Egor Demin continues to take his first steps in the NBA, but is already playing beyond his wildest expectations. In the next regular season match against Philadelphia (103:115), the 19-year-old Brooklyn defender scored 23 points, becoming the most productive player on both teams.

Main star of the match

Results have taken a back seat for the Brooklyn Nets this season. The team from New York is engaged in the common practice of so-called “tanking,” that is, a conscious bet on weak results in the championship. Its composition does not allow it to compete for high places, and its position at the bottom of the table increases the chances of taking a good player in a future draft. After 18 matches, the Nets have only three wins and 15 losses. At the same time, Brooklyn already has enough promising basketball players with star potential. One of them is Demin, selected last summer with a record eighth number for Russians.

If at the very beginning of the season the Nets head coach released Yegor from the bench, now the Moscow native has become a solid player in the starting five. The game with Philadelphia was his tenth in a row, which he started from the first minutes. The absence of Brooklyn’s two main stars – Cam Thomas and Michael Porter – suggested that in Friday’s game Demin’s functions would change and he would be entrusted with the role of first violin.

Egor Demin / Photo: © Cole Burston / Contributor / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

In the first half of the Nets’ home match, the Russian was not very noticeable. He tried more to play for his partners, but his shots did not reach the target. Everything changed after a long break, when Demin turned on the turbo mode and gave the best game in the NBA. The league’s top players have faith in their shot even after a series of misses. Egor acted in the same style in the last game. In the third quarter, he managed to adjust his aim and began to shoot at someone else’s hoop from behind the arc.

First, Demin hit two difficult three-pointers with resistance, then made an effective pass under the ring, and after that he earned and converted two free throws. The extravaganza continued in the final quarter. It was Demin who was the guy who kept his hopeless team in the game until the very end. Three more converted three-pointers and a couple of dribbling passes under the hoop provided him with a personal scoring record. It is important that he managed to create shooting opportunities for himself, and not just convert passes. These are the qualities that separate average players from true stars. To his 23 points, he added his best rebounds figure (9), and also recorded five assists. There could have been much more assists if the partners had done a better job of converting attempts after Egor’s passes.

Demin’s rapid progress is truly impressive. From a timid student who performed only a few shots per match, he very quickly turned into the leader of the team. Of course, one shouldn’t draw global conclusions based on one game, but the confidence with which the Nets’ No. 8 acted speaks volumes.

Andrey Kirilenko / Photo: © Lisa Blumenfeld / Contributor / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

Even Andrei Kirilenko, who overcame the 20-point barrier in only his 39th game, did not start so boldly in the NBA, while he was a year older than Demin. It’s interesting that the most successful Russian in the NBA, who became a participant in the All-Star Game, also managed to play for the Nets at the end of his career.

Demin is modest, fans are delighted

Of course, there is no point in idealizing Demin’s performance. He, like any young athlete, is characterized by instability. In the match with Philadelphia, he made five three-pointers, while in the two previous meetings he managed to hit only once from behind the arc. In general, his statistics after 17 matches look quite decent for a newcomer: on average he scores 8.5 points, 3.5 assists and 3.7 steals per game. He is fourth among all rookies in the league in assists.

Egor Demin / Photo: © Evan Bernstein / Contributor / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

At the beginning of the season, the team’s fans criticized Brooklyn head coach Jordi Fernandez, who limited Demin’s time on the court and the number of his shots. The match with Philadelphia became a record for Yegor not only in terms of points scored, but also playing time – 30 minutes 29 seconds.

“The ability to act assertively and decisively on the court is important. I need to concentrate on what I can do. The freedom in attack that I had in this game helped me to liberate myself. Jordi wants us to shoot a lot, but it’s not just about shooting. It’s a pity that I didn’t complete several attempts that I could, but I tried to find partners who were in the best positions,” Demin noted after the match.

Brooklyn fans are closely following the progress of the Russian basketball player. Even before the game with Philadelphia, they called on the head coach to trust Yegor more. After the most effective match in his performance, the team’s fans did not spare words of praise.

– Simply a top player! Not only does he have a shot, but he also has rebounding positioning, court vision, and good defense. I’m delighted! And this is just the beginning. I hope the coach will be able to reveal his qualities even better.

“It’s interesting now to look at those who laughed at the Nets and his eighth-round draft pick. Demin proved that he deserved such trust!

— Egor Demin did everything today! Scored, passed, rebounded. If he plays like this now, imagine what he will look like in a couple of years.

On Saturday, Brooklyn will play away against Milwaukee. Given the absence of several leading players, the burden of leadership will certainly fall to the Russian basketball player again.