egor Demin reveals which NBA players he drew inspiration from growing up

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/brooklyn-nets/nets-coach-reveals-reason-egor-demins-summer-league-role-change');   ga('set', 'title', 'Nets coach reveals reason for Egor Demin’s role change at Summer League');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Coach-reveals-reason-behind-Egor-Demins-Summer-League-role-change-from-BYU.jpg"></figure><h1>Nets coach reveals reason for Egor Demin’s role change at Summer League</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-07-21T10:44:43-07:00">July 21st, 10:44am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-07-21T10:51:43-07:00">July 21st, 10:51am</time><address><a>Erik Slater</a>Erik Slater is the credentialed Brooklyn Nets beat reporter for ClutchPoints. He's a graduate of Lehigh University and the Newhouse School of Communications at Syracuse University, as well as a Lehigh Football and Syracuse Football alum.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Brooklyn Nets</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Egor Demin was pegged <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/brooklyn-nets/sean-marks-reveals-nets-motivation-egor-demin-selection">as the Brooklyn Nets’ point guard of the future</a> after the 2025 NBA Draft. However, the No. 8 pick played primarily off the ball during his three appearances at Summer League.</p><p>While part of that was by design, most of it <a href="https://twitter.com/erikslater_/status/1945678722465661107" rel="noopener">was due to</a> his deficiencies as a ball handler.</p><p>“I would say it’s more how it played out [than anything we planned],” said Nets Summer League head coach Steve Hetzel. “The physicality of these players he’s going up against, some guys have been out of college for a while now. Their bodies are fully developed, and the physicality is something that he’s going to have to get used to. We saw the same things in his days at BYU in his ability to play pick-and-roll, and he’ll get there. But right now, he’s got to focus on the weight room, getting stronger, being able to hold off his defender, and then be able to play in the play-and-roll.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Asked Steve Hetzel about Egor Demin's off-ball role and his limited reps as a pick-and-roll ball-handler:</p><p>“I would say it's more how it's playing out. The physicality of these players is something that he's going to have to get used to. We saw the same things in his days at BYU… <a href="https://t.co/btkBLQqDJb">pic.twitter.com/btkBLQqDJb</a></p><p>— Erik Slater (@erikslater_) <a href="https://twitter.com/erikslater_/status/1945678722465661107?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 17, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/brooklyn-nets/nets-news-egor-demin-reveals-revelation-summer-league-debut">Many regarded Demin as the best passer</a> in this year’s draft class. Most of his playmaking brilliance at BYU came out of the pick-and-roll. The 19-year-old carried a heavy load as the Cougars’ primary ball-handler last season, averaging 10.6 points and 5.5 assists per game.</p><h2>Egor Demin opens up on role change with Nets Summer League team</h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Nets-news-Egor-Demin-reacts-to-game-winning-heat-check-during-Summer-League-win.jpg"></figure><p>Yet, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/brooklyn-nets/nets-news-biggest-question-rookie-guards-must-answer-after-summer-league">Egor Demin ran pick-and-roll far less at Summer League</a> as he struggled to handle the ball against NBA-level defenders. His sometimes loose handle, upright posture and lack of lateral agility made it difficult for him to gain separation and initiate the Nets’ offense.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">egor gets stripped <a href="https://t.co/FSpcBxQ5fY">https://t.co/FSpcBxQ5fY</a> <a href="https://t.co/Gbyp2Qvfwl">pic.twitter.com/Gbyp2Qvfwl</a></p><p>— Lucas Kaplan (@LucasKaplan_) <a href="https://twitter.com/LucasKaplan_/status/1945654496022978864?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 17, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Those limitations led to him playing a primarily spot-up role, as he attempted 23 of his 27 field goals from three-point range.</p><p>“I mean, it’s a big transition. Same as it was when I just got to college and started playing conference games,” Demin said of the ball pressure he faced at Summer League. “The Providence game. Everybody saw this game. I can’t say it was the best experience I’ve ever had. But it was a really useful game because those games prepared me for the most important part of the season in March Madness, where I was playing point guard full-time. The games against Houston, the games against Iowa State, the games against Arizona, Baylor, where they’re really trying to break you.</p><p>“Especially me when they see me with the high dribbling, right? They’re really trying to [get into you].The coach is like, ‘Yo! pressure! Pressure!’ For me, it’s just [about] time and adjustment. I need to get used to that. Spend more time in practices handling the ball, thanks to our guys who are not being selfish and playing great defense against me. Tyson [Etienne], Quincy [Olivari], TJ [Bamba], Dre [Davis], all these guys were guarding me in the practices, and it’s pretty hard. For me, having these experiences, not just in the games, but in practice, is huge.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Asked Egor Demin about adjusting to physicality and ball pressure of NBA defenders and what he needs to do to be able to handle it:</p><p>"It’s a big transition. Same as it was when I just got to college and started playing conference games. The Providence game. Everybody saw this… <a href="https://t.co/RDG2oZvB4d">pic.twitter.com/RDG2oZvB4d</a></p><p>— Erik Slater (@erikslater_) <a href="https://twitter.com/erikslater_/status/1945692960156479664?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 17, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>The ability to create advantages, get downhill and touch the paint is the main skill teams search for in a primary ball-handler.  It’s where Demin’s passing gifts will shine brightest.</p><p>To do so consistently, he’ll need to tighten up his handle and work on his lateral agility. Most importantly, he’ll need to hit the weight room.</p><p>“I think the biggest [transition] is obviously the physicality. But defense builds out of being stronger. Being able to get into the paint builds out of being stronger. I think this is something that I really need to improve on is the paint touches,” Demin said on NBATV during Brooklyn’s final Summer League game. “Because I believe that every time I touch the paint, something good happens. And that was the emphasis of Kevin Young at BYU: get to the paint, get to the paint on two feet, and create for others. My strong suit is passing the ball. So how can I create opportunities for others? If I can’t get to the paint, it’s probably going to be harder.</p><p>“I think I might spend more time in the lifting room than on the court, if I’m being honest. That’s exactly where I’m focusing right now. I’m super aware of myself and what I need to get better at. I’m living in the lifting room. I’m not getting upset because I know how much work I put into this. It’s just a question of time.”</p><p>While Demin has a ways to go physically, the Nets are confident that he’ll get where he needs to be.</p><p>“I think a little bit of [tightening up the handle], but mostly his body maturing,” Hetzel said of what Demin needs to do to be a lead ball-handler. “As a 19-year-old, there’s still a lot of room for his body to just fill out and grow. You’re going to see a massive change from year one to year two in his strength and how he plays. He has such a good frame, he’s 6-foot-9. So there’s no worry. It’s just everybody has a level of patience for allowing him to grow.”</p><p>Despite his ball-handling struggles, Demin was productive in his off-ball role at Summer League. His three-point shooting, a main concern of draft analysts following his struggles at BYU, was a major bright spot. He shot 43.5 percent on 7.7 three-point attempts per game in Las Vegas.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/brooklyn-nets/nets-news-egor-demin-heat-check-admission-summer-league-daggers">Demin sealed Brooklyn’s only Summer League win</a> by hitting three straight triples in the final three minutes. His ability to play multiple positions will hinge on his outside shooting.</p><p>After playing point guard at BYU and moving to the wing for most of Summer League, the Nets’ top draft pick is open to whatever the future holds.</p><p>“As I was talking about during the press conference with the team back in Brooklyn, I’m really willing to learn how to be anything on the court,” Egor Demin said. “Either as being on the ball, being off the ball, playing as a screener, playing from the corner, screening for somebody else. It’s something that I’m really trying to focusing on how to learn how to be a player all over the court. And be useful in whatever coach needs me to be.”</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Nets coach reveals reason for Egor Demin’s role change at Summer League

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/brooklyn-nets/nets-news-egor-demin-brutally-honest-vicious-dunk-summer-league');   ga('set', 'title', 'Nets’ Egor Demin gets brutally honest on his viral Summer League dunk');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Nets-news-Egor-Demin-gets-brutally-honest-on-his-vicious-dunk-at-Summer-League.jpg"></figure><h1>Nets’ Egor Demin gets brutally honest on his viral Summer League dunk</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-07-17T11:05:34-07:00">July 17th, 11:05am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-07-17T11:08:59-07:00">July 17th, 11:08am</time><address><a>Erik Slater</a>Erik Slater is the credentialed Brooklyn Nets beat reporter for ClutchPoints. He's a graduate of Lehigh University and the Newhouse School of Communications at Syracuse University, as well as a Lehigh Football and Syracuse Football alum.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Brooklyn Nets</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Rookie first-round pick <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/brooklyn-nets/nets-news-egor-demin-heat-check-admission-summer-league-daggers">Egor Demin led the Brooklyn Nets to their first win</a> at Summer League on Wednesday. He earned his first major highlight with the team during the process.