Egor Demin's Recent Stretch is Putting him in All-Rookie Position

The Brooklyn Nets have made a theme of not playing their rookies big minutes in recent years. No. 8 overall pick Egor Demin is breaking that mold this season and challenging other newcomers around the NBA for All-Rookie honors.

In Demin's last eight games, he's averaged 15 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game while shooting 42% from three-point range. The Nets are also 5-3 in this stretch.

In NBA.com's most recent rookie ladder, Demin was ninth, the highest he's been on the ladder at any point this season. His unexpected, yet rapid development shouldn't come as a surprise given his work ethic and he's in position to do something that hasn't been done since the 2013-14 season.

That campaign was the last time a Brooklyn Net made an All-Rookie team. It was No. 22 overall pick Mason Plumlee who received first-team honors.

How Demin has Taken a Recent Jump

Coming into the league, the BYU product's highlighted weaknesses were outside shooting and on-ball defense. This eight-game stretch has seen Demin increase his three-point attempts by more than two per game, and his accuracy has shot up alongside it. As for his on-ball defense, he's lowered his defensive rating to 108.8 from his season average of 113.1.

Demin has been overly reliant on his three-ball at times this season, posting a three-point attempt to field goal attempt ratio of 6.0-8.9 through 30 games. In this stretch, the ratio is 8.1-12.0. His increase in shot attempts as a whole has made his numbers look better, but he showed the ability to get paint touches this past month to keep defenses honest.

Over his last eight games, Demin's best game arguably came in the Nets' blowout win against the Milwaukee Bucks on Dec. 14. He posted 17 points, three assists, three rebounds and three stocks on 6-for-8 shooting.

Rookie Comparison

Of the players above Demin on the rookie ladder, Maxime Raynaud, Jeremiah Fears and Dylan Harper are arguably having worse stretches in their last eight games.

Below Demin is Tre Johnson at 10th, who is also on the come up in the last month, but he isn't having as complete a season as Demin. As of now, Demin should be a lock to make the second team, but getting into first-team conversations is going to be a greater challenge.

It's hard to argue that many rookies have improved as much from their final college seasons to this NBA season as much as Demin. He's far from a finished product, but he looks like a franchise building block and should earn recognition at the end of the season.