Just over a year ago, it was a little bit of a surprise that former BYU basketball star Egor Demin was selected eighth overall by the Brooklyn Nets in the 2025 NBA Draft, as most projections had him going 5-10 picks later than that.<\/p>\n
Demin made the Nets look good though, as he averaged 10.3 points, 3.3 assists and 3.2 rebounds per game in a rookie season that was cut to just 52 games because of injury.<\/p>\n
Most impressively, Demin shot 38.5% from behind the 3-point line, a far better number than he had previously put up at any level.<\/p>\n
As such, there\u2019s an argument to be made that Demin didn\u2019t need to play in summer league for the Nets this year, but he is indeed doing so.<\/p>\n
On Saturday in Brooklyn\u2019s first 2026 summer league game against the Sacramento Kings in Sacramento at the California Classic, Demin did exactly what a good NBA player should do at summer league, as he led the Nets with 23 points on 8 of 15 shooting with seven rebounds.<\/p>\n
Brooklyn did lose 79-76 as Kings guard Nique Clifford made the game-winning 3-pointer with six seconds left, but final scores hardly matter in summer league. Far more important is how players are developing, and Demin certainly showed well in that department (Sacramento rookie Darius Acuff Jr., the seventh pick in this year\u2019s draft, led all scorers with 25 points).<\/p>\n
Asked after the game what drove him during his big performance Saturday, Demin alluded to the idea of playing well since he is becoming an established NBA player.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want to say pressure of being a leader, but kind of embracing the role of a guy who\u2019s been a year in the NBA already,\u201d he said. \u201cI want to take that role on myself coming here and lead the team mentally on the bench and on the court as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Egor D\u00ebmin on his motivation today: \u2014 Shara Talia Taylor (@staliataylor) July 5, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Here are some highlights from and what some said about Demin\u2019s performance Saturday.<\/p>\n Anyone sleeping on Egor D\u00ebmin needs to remember how hard of a worker he is<\/p>\n As a prospect, shooting was one of his big swing skills, so he worked on it and shot 38.5% from 3 on high volume<\/p>\n Now, he\u2019s clearly been working on his fluidity as a ballhandler pic.twitter.com\/ew5U7JSjwA<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Point Made Basketball (@pointmadebball) July 4, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n In the draft you need to find a mix of talent, selflessness and hunger to get better. It was clear from day one Egor is a gym rat https:\/\/t.co\/mjefz44l5D<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 James Boisits (@boisits_james) July 5, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n The Nets will continue summer league play Sunday against the Milwaukee Bucks.<\/p>\n
“I don’t want to say pressure,you know of being a leader,but I’m kind of embracing\u00a0the role of a guy who spent the year in the NBA already.I want to take that role on myself coming here&lead\u00a0the team,mentally,on the bench&on the court as well.” pic.twitter.com\/yCD6NJo2N7<\/a><\/p>\n