Raptors NBA Draft option at 9th overall: Egor Demin
The following is part of Raptors Republic’s series of pieces previewing the 2025 NBA draft. You can find all the pieces in the series here.
The Raptors worked out BYU’s Egor Demin on June 16th, showing that the team has an interest in the divisive yet talented point guard.
Egor Demin – 6’9 PG – Brigham Young University – Age: 19
I have a lot of concerns with the former Real Madrid guard and am definitely hesitant when looking at his shooting numbers. That said, Egor Demin is one of the players that just passes the eye test when it comes to incredibly smart and patient displays of playmaking prowess – his ability to dictate an offence is second to none in this class. With such an advanced playmaking skill at his size, and with how young he is, Egor Demin makes for an incredibly intriguing upside play in this year’s class.
The Offence
Demin is the most talented passer in the draft. Whether it’s simple reads or eye-popping “how the hell did he do that” whips to open teammates, Demin more often than not makes timely passes that meet their targets. Demin often draws entire defences to him just due to how dangerous he can be with the ball in his hands, which he often uses to his benefit as his other teammates are left open.
Demin has a solid handle and grades out very well as a PNR ball handler on Synergy, though his points per possession are well below average. He’s not a particularly shifty or bursty athlete, and he plays fairly upright, so he can get flustered when defenders apply pressure. That said, he’s very patient and manages to control the pace of play when he has the ball in his hands. He moves well as a cutter off the ball and thrives in motion-heavy offences.
The shot started off white-hot, but fell back down to earth… and continued to fall deeper into the dirt. 23.9% of shots made off the dribble from three and 27% of his shots made off the catch. Yikes. His mechanics are a little unorthodox, and his free throws are also a touch under 70%. Demin needs to continue developing his shot or he could be in for a short career, even with his playmaking genius. The shot’s not totally broken, but it’ll be rough at the start. When defenders know Demin’s shot isn’t falling, they can play off of him and dare him to pass into crowded schemes, making it tough for him.
The Defence
It’s unfortunate that a gifted playmaker with plus size and a long wingspan is just not a good defender. There are flashes of solid play on this end of the floor – he uses his wingspan well to close out and pressure opposing players, but his poor lateral mobility and skinny frame limited him in college. This, combined with poor process which was unfortunately all too common for Demin at BYU, will really limit his defensive viability in the NBA against better competition.
He plays with effort, which is all you can ask, and there are times where he tries his best to fight through screens and use his long arms to generate deflections, but it’s unlikely that he ever becomes a positive defender.
The Fit
Demin needs to play with scorers in order to survive in the NBA. He would immediately be the best passer on the Raptors, capable of setting up Ingram and Scottie in a movement-heavy offence. He works best while setting up other players, though not so much setting up himself. As a result, Demin would likely slot into one of the backup guard spots or as a third guard off the bench due to his size, while operating as a primary or secondary playmaker whenever he’s on the floor. Safe to say that Darko would likely be enamoured with his ability to move the ball.
The Conclusion
Expected Pick Range: 8-16. The Raptors are in the higher end of Demin’s range so I would be remiss to not post a scouting report about him in this cycle. According to ESPN’s Jeremy Woo, Demin has interest from teams within the top 10, but he could also reasonably fall outside of the lottery, which I view as more likely at this stage.
Brendan’s Big Board: I was very high on Demin after his early season performances, but the cracks began to slowly become more obvious as the season went on. I thought that he would go back to BYU to play with top prospect AJ Dybantsa and potentially improve his draft stock next year, but his decision to stay in this year’s draft could result in a team getting incredibly lucky if he lives up to his potential. Despite Demin’s many flaws, I have him at 19th on my board due to his potential to be one of the NBA’s best playmakers. I would likely not select Demin at 9th overall, though he makes for a very intriguing trade-down target with high-value payoff potential. Players of this size who possess this high level of passing vision don’t come around too often, and the youth means he has a lot of time to hone his weaknesses.
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