Egor Demin entered the season looking like a rookie still learning the rhythms of the NBA game. The timing, the pace, the physicality and nonstop reads that come at you faster than the film ever suggests.
Months later, the Nets see a point guard who’s begun to stitch those pieces together. The confidence is louder. The decisions are quicker. And the moments where he tilts the floor in his team’s favor are happening more often and with more intention.
Head coach Jordi Fernández has seen that shift from the very beginning.
“I think he’s more comfortable,” Fernández said. “I think he always played like he belongs, and that’s been great. I remember since that 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 shot making 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 1… We still want to see more and better. And that goes not just for him, but everybody else on the roster.”
That preseason game in Toronto on Oct. 17 mattered because it offered the first real look at a teenager who didn’t appear rattled by NBA physicality or the moment. His handle stayed tight under pressure, though he did have two turnovers. His decision-making looked poised. He consistently put the ball where it needed to be. And he finished with 14 points on 2-for-3 shooting from deep, added five rebounds and left no doubt that the stage wasn’t too big for him.
The foundation was there. What’s followed since has been steady, visible growth.
Demin’s assist-to-turnover ratio hovering around 2-to-1 is the clearest indicator. For a rookie guard, it’s often the line between simply staying afloat and actually running an offense. Fernández believes Demin’s not only meeting that bar but capable of clearing a higher one.
“I think he’s doing a great job,” Fernández said. “You said it, 2-to-1 is very good. The next step is can he get to 3-to-1. And I think he can because he’s one of the best at finding the 3-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 2-on-1, how he throws the lob.”
Right now, Demin’s reads lean toward the perimeter, where his height and vision let him deliver passes over the top of defenders. Brooklyn loves that part of his game, but the staff wants him to broaden what he sees. That means locating cutters, dropping in lobs, manipulating defenders with his eyes and recognizing when to keep his dribble alive instead of settling for the first available kick-out.
They’ve seen progress. Early in the third quarter of Brooklyn’s 113-103 win over the Chicago Bulls on Dec. 3, Demin found Noah Clowney for two left-corner 3s on consecutive trips, both arriving perfectly in rhythm.
“Those were simple passes, but those passes were right in the pocket, and for guys like Noah, those are layups,” Fernández said
For the Nets, this is exactly the growth curve they hoped to see. And Fernández plans to keep pushing him. In his mind, Demin’s already shown he can handle whatever comes next.
