In somewhat of a surprise, the Nets announced Monday that Egor Demin, their first lottery pick in 15 years, will miss the remainder of the 2025-26 season with a flare-up of the plantar fascia that limited his off-season following Summer League.
The Nets official announcement was terse:
Brooklyn Nets guard Egor Dëmin will miss the remainder of the season due to increased plantar fasciitis in his left foot. Dëmin is expected to return to basketball activity early in the offseason and be a full participant
in the summer development program.
Demin was first diagnosed with the condition, a common and sometimes chronic inflammation of the heel, following Summer League in Las Vegas. He has said that at one point during his recovery, he’d been confined to a wheel chair during his recovery. The Nets did not reveal Demin’s issue or rehab on their Media Day at the end of September. His rehab continued into the NBA China trip. He played his first game in a Nets uniform vs. the Suns in Macao, then played three of five games in Summer League, showing for the first time his 3-point shooting prowess.
For the most part, the Nets had rested Demin in back-to-backs, citing injury management. Of late, the injury appeared to worsen. Monday’s game would have been his fifth straight missed game.
No word on the seriousness of the injury beyond the Nets projection that he’ll be ready for Summer League which begins July 9 and runs for 10 days. Jordi Fernandez did say four days ago that there was growing concern.
“He’s struggled with his plantar fasciitis. The soreness has increased lately. We’re being cautious and trying to find the best way for him moving forward.” the head coach told reporters.
The news comes after a solid season for the 20-year-old 6’9.5” combo guard from Moscow.
Selected eighth overall in the Draft out of Brigham Young University, Dёmin has appeared in 52 games (45 starts) for the Nets this season with averages of 10.3 points, 3.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 25.2 minutes per game.
He ranks second among NBA rookies this season with 124 3-pointers, which ranks as the second most by a rookie in franchise history, and his 38.5% shooting from 3-point range is the highest 3-point field goal percentage by a qualified rookie in Nets history. He also became the second fastest NBA player to reach 100 3-pointers in his career, behind only Kon Knueppel.
Dёmin was selected to the 2026 Castrol Rising Stars at NBA All-Star in Los Angeles and won the mini tournament on Team Vince, coached by Vince Carter. Earlier in the season, he set the franchise rookie record with seven 3-pointers made in a game (7-of-14) on Dec. 29 vs. Golden State and set the NBA rookie record with a 3-pointer made in 34 straight games from Nov. 7, 2025, to Jan. 30, 2026.
