[The following scouting report is part of a series on potential 2025 draft prospects from Sports Business Classroom alumni.]

Egor Demin
Frame: 6’9”, 190 lbs
Position: Guard
School: BYU
2025 Draft Age: 19
Stats via sports-reference.com

Offense

Demin possesses a unique combination of size and ball skills, making him a highly sought-after NBA prospect. At 6’9″, he is a big guard who plays as a traditional table setter. Once he fills out his frame, Demin can move up to the small forward position and become a point forward. However, at this point, he lags in strength, which prevents him from fully utilizing his advantages.

Demin is a high-level playmaker as a primary or secondary creator, depending on the situation. He moves well both with and off the ball. His height and peripheral vision help him process the game from above and find open teammates across the court. Demin is calm and calculated in the pick and roll and recognizes when help is coming. At the NCAA level, Demin sees the game in slow motion, always thinking a step ahead. 

Given his size, a particular strength of his is ball handling. Demin is what is called a ‘fluid’ player. He’s comfortable dribbling with either hand and keeps his head up constantly, scanning the entire court, not just the tunnel in front of him. However, due to his lack of physicality, Demin can lose the ball even after marginal contact. At times, he also gets a bit unaware when dribbling under pressure, which leads to careless turnovers.

Currently, Demin is a perimeter player in the truest sense. He prefers to rely on IQ rather than physicality, rarely drives to the basket, and focuses on making plays for his teammates. Demin lacks an explosive first step and struggles to fight through contact. He rarely gets to the line, where he shoots in the sixties throughout his young career, which may indicate a lack of confidence or concentration.

At the same time, Demin has real potential as a shooter, best demonstrated in his ANGT debut against Alba Berlin in January 2023 when he went 7-9 from three in 19 minutes. He doesn’t think twice when defenders go under screens and is not bothered by contests, thanks to his size, which allows him to shoot over people. Demin moves well without the ball and is good at relocating on the perimeter to get open, which makes him a serious threat even in an off-ball role. Despite going cold in certain games, Demin has smooth shot mechanics. It’s a matter of finding consistency. 

Defense

Demin has defensive potential thanks to his superior size at the guard position and seven-foot wingspan, which allow him to intercept passes and block shots. He currently accounts for 2.1 steals and blocks per game (the best on his team). However, he’s far from being considered a positive defender due to a lack of strength, lateral quickness, and, most importantly, defensive intensity.

Like many promising offensive talents, Demin seems to treat defense as secondary. He plays actively in the early minutes but loosens up the pressure and focus as the game progresses. He tends to fall asleep on a backdoor and shy away from contact as if he’s hurt or in foul trouble, occasionally giving up fifty-fifty balls to more energetic players. 

Despite quick hands, Demin is a weak individual defender who should be given easier assignments. He doesn’t provide much ball pressure and gives up too much space for ball-handlers with greater lateral mobility. Demin often struggles to prevent drivers from getting into a lane and stopping the ball in transition, as he doesn’t know how to use his body to slow down/bump ballhandlers. He gives up space too easily and allows easy scores on himself, especially from the inside, playing gently as if he’s afraid to hurt the opponent.

Looking ahead

Demin is arguably the best playmaker in this draft class, averaging six assists with a respectable 2.1 assist-to-turnover ratio as a freshman. He also organizes many scoring plays that don’t result in assists in the box score. Some compare him to Alexey Shved, and while Demin is set to accomplish more in the NBA, it’s not entirely an accurate comparison in terms of playing style. Demin is a pass-first playmaker, while Shved (even being at the top of the EuroLeague in assists) has always had a scorer’s mentality. Demin still has room to improve in the scoring department, specifically regarding his mental aggression.

While in Spain, Demin has participated in three youth EuroLeague tournaments, where he established himself as the team’s primary point guard but lost the competition for the unofficial status of team leader to Hugo González, who outmatched him in production and aggressiveness. Demin thrives in situations where everything is going well but hasn’t always been the “guy” during crucial stages, which also appears to be the case in the NCAA. After a round of impressive performances against weaker competition, Demin disappeared when it came to stronger opponents and scored the least points among BYU starters in a blowout loss to Houston, the highest-ranked team they have played. 

For better or for worse, Demin draft stock has come back to earth during his last stretch of games. Now, with the heart of the season ahead, it’s all about how he improves as a scorer. With fierce competition among NBA guards, Demin can only expect a backup role unless he improves his scoring output, let alone defensive limitations. Still, his unique profile and playmaking prowess are enough to keep scouts excited. Playing under Kevin Young, a coach with NBA experience, also gives a reason to trust his development process.