The Brooklyn Nets have been trying to win as many games as many games as possible during the 2025-26 NBA season while developing some of the younger players on the team. Rookie guard Egor Demin appears to have played himself into the starting point guard spot for Brooklyn, but it seems like he has a ways to go before he is finishing fourth quarters with regularity.
“The first time, I didn’t just subbed him out, I subbed the whole first unit out, and then, we made a run. So, sometimes just coaching,” Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez said of Demin after Tuesday’s 113-99 loss to the Boston Celtics. Demin finished the game with 12 points, three rebounds, and four assists in 23 minutes, but he also played just a little over four minutes of the fourth quarter of what was a close game until the very end.
“Mistakes are fine. A lot of times, you’re going to have to go out there and try to find a different matchup, or whatever it is,” Fernandez continued. “With him [Demin], we have shooting and we have another ball handler. But, I’m happy with all his mistakes, I’m happy with the way he played. [I] wanted him to be aggressive, he took 10 shots. I want him to keep shooting, I want him to keep touching the paint. I want him to keep spraying the ball and then challenge himself defensively. So, he’s done a good job.”
Demin, 19, has been playing solid basketball for the Nets ever since he entered the starting lineup as he seems to be getting more comfortable with being asked to run the offense and play off the ball at times. Following Friday’s loss to the Celtics, Demin is averaging 7.4 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game while shooting 37.6% from the field and 38.1% from three-point land.
While Demin still has plenty of knowledge to gain about playing on both ends of the floor as an NBA point guard, he seems to be developing under Fernandez, even if he isn’t always finishing games. Demin has had his issues with ball security, he’s averaging 1.7 turnovers per game, but it seems that Fernandez is willing to let Demin learn on the job, but not at the expense of closing winnable games.