Hall of Famer Dwyane Wade sees immense potential in Nets rookie Egor Demin, forging a powerful mentorship.
It's common to hear people warn others to never meet their idols, but Brooklyn Nets rookie Egor Dëmin threw that concept out of the window almost immediately upon entering the NBA.
After the Nets' No. 8 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft earned a spot in the 2026 Rising Stars challenge in Los Angeles, he took some time to catch up with his favorite player growing up in 3-time NBA champion and Hall of Famer Dwyane Wade, for a joint event.
Dëmin signed a deal with Wade's 'Way of Wade' brand under the Li Ning umbrella in Oct. 2025, and the two got a chance to spread awareness for the brand during All-Star Weekend.
This gave the NBA world a chance to see Wade's true admiration for the rising young shooting guard and Dëmin an opportunity to express his satisfaction with the Nets' organization in the midst of his debut campaign.
"(We've been) big fans of Egor for a while," Wade shared.
"Just as a person. You get a chance to meet his family, his close people that are around him, you get this essence of Egor. A young man who has big dreams for himself, he has big dreams for his country, and we're just happy to be a part of his story. Hopefully we can tell it the right way"
Through his first 52 games in the NBA, the 20-year-old Russian product has averaged 10.3 points and 3.3 assists while knocking down 38.5% of his 6.2 attempts from three-point range.
Dëmin has taken massive strides as a jump shooter since arriving in Brooklyn, and he's starting to get a feel for the play-making aspect of his offensive game as the season extends towards its home stretch.
Wade knows a thing or two about developing as a scorer and overall offensive talent, as he enjoyed one of the greatest peaks for a guard in NBA history with the Miami Heat. The explosive 6-foot-4 shooting guard notched the 2008-09 scoring title on his way to a third-place finish in MVP voting, pouring in career-highs of 30.2 points and 7.5 assists.
Dëmin and Wade are fundamentally different players from a skill-set standpoint, but it's still been easy for the latter to notice the former's massive potential.
However, the pair have a noticeably similar attribute. -- The clutch gene.
The rookie's already proved to be a fearless shot-maker when the lights are shining their brightest, just like his newfound mentor and 2006 NBA Finals MVP.
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