Egor Demin – Syndication Server

Duke basketball phenom Cooper Flagg remains atop The Athletic’s NBA draft rankings

Despite some strong contenders emerging in November, Cooper Flagg kept himself atop The Athletic’s NBA draft rankings.

Duke basketball forward [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag] began his freshman season as a presumed shoo-in for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA draft, and The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie thinks he’s done nothing to lose that spot as of Tuesday.

Vecenie released an updated ranking of his top prospects in the class, and Flagg maintained his grip atop the list thanks to his 26-point night against the Kentucky Wildcats and 24-point performance against the Arizona Wildcats. He turned the ball over twice in the closing seconds against Kentucky, but he’s averaging 15.9 points, 8.3 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.3 blocks through seven games.

Rutgers star Dylan Harper, who scored 36 points against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and 37 points against the Alabama Crimson Tide last week, earned the praise of ESPN analyst Jonathan Givony, but Vecenie thinks a different first-year star poses the biggest threat to Flagg.

Vecenie listed BYU star Egor Demin, a 6-foot-9 ball-handler, as his second overall player in the class. Demin has averaged just 14.3 points per game so far this season, but he’s dished 6.3 assists and made 44.1% of his 3-point looks through seven games.

Fellow Blue Devils Kon Knueppel (No. 9), Khaman Maluach (No. 11), and Tyrese Proctor (No. 33) made Vecenie’s top 50.

The latest 2025 NBA mock draft from Bleacher Report has BYU star Egor Demin on the Jazz

This seems like a PERFECT fit for the Jazz if they don’t Cooper Flagg.

One of the most exciting names in college basketball is BYU freshman Egor Demin, who is off to an incredibly hot start this season.

After one of the strongest debuts of any first-year player, the 18-year-old freshman from Russia looks like one of the most promising prospects in all of college basketball. He is averaging 17.0 points and 7.5 assists per game at 6-foot-9, shooting 11-of-20 (.550) on 3-pointers as well.

Read more from Jonathan Wasserman on why this is such a good pick (via Bleacher Report):

“While the Cooper Flagg hype came built in after years of coverage and NBA accessibility, no player has generated more NBA buzz on his own so far than Egor Demin.

BYU coach Kevin Young has given the freshman an ideal role to showcase his on-ball upside, and the Russian has capitalized, looking like a legitimate 6’9″ initiator creating advantages and setting up teammates with his handle, size and passing IQ.

So far, he’s looked fluid and convincing enough for scouts to start feeling confident in his ability to continue playmaking at a high level in the NBA.

He also looks substantially further ahead as a shooter than previous jumbo playmakers like Josh Giddey, Anthony Black or even Scottie Barnes. Demin made 11 threes over his first four games. And even if the accuracy falls off, his early start and track record overseas point to clear shotmaking confidence and shooting becoming a regular part of his scoring attack.

Looking ahead, scouts will be eager to assess Demin against power-conference opponents, specifically his ability to create separation and finish inside the arc.”

Demin has not faced much competition so far this season. Among all teams ranked in the top 30, via KenPom, only five have had less difficult strength of schedule so far. But if he can keep this up, expect he will only continue this ascension on draft boards.

The Jazz could make a lot of sense for Demin to pair him with Keyonte George as their backcourt of the future. Jazz chairman Ryan Smith and CEO Danny Ainge both attended BYU and are reportedly very big donors to the university. They would likely find it thrilling to add the next great BYU star to their roster.

Another team with potential interest is the Spurs, who selected him in ESPN’s latest mock draft.

Here is our latest NBA mock draft at For The Win, where Demin goes to the lowly and injured New Orleans Pelicans.

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The latest 2025 NBA mock draft from ESPN has Spurs with Kon Knueppel and Egor Demin

San Antonio would end up with two of the best freshmen in the NCAA.

The San Antonio Spurs are one of the most interesting teams in the league due to Victor Wembanyama, and it will only get more fascinating.

San Antonio currently has two projected lottery picks in the 2025 NBA Draft, which could help them continue to retool around Wembanyama after picking Stephon Castle in the 2024 NBA Draft.

New predictions from ESPN have the Spurs with an absolute dream scenario, picking two of the freshmen who have had the best starts to the NCAA men’s college basketball season thus far: Duke’s Kon Knueppel and BYU’s Egor Demin.

Here is more from ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo on the selections, including thoughts on Knueppel:

“Knueppel’s ability to shoot off screens, pull up off the dribble and spot up from deep vantage points with picture-perfect footwork and mechanics should keep him prominent in draft conversations, especially with the way he has contributed in other areas as well with his physicality, feel for the game and better-than-expected shot creation and defense.”

They also added that Knueppel is “arguably the best shooter” in this draft class.