From Russia With Handles: Egor Demin’s Basketball Journey originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
The prospect of one day playing in the NBA seemed unattainable for Egor Demin growing up in Moscow. But a yearslong journey that took him across the world — from Russia to Spain to Utah — has now brought him to New York City, where he’ll find out where he’s headed next.
All indications are that Demin, a 6-foot-9 guard and proven playmaker, will hear his name called Wednesday night at Barclays Center, the site of the 2025 NBA Draft. He shouldn’t have to wait long. Industry mock drafts project a range of outcomes for Demin’s draft slot, most of which fall in the teens.
Demin is set to become the highest-drafted BYU player since Jimmer Fredette went 10th in 2011. It’s not lost on him that there are currently no players in the league from Russia.
“I think a lot of people don’t realize how big it is for me and my family and my country,” Demin told Athlon Sports. “Playing as an American player, you live with this idea of reality. You know that it’s gonna happen if you do the right things, right? So you’re expecting this to happen.
“For me, coming from Russia, it was hard to believe that it can be real. And we did these small steps that kind of got me closer to this point where I can really say, ‘OK, that’s another step of my life that’s gonna happen’ — because I did a lot of work to get here.”
That work began at the Moscow Basketball Academy, where Demin’s talent was apparent. He hailed from a basketball-playing family, and the opportunity to kickstart his career arrived well before he was old enough to drive in Russia.
Real Madrid came calling, and Demin moved to Spain at age 15 to play for the club’s cadet team despite not knowing Spanish or English.
“We have this example in Russia — I don’t know if it’s a thing in America — people would joke if the kid doesn’t know how to swim, just throw him into the water and he’s gonna learn himself,” Demin said. “So I got thrown in there, but because I wanted to.”
Demin did learn how to swim, and he rose through Real Madrid’s ranks to the club’s B team. Presented the chance to play professionally in Europe or return to Russia after a few years in Spain, Demin chose neither.
Instead, he committed to play for a BYU program that had only made a handful of NCAA Tournament trips in the past decade and wasn’t exactly an NBA launch pad. However, the Cougars had recently hired coach Kevin Young away from the Phoenix Suns when Demin announced his decision last June.
“College was kind of like a little step in between those levels of pro and youth,” Demin said. “My goal was to learn about American basketball since it’s very different from European [basketball]. Obviously, my goal is to be in the NBA, which is American basketball, so I gotta be in that environment, and I gotta get used to it first. I need to get used to this environment before I step into this highest level possible.”
He thrived at BYU, playing in what he called “the most physical conference, probably.” Demin was named to the All-Big 12 Freshman Team and earned all-conference honorable mention honors, averaging 10.6 points, 3.9 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game.
The sixth-seeded Cougars advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time since Fredette’s final collegiate season. Demin acquitted himself well on college basketball’s biggest stage, averaging 13.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 5.7 assists in three March Madness games. He declared for the NBA draft less than two weeks after BYU was eliminated.
Demin, who just turned 19 in March, said he didn’t arrive on campus with the intention of going one-and-done, and he’s happy to have been a part of what he called a “waking-up season” for the program. His commitment was a coup for the Cougars, who continued their upward trajectory in December by landing the nation’s top-ranked recruit in A.J. Dybantsa. BYU profiles as a likely preseason top-10 team.
Since Demin’s brief-but-bright college basketball career ended, he has spent his time preparing for the combine, which was held last month in Chicago, and working out for teams that might take a shot on the lanky Russian guard.
Demin was among the first wave of players to receive an invitation to the NBA Draft’s green room, a staging area for prospects to wait with their families before their names are called by commissioner Adam Silver. That puts him in the company of Duke duo Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel and Rutgers teammates Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey.
“I think it was an amazing structure of what we have done and how we planned my kind of small career till this moment,” Demin said. “Not rushing, just slow and steady, kind of getting closer and closer to the point of being an NBA player.”
Just like he didn’t rush his career, Demin refuses to be sped up on the court. He’s a crafty creator who uses his size to his advantage on offense. Demin can score at all three levels, though his shooting consistency is an area of weakness. He shot 41.2% from the field and 27.3% from the 3-point line at BYU.
Demin said much of his pre-draft focus has been on shooting, in hopes of dispelling concerns about that aspect of his game. Beyond that, he’s been working on playing off the ball and honing his pick-and-roll skills.
There are five players he said he studies the most on film: Thunder MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Lakers superstar Luka Dončić (who also played for Real Madrid), Pistons All-Star guard and former No. 1 pick Cade Cunningham, Magic forward Franz Wagner and Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija.
Demin said he looks to Gilgeous-Alexander and Dončić for overall inspiration, particularly in the pick-and-roll game. He borrows from the other three a bit more liberally. In Avdija’s case, physicality and body control stand out, whereas Wagner can play from any spot on the floor. And Cunningham is “probably the role model for me as a point guard,” said Demin, who added that he feels most comfortable on the ball.
Getting drafted early isn’t of great concern for Demin, who is more focused on finding the right fit. He’s hopeful he can be the missing piece for a team on the rise and is open to being coached.
“I was willing to learn. I was willing to take, and that’s exactly what it’s all about,” Demin said of his time at BYU. “I think it’s hard for the coach to make you a good player if he doesn’t want to be a good player. So for me, I wanted to be the best, and the coaches wanted me to be the best.”
Demin’s family has long been a part of his quest to be the best. Without their participation, Egor said he wouldn’t be on the cusp of achieving his NBA dream. He acknowledges that leaving Russia for Spain was likely harder on his parents, Vladimir and Natalia, than it was on him.
“There is no pressure from outside, but it’s more of my own pressure to let them know that it’s important to me and that I appreciate it,” Demin said of his family’s support. “And the best way I think for me to let them know this is to be as successful as I can be. So they can literally say, ‘OK, all this is worth it. All these hard times that we went through is worth it.’”
Related: 2025 NBA Draft: What Anonymous Scouts Said About BYU’s Egor Demin
Related: Why Cooper Flagg Is Expected to Be ‘Adaptable’ with Mavericks
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 25, 2025, where it first appeared.