Despite owning five first-round picks in the 2025 NBA Draft, GM Sean Marks and the Nets stayed put at pick No. 8 to select guard Egor Demin from BYU.
Demin, 19, is listed at 6-foot-9 and 190 pounds. He was born in Moscow, Russia and played for Real Madrid before heading to college for the 2024-25 season.
The guard averaged 10.6 points, 5.5 assists, and 3.9 rebounds over 27.5 minutes of action across 33 games with the Cougars, leading them to an 11-seed in the NCAA Tournament. BYU made it to the Sweet Sixteen before falling to Alabama.
He earned Big 12 All-Freshman Team and All-Big 12 Honorable Mention honors while setting a BYU freshman single-season record for assists with 180.
Demin should fit in nicely on a rebuilding Nets team without a true lead guard. His size adds another layer to his potential as a playmaker at both the point guard and shooting guard spots. After being drafted, Demin spoke with reporters and said "it's an honor" to join the Nets.
"Obviously for me, it's a great opportunity to be on a team where I will be able to develop myself and also impact the game in the ways I can," Demin said. "Just learn a lot from the guys who are already on the team, from the coaching staff, from the front office.
"That's a historical club, historical organization right. Obviously it's a lot related to Russia in the past. A lot of Russian players were going through this organization. For me it's an honor to be a part of the Nets."
Brooklyn's last lottery pick came in the 2010 NBA Draft when they selected Derrick Favors from Georgia Tech with the No. 3 pick.
Demin added that he models his game after Luka Dončić and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and takes pride in his passing ability.
"The passing is something that I was always doing. This is who I am," Demin said. "I believe in the game of basketball as a creative place. It's like art for me. I want to play beautiful. I want to play pretty. I want to play efficient. For me, there is never the sacrifice of something, sacrifice of myself for the team, it's about making a right decision - which I'm always trying to do."