Basketball player Demin – about the letter “Y” on the Brooklyn T-shirt: “An important and vivid representation of my country and our characteristics”

Russian Brooklyn Nets basketball player Egor Demin explained why he decided to use the letter “Y” on the NBA club’s jersey.

Brooklyn selected 19-year-old Demin eighth overall in the 2025 NBA Draft. This is a record high number for Russian basketball players in history. During the presentation of the newcomers, the Russian’s last name on the T-shirt was written with dots on E – “DЁMIN”.

— The letter “Y” appeared in my thoughts from the very beginning. I think this could become an important and vibrant representation of my country and our characteristics. Well, I still would like my last name to be spelled correctly.

This is also a small thank you to my grandfather, who fought for the letter “E” in his last name for a long time, adding two dots above the letter “E” in his passport,” the “Championship” basketball player quotes.

Demin was born in Moscow, where he began his basketball career. In 2021, at the age of 15, he signed a contract with Real Madrid, and later decided to move to the United States and play college basketball.

In the 2024/25 season, Egor Demin played 33 matches in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for the Brigham Young University team. He averaged 10.6 points, 3.9 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game.