2025 NBA Draft: Egor Demin Preseason Scouting Report
BYU playmaker Egor Demin is one of my early favorites in the 2025 NBA Draft.
Birthday: March 3, 2006
Team: BYU Cougars
Measurements:
Height: 6-foot-9
Weight: 191 pounds1
Wingspan: Near 7-feet
Physical comp: Mo Harkless (per youngwizzyDFS’s NBA Draft Tool)
Offense:
Jumbo playmaker at 6-foot-9 with a wingspan reported to be around 7-feet.
Makes quick decisions, facilitates for others, and has shown enough scoring promise despite more recent struggles (which came in a small sample size).
Comparable prospect to Josh Giddey, although I’d argue Demin shows more upside — particularly as a scorer — at a similar stage.
Knows how to use a ball screen to facilitate. Loves to go left.
Likes to feed his bigs. Can find the open man while on the move.
4.3 assists per game (23 mins) in league play last season.
Handle can look upright, but it's tight and he can get to spots. Plays with his head up.
Handle still needs to improve, though. Will be interesting to track against wings who defend him in college.
Uses pace, size, and screens well - but not necessarily going to break down his defender off the dribble right now, for instance. That’s fine, but comes with limitations.
Leverages his size well to create advantages, be it through passing angles or exploiting mismatches.
Also creates advantages as a playmaker in transition. Sees over the top of defenses. Can push off a defensive rebound (5.2 rebounds per game in league last season), but also toss accurate outlet or hit-ahead passes. Definite NBA potential in this area.
Awareness as a playmaker has room for improvement. Can misread passing windows sometimes and try to force through passes that don’t exist.
Jump passing is fine, but accuracy and process can be cleaner still.
As a driver, once again loves to go left. Creative with the angles he takes. Can come up with some unorthodox, but under control, finishes at the rim. Likes to use the glass.
Won’t dunk a whole lot in the half-court, but has bounce. Just doesn’t really play at a pace which shows it off that much.
Still gets rushed in traffic as a finisher. Can fade away from length and contact a bit too often, but accumulates paint touches with real consistency.
Physicality needs to keep improving, but he’s not soft. Should come with time in the weight room.
Willing shooter with decent confidence, although with questions about conversion after recent struggles from three. Free throws seem better, though volume really needs to go up.
In 4 ANGT Podgorica games: 22.7 3P% (5/22), 55.6 FT% (5/9)
In 4 ANGT Berlin games: 14.3 3P% (3/21), 81 FT% (17/21)
In 23 Liga EBA games: 36.3 3P% (49/135), 78 FT% (32/41)
Has shown flashes from three before, especially on catch-and-shoots. Real Madrid was comfortable enough using him off curls, playing out of stack pick-and-rolls, moving into threes…
Will this translate? That’s the question. Recent marks have been poor, but on a small sample. Worth giving the benefit of the doubt for now, while monitoring process and makes closely.
Shot is very important so that playoff and end-of-game contexts do not become overly limited.
Appeal and versatility as a 6-foot-9 decision maker is very real, but shot is a swing skill. At the very least, needs to go back to making his spot-ups. If he’s enough of a threat to demand a closeout, then he can catch and kick, catch and drive, or catch and shoot.
Can he do enough off-ball if the shooting remains a question? Shows decent flashes as a cutter, although it tends to come out of set plays rather than “randomly.”
Decision making comes into play again. Can read how defenses react and make rapid choices while on the move.
Real Madrid used him in the dunker spot at times. Doesn’t mind slotting in next to other ballhandlers and playing off the attention they generate.
Not very strong right now, but body looks like it will support added muscle. For now, though, can still have problems vs. size and length in the paint.
Defense:
Long and mobile with active hands. Gets a tip or a hand on passes in his vicinity fairly often. Gets deflections and steals.
In 8 ANGT games: 2.1 steals, 0.8 blocks
In 23 Liga EBA games: 2.1 steals, 0.7 blocks
Size and vision is impactful in passing lanes. Sees the floor as a guard, so I think that also helps him out on defense. Can start and end some two-way sequences.
I like him off the ball helping. Has shown he can anticipate plays and create events. Snatches up passes.
Sporadically alters plays at the rim. Has some pop and verticality, but isn’t in those positions that often. Some upside probably exists at his size, so worth finding out if that is indeed the case.
Reasonably instinctual and pretty productive, but towards end of Real Madrid stint, was honestly a bit more of an offensive engine than a defensive-minded player. Still a real contributor on this end, however.
Hasn’t necessarily been tested against wings with his dimensions yet, but tools exist and can be taught. Two-way upside becomes a lot more interesting if teams can put him on primary initiating star wings.
BYU experience will be revealing as to how multipositional he really is on defense. On-ball defense is maximized on smaller ballhandlers right now, but not sure teams will want him there full time in the future. Also needs to prove himself against a new notch of competition and then, again, against NBA guards.
So far, and not sure this will be the case in college, probably better on 1s and 2s while sometimes switching.
Down the line, maybe better if he defends 3s and some 4s while being able to switch onto smaller ballhandlers. Needs to get stronger for this to happen.
If able to keep defending guards, also becomes way more interesting. Shows flashes of being able to get low to the ground, then high with his hands/length to contest. Can be mean at the point of attack. But relatively untested at next level.
Per DraftExpress