With #8 pick, the Brooklyn Nets select Egor Demin, BYU point guard

The wait is over… It’s Egor Demin.

The next era of Brooklyn Nets basketball has a face.

With the #8 overall pick in the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft, the Nets selected Egor Demin, a 6’9” freshman point guard out of Brigham Young University.

The pick was a surprise with among others Khaman Maluach, Noah Essengue and Collin Murry-Boyles on the board.

Demin spoke with Nets internal media after being selected, noting he’ll be playing in the same arena where the Draft took place.

Michael Scotto was first with the news.

Born in Moscow, he played for Real Madrid before joining BYU last year. Seen as the best passer in the Draft, Demin averaged 10.6 points, 5.3 assists and 3.9 rebounds. Demin had been mocked 13th by ESPN, 18th by Tankathon, and ironically 19th by the New York Post and NBADraft.net.

Here’s how our Lucas Kaplan described him,

The Sell: NBA teams run plenty of pick-and-rolls. NBA teams set plenty of off-ball screens. Cam Johnson isn’t exactly toasting guys off the dribble, and Jordi Fernández built a half-court offense around Johnson that, through mid-January, was in the top half of the league. Demin doesn’t have CJ’s scoring chops yet, but he is a great floor-reader. Hell, at 6’8”, he may be a truly special passer in both transition and the half-court. Whether he’s the nominal point guard or on the wing, his skills will play, especially because he’s gonna shoot the rock at a high clip. Just look at some of these makes. He’ll survive guarding bigger, slower players, and the Nets will become a better passing team overnight. Maybe a little rich at #8, but a home run at #19.

The Short: It’s just tough to watch these NBA Playoffs and then take the least athletic guy in the class. Forget whether he’s bringing the ball up or not. Zoom out for a second. You draft Egor Demin because there are not many 6’8” guys who can shoot and pass — like, really pass. Additive offensive players no matter the role, right? And yet, in the vast majority of his games at BYU, he was an inefficient shooter who turned it over a lot. Demin isn’t going to draw help defenders in the NBA; his guy is going to be able to stay in front of him, so the defense won’t collapse, so his playmaking instincts become less valuable. And we don’t even know if he can shoot it!

Here’s some video.

Among his biggest fans was Jonathan Givony of ESPN who wrote this about him following his NBA Combine performance and a pro day.

Demin had a positive week at the combine in Chicago, measuring bigger than expected at 6-9½ in shoes and then putting on one of the most impressive pro day performances we’ve seen in some time, causing even the most skeptical of NBA evaluators to acknowledge his undeniable talent. (Emphasis ours.)

Demin has made significant gains with his body and will continue to fill out, while making a barrage of 3-pointers with picture-perfect mechanics and a lightning-quick release that offered significant room for optimism despite hitting 27% of his 3-pointers in his lone season at BYU. Also, NBA teams raved about his interviews in Chicago.

Sources tell ND that among his biggest advocates was former Net and president of the Russian Basketball Federation Andrei Kirilenko,

This story will be updated and revised.

• Nets take Egor Demin in first shocking move of 2025 NBA Draft – Brian Lewis – New York Post