{"id":385339,"date":"2026-01-01T19:52:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-01T19:52:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/385339\/"},"modified":"2026-01-01T19:52:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-01T19:52:09","slug":"the-enigma-of-egor-demin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/385339\/","title":{"rendered":"The Enigma of Egor D\u00ebmin"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"BROOKLYN,<\/a><\/p>\n

BROOKLYN, NY – DECEMBER 1: Egor Demin #8 of the Brooklyn Nets looks on during the game against the Charlotte Hornets on December 1, 2025 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2025 NBAE (Photo by David L. Nemec\/NBAE via Getty Images) NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Progress isn\u2019t always linear, especially when the athlete in question isn\u2019t old enough to buy a drink.<\/p>\n

At BYU, Egor Demin was a 6\u20199\u201d walking mismatch who overwhelmed opponents with his unusual combination of size and coordination as a ball-handler. After all, he was the tallest guard measured at the NBA Combine<\/a> since the league began publishing measurements in 2000!<\/p>\n

The NBA, of course, does not care about your college dominance. There\u2019s a physical specimen around every corner now, and the 19-year-old is still ways away from imposing his will on anyone at this level.<\/p>\n

The rookie has been hesitant to attack the basket, taking the lowest percentage of two-point attempts on the team<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In Monday\u2019s loss to the Golden State Warriors, D\u00ebmin didn\u2019t attempt a single shot in the paint<\/a> and committed two costly turnovers in the fourth quarter.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe has high expectations for himself and I\u2019m gonna say the same,\u201d said Jordi Fernandez. \u201cI want more paint touches. I want more assists. I want more physicality in both ends. He\u2019s gonna try to do his best. That\u2019s a good thing about our young guys.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the strange part. The 19-year-old has struggled in areas where he was expected to thrive while excelling in a spot where the concern was loudest.<\/p>\n

All of a sudden, he can shoot. Like, really shoot.<\/p>\n

He has made 62 three-pointers up to this point of the season, the second-most among NBA rookies. Demin knocked down seven threes against Golden State, setting a single-game franchise rookie record in the process.<\/p>\n

At this pace, he\u2019s on track to make 170 threes this season, which would break the Nets\u2019 rookie record set by Kerry Kittles in 1996\u201397.<\/p>\n

This newfound comfort from beyond the arc has come as a surprise, especially for a player who shot nearly 10 percent lower from three in college. At BYU, he shot 27.1 percent<\/a> while attempting 4.7 threes per game, compared to 36.5% on 6.1 attempts per game this season.<\/p>\n

A plantar fascia injury kept him from doing much of anything this summer, so all he could do was shoot from a chair while working on rhythm, mechanics, and muscle memory. Eventually, that limitation turned into a much-needed reset<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt comes from the summer work for sure. That was one of my biggest focuses,\u201d Demin said. \u201cPeople were questioning my 3-point shot a lot, questioning if I would even shoot them. I\u2019m lucky to have a really good coaching staff around me here that wants me to shoot any time I can.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now, it\u2019s just a matter of putting it all together.<\/p>\n

The rookie point guard has shown a willingness to improve, already packing on over 10 pounds since getting drafted in hopes of smoothing the transition to the physicality of the league.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s also exhibited impressive patience and self-awareness along the way, a sign he\u2019s ready to put in the work to fully reach his potential.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m much more comfortable, for sure,\u201d Demin said. \u201cMentally I\u2019m understanding the game better. And just adjusting to the game, growing the right way. Being able to spend as much time on the court as Jordi\u2019s giving me, it\u2019s an honor.\u201d<\/p>\n

After flashing his undeniable potential – and making some typical rookie mistakes – Nets veteran center Nic Claxton offered some words of encouragement to the former No. 8 overall pick after Monday\u2019s game.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a big confidence builder for him,\u201d Nic Claxton said. \u201cHe hit some really big shots for us. Obviously, there\u2019s still a lot of errors where he can learn from. But the sky\u2019s the limit for him and he\u2019ll keep getting better.\u201d<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no need to rush his development. Out of the 540 players in the NBA, Demin is the eleventh-youngest.<\/p>\n

It might take a few off-seasons and some growing pains, but the pieces are there, and the person in charge seems determined to put the puzzle together.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BROOKLYN, NY – DECEMBER 1: Egor Demin #8 of the Brooklyn Nets looks on during the game against…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":385340,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[557],"tags":[64,63,590,87451,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-385339","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-nba","11":"tag-nets-features","12":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/385339","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=385339"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/385339\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/385340"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=385339"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=385339"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=385339"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}