It is inevitable.
Year after year, leading up to the NBA draft and even on draft night itself, prospects are compared to past and present pros.
There is good reason for it. Most prospects are just that, prospects, meaning they have a lot of unrealized potential. Providing a glimpse as to what players’ realized potential may be is a large part of what draft pundits, scouts and other experts do.
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Sometimes successfully, other times not so much.
So even though the 2025 NBA draft is still over a month away, BYU standout Egor Demin has already received his fair share of pro comparisons, ranging from fairly established players to relative newcomers to the NBA.
Here’s the list so far, though it could and probably will grow.
Egor Demin = Deni Avdija
ESPN’s Jonathan Givony is arguably the biggest name when it comes to the NBA draft, at least right now.
And based off Demin’s physical measurements/performance at the NBA draft combine, Givony’s most recent comparison for Demin is Portland Trailblazers forward Deni Avdija.
There is a lot to like about the comparison if you are a fan of Demin. Avdija was a lottery pick (No. 9) by the Washington Wizards in 2020, drafted for his potential as a playmaking wing. It took a few years, and a trade to Portland, but Avdija has started to make good on that potential.
This past season he became a clear NBA starter-level player, averaging 16.9 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game, while shooting 47.6% from the field and 36.5% from 3-point range.
Demin has all the makings — meaning potential — of being a well-rounded forward and if he can develop into the kind of shooter that Avdija has, there is no reason Demin couldn’t spend a decade or more in the NBA as a plus-starter.
Egor Demin = Josh Giddey
Multiple outlets believe that Demin’s best pro comparison is Chicago Bulls guard/forward Josh Giddey.
NBA Draft Room, NBA Draft.net, Yahoo Sports and Hoops Hype each connected Demin to Giddey.
There is a reason for that.
Demin proved an unreliable — i.e. inconsistent — 3-point shooter at BYU, but a big and successful playmaker and Giddey has, over the course of his four-year NBA career, proven to be almost exactly that.
Giddey has shot over 35% from 3-point range just one season, this past one with the Bulls. He has, however, proven to be an excellent secondary playmaker, averaging 6.1 assists per game in his career, compared to only 2.7 turnovers a game.
The Oklahoma City Thunder ultimately decided that Giddey didn’t fit their championship-contending core after a disappointing showing in last year’s playoffs, but the former No. 6 pick was one of the Bulls’ best players this year and could be in line for a new contract that would play close to $30 million a year, per Bleacher Report.
Per Hoops Hype, Demin is viewed by at least one league executive as a “more athletic Josh Giddey, that’s literally his floor because his passing is just that good,” writes Cyro Asseo de Choch.
Egor Demin = Anthony Black
Yahoo Sports’ Kevin O’Connor connected Demin with Orlando Magic guard Anthony Black.
Black, the No. 6 pick in the 2023 draft, was drafted for his defensive and playmaking potential, as a 6-foot-7 guard.
To O’Connor, Demin has a lot of the same strengths as Black, and a lot of the same weaknesses too.
“Demin has a rare ability at his size to make dazzling passes,“ O’Connor writes. ”But he’s also struggled to shoot and create his own shot against lengthy defenders, making him more of a love-him or hate-him prospect than a sure thing.”
Black is still very early in his professional career, with just two seasons spent with the Magic. He shot much better from the field than expected as a rookie, while his playmaking was fairly non-existent. Things flipped during his sophomore campaign, as Black struggled mightily with his shooting — 47% from the field, 32% from behind the arc — but upped his assists per game from 1.3 to 3.1 per game.
On an offensively challenged team, Black hasn’t broken out yet, but he was drafted for his long term potential and there is still time for that potential to come to fruition.
At just 19 year old, Demin too will be drafted for his long term potential, and immediate production being a boon for whichever team he lands with.
Egor Demin = Luka Dončić
This comparison is more of an absolute best-case scenario situation for Demin, but given both players played for Real Madrid Baloncesto before coming to the U.S. — Dončić straight to the NBA, Demin to BYU — the connection has been made more than once.
It was made most recently at the combine and Demin even addressed it.
“Luka is pretty obvious — the big guards, passing — but obviously Luka is Luka and Egor is Egor, in a good way,“ Demin told the Deseret News’ Sarah Todd. ”I’m not trying to be like somebody else, I’m just trying to get pieces from different players and different personalities to build my own kind of project of where I’m seeing myself in the future.”
While something of a stretch, given Dončić is considered a top 5 player in the NBA and has been a star since he arrived in the league, there is reason to understand the comparison.
Both players are large guards/wings — Dončić is listed at 6-foot-6, Demin at 6-foot-9 — who are known for their passing/playmaking ability.
Dončić isn’t the most athletic player, but gets by with exceptional savvy and awareness. Demin was a similar type player at BYU. Dončić also hasn’t proven to be the best 3-point shooter either, with a career average of 35%. And again, Demin’s inconsistent shooting has been arguably the biggest knock against him.
If Demin gets anywhere close to Dončić it would be a best-case scenario situation, but the potential is there, hence the comparisons.
