It May be Time For The Nets to Shut Down Egor Dëmin at NBA Summer League

The second-year guard has shown everything he needs to incite confidence from the organization.

Feb 11, 2026; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Brooklyn Nets guard Egor Demin (8) reacts during the fourth quarter against the Indiana Pacers at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Brooklyn Nets have an interesting decision ahead of them at NBA Summer League: continue to play Egor Dëmin in hopes of a championship, or sit him to avoid injury.

The only reason that their staff would consider keeping him in the lineup is to win the tournament and to continue building chemistry with other young contributors. His play has been phenomenal, and he's shown the growth the Nets need to trust him as a franchise cornerstone going forward.

Through four games during the 2026 Summer slate –– two at the California Classic and two in Las Vegas –– Dëmin's averaging 22 points, 5.5 rebounds, four assists and 1.8 steals per game. The 20-year-old is also playing less than 24 minutes per game through these four games, making his numbers per minute jump off the page.

He's shooting 50% from the field, 27.6% from three-point range and 82.4% from the charity stripe. While the outside shooting is down from his rookie campaign, where he shot 38.5% through 52 games, he had the volume to suggest he'll continue to be a reliable option from beyond the arc.

It's important to note that Dëmin entered NBA Summer League coming off a season-ending plantar fasciitis injury, not having played in a real game since late February. Despite that, he's looked much improved than he was during his first season. Many of these strides stem from him being much more poised with the ball in his hands.

As a rookie, he boasted about a 2-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio. Dëmin is only averaging 1.5 turnovers per game currently alongside his four assists per game. Protecting the ball better was probably the last major aspect of his game that the coaching staff was looking to see before potentially benching him.

Dëmin already showed improved scoring off the bounce and tighter on-ball defense. Going into Tuesday's game against the Sacramento Kings, he didn't have a game with more than five assists or any games without a turnover.

He cleaned up those flaws with eight assists and no turnovers against the Kings. With Mikel Brown Jr. on the team now, Dëmin doesn't need to be an elite playmaker, but if he can continue to show more of the passing chops that he was originally drafted for, that makes the Nets offense much more versatile.

Dëmin is primed to be a high-quality starter in the league this coming season. Shutting him down from live competition for the rest of the Summer could be wise to avoid another harsh injury.