The first thing that stands out is the passing.
Anyone who watches Egor Demin knows that the BYU freshman sees the game at a higher level than many of those he shares the court with. His vision, anticipation as a playmaker, and ability to pass off the dribble with either hand is, on its own, enough to make NBA decision-makers interested in seeing more.
“He’s a 6′9 point-forward who makes all of the other players on his team better,” a Western Conference front office executive told the Deseret News. “His passing is going to translate to the NBA, there’s no doubt about that. Can he stay consistent in all the other areas? That’s the question.”
There was NBA buzz about Demin before BYU head coach Kevin Young recruited him. Originally from Russia, Demin signed a long-term deal with Real Madrid when he was just 15 and had worked through the Euro team’s academy for the last three years. Rather than move up to the main team for good, Demin opted to move stateside and play for the Cougars.
While his passing and ability to move like a guard with the height of an NBA power forward has long been a mainstay of his game and is enough to pique the interest of people in the NBA world, it’s not enough to guarantee Demin an NBA career.
“The game has changed,” one NBA general manager said. “You have to be able to shoot the ball. Too many times we’ve seen players who have talent in other areas — they’re great passers, elite defenders — but they don’t last because they can’t shoot. So it’s necessary for a player like Egor to show that he can score the way he needs to at the next level.”
In European competition, Demin’s shooting numbers varied. At best he would have been considered streaky and there were some problems with his form. A number of sources with knowledge of Demin’s training said that he has cleaned up his mechanics, from his fingertips to his toes, and put in a lot of time to make sure that his shooting form is more consistent.
The early returns suggest that the work has paid off. In eight games with BYU Demin is shooting 38.5% from 3-point range and that includes a rough shooting night (0-of-5) in a game in which he sustained an injury early on. Since then, Demin has been sidelined due to the knee injury but is expected to return to action soon.
“The shooting form is good and he’s taking good shots,” a Western Conference NBA scout said. “It’s not like he’s one of those guys who makes shots but it looks bad when he shoots. But even if he were to play three years in college and play every game, that would still be a small sample size as far as shooting is concerned.”
BYU guard Egor Demin passes during game against UC Riverside at the Marriott Center in Provo on Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. Among Demin’s many strengths is his ability to distribute the ball. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News
As NBA teams evaluate Demin, they know that there is going to be some risk involved when projecting how good of a shooter he can be, as there is with any young player. But they have been impressed with the progress of his scoring.
“I’ll be interested to see how he fares in Big 12 play,” an Eastern Conference scout said. “It’s tougher competition and he’ll be even more of a focal point. If he can still get good shots off while maintaining good form, it’ll start to cement what people think of him.”
After conversations with a number of NBA executives, scouts, coaches and college coaches, there is a consensus about Demin’s profile as an NBA prospect. He has incredible feel, vision and the passing is elite, especially considering how young he is. He is a smart scorer (he’s averaging 13.3 points this season) and doesn’t really take bad shots. Defensively, when playing off the ball, he has really good instincts. He’s quick with his hands and knows when to gamble in passing lanes and when to hedge (he’s averaging 1.6 steals per contest).
There have been flashes of athleticism, but he’s not someone who regularly plays above the rim. He needs to work on being a better shot creator for himself. Right now, because he struggles to do so, it probably means that he can’t be a primary scorer. When he’s coming off of screens, playing on the move, or in catch-and-shoot situations he’s good, but he’s probably not someone who would be great in late shot-clock scenarios. Defensively, he could struggle in one-on-one situations.
By a number of people, Demin has been compared to Josh Giddey, who was the sixth overall pick in the 2021 NBA draft. And like Giddey, most agree that Demin will be a top-10 pick when the 2025 draft rolls around.
“I’ve heard others compare him to Giddey and I think it’s fair,” a Western Conference scout said. “Right now I’d say he’s Giddey who can shoot and maybe a little more athletic. I have him in the 5-10 range, but if he does well in conference play and he keeps shooting like this, I could see him going as high as third.”
Demin’s potential as a top-five pick has been helped recently by the fact that a couple of other highly-touted players have struggled in the early days of collegiate play. Even so, there’s a lot of excitement about Demin emerging as one of the most sought-after prospects.
It’s unlikely that Demin supplants Duke’s Cooper Flagg or Rutgers’ Dylan Harper, but there is a lot of discussion about who picks three through 10 in the 2025 draft could be.
Most important from this point forward is how Demin fares in conference play and beyond. NBA decision-makers want to see that he can be consistent and rise above tougher competition. They want to see how far he can take the Cougars, how much his play can impact his teammates.
“We’re all waiting to see what happens the rest of the season,” an NBA executive said. “But if how he’s playing holds up, he’s going to get picked really high and have a very long NBA career.”
BYU guard Egor Demin drives past Queens Royals’ Maban Jabriel at the Marriott Center in Provo on Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News