Brooklyn Nets guard Egor Demin was the first player that the Nets selected in the 2025 NBA Draft and with that potentially comes with the expectation of being the leader of the pack. Demin, who Brooklyn took with the eighth overall pick in the Draft, had the chance to explain how he views transitioning to the NBA as part of four other rookies.

“I think it’s easier because obviously you have another four guys around you who’s in the same situation, same age as you,” Demin said while being interviewed on NBA TV during the Las Vegas Summer League. Demin spoke on a variety of topics related to him and the team during this interview, but he had a lot to say about trying to adapt to the league after being part of a historic moment in NBA history.

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“They came from different places all over the world. It’s exciting just to get to know people. I believe basketball, it’s a lot about relationships and how good of a chemistry you can build around,” Demin continued. “For us, almost everybody coming not from America, it’s a big part of our game. How can we build on the team they have already, right? We are a big part of the team. We’re like almost a half of the team at this point.”

To Demin’s point, he is part of the biggest draft class in the history of the league once Brooklyn selected guard Nolan Traore, forward Drake Powell, guard Ben Saraf, and forward Danny Wolf in the first round. NBA teams can carry up to 18 players on the roster (15 standard, three Two-Ways) so the rookies from the 2025 class make up one-third of the team.

Powell was unable to play in the summer league in July, but Demin was able to share the floor with Traore, Saraf, and Wolf at times, giving the coaching staff a chance to see how all of them interact with each other. It remains to be seen how many of the rookies along with Demin will see ample playing time during the 2025-26 regular season, but the hope is that the quintet can help each other develop at the same time.

This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: Nets’ Egor Demin speaks on being part of 5-man 2025 NBA Draft class