Egor Dëmin points to offseason growth as Nets chase a step forward

The Nets are entering the new phase of their season with a clearer internal message: expect growth, especially from players who have been working to earn bigger roles. After Brooklyn’s preseason win on Tuesday, forward Egor Dëmin publicly framed his summer as a springboard, telling reporters he is prepared to make a “humongous jump” and that he believes he is “even better right now.”

Dëmin’s comments landed in the context of a franchise trying to move beyond its recent ceiling. Brooklyn finished last season with 20 wins, a mark that is firmly in the conversation of competitive rebuilding but still far from where teams want to be when the playoffs approach. With the preseason providing early evidence of how rotations might take shape, the Nets appear to be searching for tangible improvements, not just incremental changes.

The timing also matters because the Nets’ development narrative is being played out in the broader New York spotlight. The team is perpetually compared to its crosstown rival, the Knicks, and that comparison raises the stakes for Brooklyn’s young and emerging pieces. For Dëmin, that environment is part of the backdrop, even as the focus in his remarks centered on personal progress and confidence.

As for what “the next step” could look like, Dëmin’s framing pointed to readiness rather than specifics. He did not suggest a particular statistical target or role label in the material available here, but he emphasized a conviction that his work over the summer has translated into a more advanced version of his game. In a rebuilding or retooling phase, that kind of internal belief can influence how coaching staff set expectations, particularly for players on the cusp of a larger workload.

Preseason performances can be noisy, and roster usage often shifts from game to game, which is why teams and players treat early results cautiously. Still, a win on a given night becomes part of the story when paired with a player’s confidence that his development is trending the right direction. For the Nets, that means Tuesday’s victory was not just a single data point, it was a setting for the message Brooklyn intends to carry into the regular season.

What to watch next is whether Dëmin’s increased self-assurance shows up in the small things that typically precede bigger minutes. That includes how reliably he executes his defensive assignments, how he makes decisions when passing options tighten, and whether he can sustain efficient offense across different lineups. If the Nets’ staff believes he has taken a step, his role could expand as the games move from preseason experiments toward more structured regular-season planning.

There is, however, an important caveat. This story is based on postgame remarks and preseason context, not a broader accounting of measurable on-court changes. The real test will come once the Nets shift from preseason pacing to regular-season consistency, and once Brooklyn can translate development talk into results that matter in the standings.