</p><p>Midway through the first quarter, Demin broke away from a pair of Magic defenders, went coast to coast and <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1945630891482443876" rel="noopener">threw down a vicious dunk</a> with his off hand.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="lt">Egor Dëmin has TAKEOFF 😲 <a href="https://t.co/EVxNBVFNXt">pic.twitter.com/EVxNBVFNXt</a></p><p>— NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1945630891482443876?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 16, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>The dunk quickly went viral on social media. Where does it rank on Demin’s list of all-time slams?</p><p>“This one is pretty high. It could be No. 1. I have to watch the replay to tell you,” he said postgame. “To be honest, [I knew I was going to dunk it] when I passed the free-throw line. Well, I was just going and waiting for someone to get on me. And then it was like, oh, nobody’s there. So I just jumped over there and dunked it.”</p><p>Demin, the No. 8 pick in this year’s draft, was <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/brooklyn-nets/brooklyn-nets-2025-nba-draft-grade-for-no-8-pick-egor-demin">not known for his athleticism at BYU</a>. However, at 6-foot-8 with a 6-foot-10 wingspan, he can play above the rim if he gets downhill.</p><h2>Egor Demin takes flight for viral dunk during Nets Summer League win</h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Nets-news-Egor-Demin-reacts-to-game-winning-heat-check-during-Summer-League-win.jpg-2.jpg"></figure><p>Many consider the Russian to be more of a finesse player. Did his aggressive dunk surprise his Nets teammates?</p><p>“No. He had this similar dunk [in college],” Danny Wolf said. “Leading up to the combine and the draft they’ll always have highlights. That [dunk] was always the biggest highlight for him. It was at the start, it was that left-hand dunk he had in one of the games. But we were in warmup lines, and he made some dunks, and we were looking at each other, like, we didn’t know he had this. But yeah, I think it was a good way to start his game. It was pretty aggressive.”</p><p>Following his highlight dunk, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/brooklyn-nets/sean-marks-reveals-nets-motivation-egor-demin-selection">Demin hit three straight threes</a> in the final minutes of the game to seal Brooklyn’s 94-90 victory. He finished with 14 points and five rebounds on 5-of-9 shooting from the field and 4-of-8 from three.</p><p>The rookie has averaged 11.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists on 40.7 percent shooting from the field and 43.5 percent from three over three Summer League appearances.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Nets’ Egor Demin gets brutally honest on his viral Summer League dunk

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/brooklyn-nets/nets-news-egor-demin-heat-check-admission-summer-league-daggers');   ga('set', 'title', 'Nets’ Egor Demin makes ‘heat check’ admission after Summer League daggers');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Nets-news-Egor-Demin-reacts-to-game-winning-heat-check-during-Summer-League-win.jpg"></figure><h1>Nets’ Egor Demin makes ‘heat check’ admission after Summer League daggers</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-07-17T09:19:13-07:00">July 17th, 9:19am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-07-17T09:23:34-07:00">July 17th, 9:23am</time><address><a>Erik Slater</a>Erik Slater is the credentialed Brooklyn Nets beat reporter for ClutchPoints. He's a graduate of Lehigh University and the Newhouse School of Communications at Syracuse University, as well as a Lehigh Football and Syracuse Football alum.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Brooklyn Nets</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Following losses in their first three Summer League games, the Brooklyn Nets were on the verge of a 23-point collapse on Wednesday. With the Orlando Magic making a late comeback, the Nets needed someone to save them from an embarrassing defeat. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/brooklyn-nets/sean-marks-reveals-nets-motivation-egor-demin-selection">Egor Demin, the team’s prized draft selection</a>, answered the call.</p><p>After Orlando climbed within one point with 2:40 remaining, Demin hit a corner three to put Brooklyn up four. The 19-year-old then drained an audacious pull-up triple in transition to put the Nets up seven with 1:16 left. Finally, he hit another corner three with 34 seconds remaining to seal a 94-90 victory.</p><p>“It wasn’t really a heat check. It was more of just the shots [available], right? The heat check is probably more something of… actually, the transition one was probably a little heat check. Ok, that could be a heat check,” Demin said postgame with a laugh. “Yeah, it’s exciting. It’s cool. You know, after a couple of turnovers in a row, I got a little frustrated. Playing off the ball, I got a couple of catch-and-shoots and the one in transition. It’s exciting for me that they went in.