What Egor Demin's Season-Ending Injury Means for the Nets Future

Brooklyn Nets rookie guard Egor Demin will miss the remainder of the season with plantar fasciitis in his left foot, per ClutchPoints' Brett Siegel. He missed the last five games for Brooklyn before ultimately being shut down for good.

Demin is expected to return to basketball activity early in the offseason and be a full participant in the summer development program. The No. 8 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft played in 52 of the Nets' 63 games this season, starting in 45.

His rookie season averages ended at 10.1 points, 3.3 assists, 3.2 rebounds and 1.1 stocks per game. Demin shot 39.9% from the field, 38.5% from three-point range and 83.1% from the free throw line.

He was third on the team in assists per game and was the lead guard for much of the season before Nolan Traoré emerged. The 20-year-old became one of the best outside shooters on the team despite his deep ball being labeled a major flaw coming out of BYU.

Demin earned the honor of playing in the Rising Stars games at All-Star weekend and became the second fastest rookie in league history to reach 100 threes, behind fellow 2025 rookie Kon Knueppel.

With him on the sidelines for the final stretch of the season, more opportunities will be given to rookies like Ben Saraf, Drake Powell and Traoré. The latter has started the last 18 games for the Nets, but has played less than 25 minutes in each of the last three games. Saraf has been back in the rotation off the bench after a G League stint, and Powell could be due for a recall from Long Island with the Demin injury looming.

Since the Russian rookie has been missing from Brooklyn's starting lineup, the first five has looked like Michael Porter Jr., Noah Clowney, Nic Claxton, Terance Mann and Traoré. The Nets are 1-9 in their last 10 games, with the lone win coming in a 23-point comeback victory over the Detroit Pistons on Saturday.

Brooklyn currently boasts a 16-47 record, tied with the Washington Wizards for the third-worst record in the NBA. The Wizards will have the tiebreaker over the Nets if they were to end the season with the same record. In the three-game season series, Brooklyn has already won two games.

Demin surpassed many expectations in his initial season with the Nets. The injury may have knocked out more developmental minutes down the line, but he's set up to build on a successful rookie season once he recovers for the offseason.