Dubbed the "Aura Bros," lottery picks Mikel Brown Jr. and Egor Dëmin are anchoring a pivotal foundational year for the Brooklyn Nets.
The Brooklyn Nets may have one of the most exciting backcourts with Mikel Brown Jr. and Egor Dëmin, and are one of 30 reasons to look forward to next season.
Brown and Dëmin have earned the nickname "Aura Bros," which highlights their evolving friendship on and off the court. Both are lottery picks for Brooklyn in back-to-back drafts -- Dëmin eighth overall last year and Brown sixth overall this year.
Hunter Patterson, writer for The Athletic, believes next season is a foundational year for the young backcourt.
The Nets are coming off a 20-62 record, which was third-worst in the NBA. Their poor record helped them land Brown, but with the new lottery reform going into effect, another bottom-three finish will punish the team.
Brooklyn's future hinges on its young guards becoming a formidable duo.
Dëmin is off to a promising start after an impressive offseason. Plantar fasciitis ended his rookie season in March, and he used the extra time to work out in the weight room and add muscle.
The added muscle improved his ability to absorb contact when driving, and the second-year guard looked like one of the best players throughout summer league.
He scored 23 points on 8-for-15 and grabbed seven rebounds in the California Classic opener against the Sacramento Kings. Dëmin, known for his outside shooting, struggled from beyond the arc (2-for-8), but his rim pressure prevented him from having a bad night.
Dëmin averaged 21.8 points on 47.3% shooting over five games, improving nearly 8% from 39.9% last season. An impressive summer earned him a selection to the All-Summer League Second Team.
Brown flashed two-way potential next to his Aura Bro. Nets summer league coach Dutch Gaitley challenged him to score within the flow of the offense, and he did.
The Louisville product displayed his catch-and-shoot ability and got easy transition buckets from his turnover generation.
He got skinny on screens, navigating them with precision; blocked shots and jumped passing lanes for quick steals. The two-way versatility wasn’t what he was known for in college, but he made strides in Las Vegas.
Brown and Dëmin offer a bright future for Brooklyn, which is aiming to win games next season in a competitive Eastern Conference.
The team has heard the outside noise and the low expectations set around him, and they want to prove the critics wrong. The Aura Bros are key to the Nets' success, setting the foundation for general manager Sean Marks to build the team around them in the future.
