Egor Demin delivers as advertised in much-anticipated Nets debut

Brooklyn Nets' Egor Demin (8) drives past Toronto Raptors' Scottie Barnes, left, during second-half preseason NBA basketball game action in Toronto, Friday, Oct. 17, 2025. (Jon Blacker/The Canadian Press via AP)

**Rookie Egor Dëmin Impresses in NBA Debut Despite Foot Injury**

TORONTO — Rookie Egor Dëmin finally made his NBA debut on Friday, giving the Brooklyn Nets and their fans a promising glimpse of his potential. After missing training camp and most of the preseason due to a foot injury, the 19-year-old teenager got his first taste of NBA competition—and he looked like he belonged.

Coach Jordi Fernández praised Dëmin’s performance following the Nets’ 119-114 loss to the Toronto Raptors.

“He was excellent,” Fernández said. “There’s going to be things he’s going to keep working on. We’ve got to keep building him up physically to be able to sustain more minutes. But I’m very happy with his presence, how composed he was, how he talked to his teammates, all those things. And he made it look easy.

“He shot the ball every time he was open or halfway open, got to the free-throw line, and rebounded. He got five rebounds and made nice plays at the rim. It was good.”

Dëmin contributed 14 points on 3-of-5 shooting, including 2-of-3 from beyond the arc. He also added an assist, a block, and had two turnovers. His impressive 6-of-7 performance from the free-throw line highlighted how well he handled the Raptors’ length and physicality—an encouraging sign for his confidence moving forward.

“Yeah, 100 percent,” Dëmin said. “I’ve been told a lot about the Raptors as one of the most physical and longest teams, pressing almost the whole game, and how pesky they are. I don’t want to say I was scared, but I was super aware of what to expect. But I also couldn’t understand what to expect in my first game, so I’m just happy we went through this and had this experience. It’s a huge lesson for all of us, and I can’t wait for the start of the season.”

Finishing with a plus-1 rating in 18:47 of encouraging minutes off the bench, Dëmin looked more comfortable than fellow first-round point guards Ben Saraf and Nolan Traore, despite missing training camp.

The 6-foot-8 Russian guard revealed that his injury—a plantar fascia tear—did not occur at the Las Vegas Summer League but earlier, before June’s draft.

“It was the injury of time. It was getting worse and worse,” Dëmin told The Post before the game. “It started pretty early. It was in the pre-draft workouts already. It was a different thing, and then it evolved into something new.”

The injury sidelined Dëmin from the summer league finale through most of training camp. He wasn’t cleared for full five-on-five play until the Nets’ stop in China.

Dëmin admits this is an injury he and the Nets will continue to monitor throughout his rookie season.

“For sure. Probably. It’s going to take some time to really get rid of everything,” he said. “But as long as it’s not dangerous, and as long as it’s safe for me to play, I’m good to go.”

Reassuringly, Dëmin doesn’t expect to require any surgery or cleanup procedure after the season. For now, he’s focused on getting in sync with his teammates and adjusting to the physicality of the NBA.

But once the lithe teenager adapts fully, his passing skills could truly shine.

“Oh, yeah, he’s solid. He’s going to be really good,” said teammate Michael Porter Jr. “Positionally, for his size, if he can translate all those point guard skills over to the pros, he’s going to be a problem.

“He makes the right reads and the right plays. I know it may take time to deal with the physicality of playing point guard in the NBA, but once he gets the hang of it, he’s going to be really, really good.”

Dëmin has already earned praise from teammates.

“He was great. He was great. Obviously, it’s preseason, but he was good for his first game,” Cam Thomas said. “We’ll see what happens in Charlotte, but it was a great start for him, for sure.”

As the Nets look ahead to the season, all eyes will be on Dëmin’s development as he continues to adjust to the NBA and fight through his injury. His debut performance has certainly given the team and fans plenty to be optimistic about.
https://nypost.com/2025/10/17/sports/egor-demin-delivers-as-advertised-in-much-anticipated-nets-debut/

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