Egor Demin’s encouraging development has Jordi Fernandez, Nets wanting to see more

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Egor Demin’s encouraging development has Jordi Fernandez, Nets wanting to see more

Erik Slater, ClutchPoints · ClutchPoints

Fri, Dec 5, 2025 ·

4 min read

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The post Egor Demin's encouraging development has Jordi Fernandez, Nets wanting to see more appeared first on ClutchPoints .

Egor Demin is beginning to figure it out. Following a slow start to the season, the Brooklyn Nets point guard has quietly been one of the NBA's most productive rookies over the last month.

After coming off the bench while recovering from a plantar fascia tear to open the year, Demin has started Brooklyn's last 12 games. The No. 8 pick has averaged 10.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, 4.2 assists and just 1.8 turnovers on 39/36/90 shooting splits since the change. He and Derik Queen are the NBA's only rookies averaging over 10 points, three rebounds and four assists during that span.

"I think he's more comfortable," head coach Jordi Fernandez said of Demin's recent play. "I think he always played like he belongs, and that's been great. I remember since [his first] preseason game in Toronto . He played and showed right away why we were so high on him and how he handled himself. It's not just about the shotmaking, but also seeing the floor and his ability to get deflections and rebounds and all those things. We've seen how much better he's gotten from day one. We're close to 20 games in and we still wanna see more and better."

Demin has shown improvement across the board following his move to Brooklyn's starting lineup.

Egor Demin shows promise following move into Nets' starting lineup

The BYU product has remained confident as a three-point shooter, converting at a 36.1 percent clip over his last 12 games. He's attempting 8.5 threes per 36 minutes during that span, the second-most among 13 rookies to play over 250 minutes, behind only Kon Kneuppel (8.6).

Demin has also ramped up his aggressiveness as a driver after failing to attempt a two-point field goal in his first five games. He's attempted 46 two-pointers over his last 12 appearances (3.8 per game) and converted 20 (43.5 percent). While he's still limited as a self-creator off the dribble, he's been able to leverage his shooting ability to get downhill using shot fakes.

Among the biggest surprises surrounding Demin's start has been his ability to take care of the ball. After averaging 6.3 turnovers per 100 possessions last season at BYU, the 19-year-old is averaging 3.7 per 100 in the NBA. He's averaging 3.6 assists and 1.7 turnovers per game for the season.

Demin's 2.06 assist-to-turnover ratio ranks third among 12 rookies playing over 20 minutes per game, behind only Dylan Harper (2.44) and V.J. Edgecombe (2.37).

"I think he's doing a great job. [A] two-to-one [assist-to-turnover] is very good," Fernandez said. "The next step is, can he get to three-to-one? And I think he can because he's one of the best at finding the three-point line in the NBA. The numbers say so, but now he has to mix it in with when he touches the paint, when teams are in drop, when he creates a two-on-one, how he throws the lob. Right now, he's done a great job finding the three. Now the next step is reading those next actions. All the cuts, the rolls, the two-on-ones. I'll keep being hard on him because I have high expectations for him and I know he can do it. I'm very happy where he's at."

Demin's defense remains a work in progress. He's had trouble staying in front of quicker guards while guarding in isolation or closing out to the three-point line. However, the lottery pick has shown progress of late, using his 6-foot-10 wingspan to bother opposing ball-handlers. He's posted eight stocks (steals + blocks) over his last three games.

The Nets' selection of Demin with their first lottery pick in 15 years was chastised within NBA circles. However, the rookie's rapid improvement over the last month should draw a collective sigh of relief from Nets fans as the team moves forward in its rebuild.

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