Egor Dëmin Will Break Out for the Nets This Season

Bleacher Report recently released its list of one hot take for every NBA team following the 2026 offseason, with the Brooklyn Nets' prediction being that Egor Dëmin will break out in his second season.

I agree with the prediction, but I have one problem with it.

I don't think Egor Dëmin breaking out is a hot take.

I think it's going to happen.

Mark my words, Dëmin is going to take a major step forward for the Nets this season, and we already got a pretty good look at why during Summer League.

Dëmin's rookie season was encouraging, but there were still obvious parts of his game that needed to improve. He shot 38.5 percent from three and showed the passing ability that made Brooklyn take him eighth overall, but he wasn't always aggressive enough when it came to looking for his own shot.

That changed this summer.

Dëmin looked much more comfortable attacking the basket instead of simply settling for three-point attempts. He averaged 21.0 points per game in Summer League despite shooting just 30.0 percent from three, which honestly made his performance even more encouraging.

He found other ways to score.

Dëmin went 11-of-17 on two-point attempts and got to the free-throw line eight times. During last year's Summer League, he made just one two-point shot and drew only one shooting foul.

That's a pretty big difference in his approach.

The three-point shot is still going to be an important part of Dëmin's development, but he doesn't have to become a knockdown shooter overnight. If he can consistently attack closeouts, get into the paint, and put pressure on the defense, everything else about his offensive game becomes more dangerous.

And he did that while looking noticeably stronger, too.

Dëmin spent part of his offseason working on his body and adding more size, something that should help him handle the physicality of a full NBA season. At 6-foot-8, getting stronger could make a real difference when he's attacking the basket and dealing with bigger defenders.

The passing was already there.

Now we're starting to see more of the scoring.

That's what makes me so confident that Dëmin is going to break out.

The Nets don't need him to suddenly become a 25-point-per-game scorer. They need him to be more aggressive and take advantage of the opportunities that are there. If he can combine his passing ability with a legitimate scoring threat, Brooklyn has a very interesting young player on its hands.

And that's the part of Dëmin's Summer League performance I keep coming back to.

It isn't just that he averaged 21 points per game. It's how he was getting those points.

He was attacking.

He was getting downhill.

He was using his size.

He was getting to the free-throw line.

Those are the kinds of improvements that can actually carry over into an NBA season.

Obviously, Summer League isn't the same as playing against NBA starters in the regular season. I'm not going to pretend that scoring 21 points per game in July automatically means someone is going to become a star.

But Dëmin wasn't just putting up numbers. His game looked different.

He looked more confident.

He looked stronger.

Most importantly, he looked more willing to make something happen instead of waiting for the game to come to him.

Bleacher Report may have labeled Dëmin's breakout as its hot take for Brooklyn, but I don't think Nets fans should be surprised if it happens.

We saw the first signs of it during his rookie season. We saw an even bigger glimpse of it this summer. Now Dëmin gets to enter Year 2 with another full offseason of work behind him and a better understanding of what he needs to do at the NBA level.

There are obviously no guarantees in the NBA, but I'm willing to make this prediction now.

Egor Dëmin is breaking out in 2026-27.

And when we look back at Bleacher Report's list at the end of the season, this might end up being one of the least surprising “hot takes” on it.