Egor Demin is facing steep expectations after the Brooklyn Nets selected him with their first lottery pick in 15 years. The 19-year-old is receiving tutelage from Nets great Vince Carter as he begins his NBA career.
Carter spent time with the Nets during their preseason trip to Macao. The Hall-of-Famer will serve as an analyst on YES Network for several of Brooklyn's games this season. He's also one of the favorite players of Demin’s father, Vladimir, who was a professional basketball player in Russia.
“When my dad saw the video of me talking to [Carter], he was crying. He was like, ‘That guy changed the game,’” Demin told YES Network. “Everybody obviously talks about Steph [Curry], LeBron [James] and Michael [Jordan]. But he was like, ‘People like Vince, they really changed the game in their own way.’ And that’s special to me, knowing how much that means for my dad. I kind of accomplished my dad’s dreams right now through my own experience.”
Egor Dëmin 🤝 VC
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— YES Network (@YESNetwork) November 19, 2025
The Nets retired Carter's No. 15 last season, months after he was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
Egor Demin taking notes on Vince Carter's NBA success after joining Nets
Carter finished his Nets tenure with three All-Star appearances, averaging 23.6 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.2 steals on 45/37/81 shooting splits over 374 appearances. His 8,834 points rank third on the Nets' all-time scoring list, trailing Brook Lopez and Buck Williams, despite playing over 1,600 fewer minutes than both.
Demin is trying to absorb as much knowledge as he can from the Eight-Time All-Star, taking notes during conversations about his approach to the game.
“It’s hard to say what you can get from a player like Vince. It’s easier to say what you cannot get. With his experience, he knows more than anybody else in this game, probably,” Demin told the New York Post's Dan Martin. “[Taking notes] is just my way to learn and my way to understand… the information better. [Some people] take it in easier watching, visually, on the screen, some [are] better going through it physically. For me, I like all of the ways, but this is probably the fastest way to just [get it]. I don’t really have time to go through it with Vince, [so] I can ask him and then just write it down.”
Demin has had an up-and-down start to his rookie campaign while coming back from an offseason plantar fascia tear. However, the 6-foot-9 point guard has been productive over his last six games after moving into the Nets' starting lineup, averaging 9.8 points, 3.0 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.8 turnovers on 40.8 percent shooting from the field and 43.8 percent from three.
