2025 NBA Draft Prospect – Egor Demin

There are plenty of freshman that came into this season with a lot of hype and draft buzz, but Egor Demin was not one of those players and had to carve out his own path. Through five games, the BYU Cougar is paving quite a trail towards hearing his name called next June as one of the top picks in the draft. While it is hard to imagine him dethroning Cooper Flagg from the top spot, Demin has the kind of upside that could land him in the top three. He is that intriguing of a prospect.

That is because jumbo playmakers are all the rage these days. NBA players Scottie Barnes (4th in 2021), Josh Giddey (6th in 2021) and Anthony Black (6th in 2023) speak to that. All drafted in the front half of their respective lotteries and all making their mark to varying degrees in the league. What separates Demin is that he is both bigger than the aforementioned players and is profiling as a more consistent three-point shooter. That last part is important as Barnes, Giddey, and Black have all been below average shooters from beyond the arc at the NBA level despite their playmaking upside.

He is shooting a sizzling 56.5% on three-pointers through five contests. The current sample size of 23 attempts from beyond the arc is small but the form on Demin’s jumper is smooth and repeatable (:23 and 1:46 minute marks below). That again is the upside that he possesses that could see him drafted even higher than previous jumbo playmakers. But make no mistake, Demin’s playmaking skill set inside his 6’9” frame is the reason why scouts are salivating over him.

Throughout the above video, the pace in which he plays, the advanced feel in ball screens, his patience in the lane, and his quick processing skills are all on display. Let us dive in and break that down further.

Right away we are treated to watching Demin work out of a ball screen. His fluid handle, a subtle in-and-out dribble, to ensure the screen was firmly set freed him to get downhill. A plus athlete at 6’9” is not going to be deterred at the rim at the collegiate level. Starting at the :44 second mark, Demin showed off a behind-the-back dribble on a blitz out of a ball screen, further demonstrating his handle and feel. He capped that off with an emphatic dunk driving and finishing with his left hand – very comfortable doing so. A great way to provide BYU with momentum going into halftime.

Check out the crossover in transition starting at the :28 second mark that enabled Demin to get all the way to the basket. He did over penetrate but had the court awareness to find a teammate in the corner rather than force a contested and awkward angle layup. I also love the slight hesitation in the lane as the help defender stunted over from the strong side wing/corner. Demin ensured that he would not dribble right into help and continued once the defender began to recover, demonstrating a great feel there. The interior pass to a teammate for a dunk in the following sequence was pretty. Live dribble playmaking in a 6’9” package will go high in drafts.

He worked out of a post up at the 1:29 minute mark. Demin showed good patience and poise when finishing with a floater there. Throughout the video, he never appeared to get sped up, always playing at his pace.

Demin put on a pick and roll clinic to close out the game. The video winds down with multiple instances of him working out of a high ball screen and finding his teammate on a short roll (1:52 minute mark) and a pretty wrap around pass for a dunk (2:08 minute mark).

Demin did not drop big numbers in the Cougars most recent contest against the Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils but the above video showcases a few of his other skills. But he found ways to still make an impact.

Starting at the :08 second mark, Demin splashed a highly contested three-pointer, reinforcing that his jumper remains consistently smooth even under pressure. Something we did not get a chance to see in the first video.

We are treated to seeing some defense starting at the :21 second mark. Not a fantastic shot blocker with only four on the year, but his height and length are a deterrent. That same size and length make Demin a nightmare at the top of any zone as well. He is in the middle of BYU’s 1-3-1 zone starting at the :46 second mark. It is not easy to get a pass over the top of a player with Demin’s size, length, and general basket IQ that helps him time his jump. Even though he turns it over right after intercepting the pass, I do like his sense to try and get the ball out quickly to a teammate for a basket in transition.

I really like seeing Demin’s involvement as the screener at the 1:00 minute mark. A ghost flare played right into his strengths, and he again knocked down a contested make from beyond the arc. We see some off-ball screen usage starting at the 1:28 minute mark. The recipient of a UCLA screen, the pass took Demin too far under the basket, but he kept his poise, dribbled away to create a better finishing angle, and put the “Dream Shake” on his defender before the lefthanded layup.

The size, skill, and upside are all there for him. The question is going to be can Demin sustain this level of efficiency and success against better competition. We will have a better idea on Thanksgiving as BYU will play the undefeated Ole Miss Rebels, currently ranked 23rd in the country, on a neutral site. There will be a lot of scouts in attendance for that one. Additionally, the battle of the Cougars in early January will be telling as BYU will go on the road to play Houston who has notoriously been one of the best defensive teams for the last several seasons.