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Egor Demin drains a clutch three to halt a Magic run. Makes up for a couple of bad turnovers on prior possessions. <a href="https://t.co/dDGlexTRrD">pic.twitter.com/dDGlexTRrD</a></p><p>— Erik Slater (@erikslater_) <a href="https://twitter.com/erikslater_/status/1945655341326459050?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 17, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Egor Demin's shooting looks legit. He pulls up for a huge transition three, then drains a dagger from the corner.</p><p>He's 4/8 from three tonight and 10/23 (43.5%) at Summer League overall. <a href="https://t.co/WFISd8nQ2N">pic.twitter.com/WFISd8nQ2N</a></p><p>— Erik Slater (@erikslater_) <a href="https://twitter.com/erikslater_/status/1945657290532716748?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 17, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Demin finished with 14 points and five rebounds on 5-of-9 shooting from the field and 4-of-8 from three.</p><h2>Egor Demin’s clutch shooting lifts Nets to first Summer League win</h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Nets-news-Egor-Demin-reacts-to-game-winning-heat-check-during-Summer-League-win.jpg-2.jpg"></figure><p>The rookie had a pair of sloppy turnovers that aided Orlando’s comeback leading up to the game’s final minutes. However, he made up for it with his three-point barrage to earn his first clutch win with the Nets.</p><p>“It’s almost like a clutch [moment], right? Our turnovers and some of our mistakes earlier on caused this comeback. And now it’s almost like, okay, how can I prove, right? How can I get it back?” Demin said. “In theory, [us being in that spot] was because of me, right? Part of it was mine, part of it was Danny [Wolf]. And we wanted to get it back, with efficiency on the floor, on the ball, off the ball, whatever it is. So, that’s the flow of the game. Everything can change in a second.</p><p>“We were winning by 20, then they got back [in it]. I got two turnovers; it looks like I’m down. But then I hit three shots. Same as Danny, right? He lost the ball a couple of times, missed the shot, but then he got back and scored with free throws and under the rim. So it’s a flow of the game. That’s how it works, I guess.”</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/brooklyn-nets/nets-news-biggest-question-rookie-guards-must-answer-after-summer-league">Egor Demin’s three-point shooting was a primary concern</a> entering the draft after he converted 27 percent of his attempts at BYU. However, the Nets’ brass has been adamant that the Russian will be a high-level floor-spacer.</p><p>Their top draft choice has backed up that assessment in Las Vegas, <a href="https://basketball.realgm.com/nba/summer/1/NBA-Summer-League/0/stats" rel="noopener">shooting 43.5 percent from three</a> on 7.7 attempts per game.</p><p>“I’m just happy for Egor [Demin]. Those were big shots. He stepped in, took them and made them. He is a very, very good shooter,” Nets Summer League head coach Steve Hetzel said after Wednesday’s win. “I think he probably felt a sense of relief. And this is what he’s been trying to show everybody, you know, how good of a player he is. And so in that moment, I feel really happy for him.</p><p>“We asked the guys to just play one full clean game, and I thought we did three quarters. And then obviously the 39 points in the fourth was kind of a mess. And that kind of stuff happens with momentum, it happens in real NBA games… Just got to watch the film, learn from it, and see how you can sustain the lead. But excellent job building it. They played extremely well for three quarters.”</p><p>With fellow <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/nets-news-nolan-traore-ben-saraf-out-summer-league-finale">first-round picks Nolan Traore and Ben Saraf resting</a>, Wolf also turned in his best performance at Summer League during the win. The No. 27 pick scored a game-high 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting with six rebounds and four assists.</p><p>The victory comes after the Michigan big man struggled during his first two appearances.</p><p>“Everyone always says before you go in that Summer League is about learning, and it’s gonna be a different game. I think I felt more so than others did that in the first game, and I’m sure everyone else saw that,” Wolf said. “I was just a little bit too sped up, and I went into this game kind of with a more relaxed mindset. Just to let the game come to me a little bit better and do what I do best. Just play a little bit slower.</p><p>“I think I did that to the best of my ability today. I think in the fourth quarter, again, I got a little sped up, but I thought I played a pretty controlled game. I still could’ve been a little more aggressive here and there and done a few things differently. But the coaching staff was great all week. I got in the gym a lot and watched a lot of film. I thought today was a solid game, and there’s so many more games for me to go.”</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Egor Demin news

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