{"id":151981,"date":"2025-07-24T16:30:15","date_gmt":"2025-07-24T20:30:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=151981"},"modified":"2025-07-24T16:30:15","modified_gmt":"2025-07-24T20:30:15","slug":"egor-demin-gets-unfortunate-title-as-biggest-reach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/07\/24\/egor-demin-gets-unfortunate-title-as-biggest-reach\/","title":{"rendered":"6-Foot-9 Rookie Gets Unfortunate Title As Biggest Reach"},"content":{"rendered":"

CHICAGO<\/strong> \u2013 The 2025 NBA Draft offered plenty of twists, but one name popped up for the wrong reasons. According<\/a> to Jeremy Woo of ESPN<\/em>, NBA executives branded Egor Demin<\/a> as the biggest reach of this year\u2019s class. The Nets<\/a> took him at No. 8. Many insiders think that\u2019s far too early.<\/p>\n

Egor Demin Gets Unfortunate Title As Biggest Reach By NBA Execs<\/h2>\n
\"Egor
Jun 25, 2025; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Egor Demin stands with NBA commissioner Adam Silver after being selected as the eighth pick by the Brooklyn Nets in the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Brooklyn owned five first-round picks. They gambled on multiple playmakers to reset their rebuild. Demin, at 6-foot-9, stands out for his vision and size. But he struggled at BYU, flashing as many concerns as highlights.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven if you believe in [Demin] as a starting NBA point guard — and I don\u2019t — it seems like he would’ve been gettable at the end of the lottery, or even later,\u201d one Eastern Conference exec told Woo. That skepticism fueled why executives viewed Egor Demin as the biggest reach.<\/p>\n

However, Demin has already pushed back on the consensus about his shot. His shooting has looked better than expected. He hit 43.5% from three on 7.7 attempts. Now, he just needs to prove the Nets got it right taking him at No. 8.<\/p>\n

Yang Hansen Surprises Too<\/h3>\n

Yang Hansen<\/a> came next in votes. Portland stunned the room when they grabbed Yang at No. 16. Many projected him early second round. He turned heads at Summer League with 10.8 points and smart passing, but some scouts flagged defensive concerns.<\/p>\n

\u201cI like [Yang] — just didn\u2019t see it coming, with him going right outside of the lottery,\u201d another Eastern exec said. The Blazers bet big on potential but know Yang needs to answer questions to dodge his own biggest reach talk.<\/p>\n

Cedric Coward\u2019s Risk Factor<\/h3>\n

Cedric Coward<\/a>, taken at No. 11 by Memphis, rounded out the top three on Woo\u2019s list. Memphis got him through a swap with Portland. He only played six college games due to injury. The Grizzlies<\/a> want him to help replace Desmond Bane<\/a>, who\u2019s now in Orlando.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a raw talent who needs to learn the game,\u201d a Western scout told Woo. \u201cBut if he can shoot and defend [and it translates], there\u2019s a chance with his physical intangibles.\u201d<\/p>\n

His upside is real. But like Egor Demin, Coward could be the biggest reach also if his shot and defense don\u2019t click quickly. The Grizzlies could have gotten him later.<\/p>\n

Draft Room Realities<\/h3>\n

Other picks got nods for the same reason \u2014 raw tools, unrefined game, and front offices swinging big. Thomas Sorber,<\/a> Drake Powell<\/a>, and Collin Murray-Boyles<\/a> all drew a few side-eyes. One scout declined to vote, summing it up: \u201cIf [your] team believed in the guy, then take your guy.\u201d Interestingly, Murray-Boyles got votes as the biggest steal of the draft<\/a> so he’s a slightly polarizing prospect.<\/p>\n

Still, it\u2019s clear who headlines this conversation. Whispers about Egor Demin as the biggest reach won\u2019t fade overnight. Demin needs to silence them on the court. Brooklyn\u2019s rebuild depends on it.<\/p>\n

Credit: \u00a9 David Banks-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CHICAGO \u2013 The 2025 NBA Draft offered plenty of twists, but one name popped up for the wrong reasons. According to Jeremy Woo of ESPN, NBA executives branded Egor Demin as the biggest reach of this year\u2019s class. The Nets took him at No. 8. Many insiders think that\u2019s far too early. Egor Demin Gets […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5018,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[62,1608,6,32,556,3],"tags":[50017,49857,50150,49834,1712,49963,50183],"class_list":["post-151981","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nba","category-basketball","category-nets","category-grizzlies","category-nba-draft","category-news","tag-cedric-coward","tag-collin-murray-boyles","tag-drake-powell","tag-egor-demin","tag-nba-rookies","tag-thomas-sorber","tag-yang-hansen"],"modified_by":"Frederick Okocha","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151981","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5018"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=151981"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151981\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":151996,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151981\/revisions\/151996"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=151981"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=151981"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=151981"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}