Egor Demin sets NBA rookie 3-point record in return to his 'second home'

SALT LAKE CITY — Egor Demin looked as comfortable Friday night on the Delta Center court as he did when he spent his freshman season 45 minutes to the south at the Marriott Center.

He had enough of a home-crowd advantage, you'd think the Nets rookie from Moscow, Russia, played for the Utah Jazz, even.

No, Demin was making his first appearance in the Utah capitol since he embarked on his rookie season in the NBA, and though head coach Kevin Young and the BYU men's basketball team weren't in the stands due to the No. 13 Cougars' Big 12 road game a day later at No. 14 Kansas, he felt plenty of love from the Utah faithful.

Around 30 people were part of his homecoming, and dozens — maybe hundreds — more BYU fans showed up at the Delta Center to welcome Demin back to his second home. If Young or any of his staff members had wanted to show up, he'd roll out the carpet for them, too.

"I wish they were all here," he said. "I would get them all tickets, that's for sure."

Part of that group included Travis Hansen, the former BYU forward who got to know Demin's family during the three years he played for Dynamo Moscow. He and his wife, LaRee, would eventually become a second home for Demin, having him over for dinner and opening up their family during his freshman season far from home.

"They impacted me in many ways in that short period of time," Demin said. "They keep visiting me in New York, I just saw them earlier today; they're very cool people."

The couple has been to New York several times during Demin's rookie campaign, and he returned the favor by visiting them before Friday night's tipoff against the Utah Jazz (15-33). The now-BYU associate athletic director was among the 30 or so invited guests of Demin on Friday night — and if he wasn't, they might have had words.

"If he wasn't there, I would be mad," he said with a laugh. "I would give him a call."

In a game between two NBA franchises with sub-.500 records, Demin's presence was a bright spot for the Nets (12-34) — as it has been all year.

Demin credits BYU for plenty of his development, both on the court and off it, citing the culture and a unified university where he enrolled as a teenage not a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for helping him become the NBA starter who has been spotted carrying around a Book of Mormon in his native Russian before games.

"I've been lucky enough to end up at that school, and gained so many friends and so many people around me who wanted the best for me and I want the best for them," Demin said. "It's just super exciting to be a part of that big BYU family."

The 19-year-old who left home early to play for the Real Madrid academy in Spain returned to the starting lineup where he has averaged 10.4 points, 3.4 assists and 3.0 rebounds per game.

When Demin splashed a 3-pointer in the opening minutes of the game — one of three in the first quarter — the moment marked his 34th game with a triple, the most by an NBA rookie since the league adopted the 3-point line in 1979.

The 6-foot-8 guard finished with his career-high 25 points, 10 rebounds and four assists in the Nets' 106-99 win over the Jazz, and the first double-double of his rookie campaign.

Demin started 33 games for the Cougars as a freshman, averaging 10.6 points, 3.9 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game. His passing was phenomenal, and his court vision was never in doubt.

But there were several discussions about the 27.3% 3-point shooter in college before the Nets selected him with the eighth overall pick in the draft last June.

None of them came from Brooklyn, though.

"A lot of people questioned his shooting, but we believed in it from the beginning," said Nets coach Jordi Fernandez, while noting his perimeter passing, court vision, positional size and rebounding.

"Those things translate right away, and we see it now," he added. "There's a reason why he'll be in that All-Star weekend, and it's well deserved. You don't see it often, but right away you can impact games and we've seen him make shots in the fourth quarter — and every time he shoots it, I think it's going in."

Demin will compete with other NBA rookies and sophomores at the annual Rising Stars game Feb. 13 at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, the first Nets player to feature in the contest since Jarrett Allen and Rodions Kurucs in 2019.

It's all part of a breakout rookie season, where the 40.3% field-goal shooter has earned plenty of minutes on one of the youngest teams in the NBA and made the most of them, per Fernandez.

But even Demin admits he still has plenty of ways to improve.

"I'm just trying to stay focused on what I can do best on the court," Demin said, "and how can I get better every day."

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