Egor Dëmin Breaks Silence After Season-Ending Plantar Fasciitis Diagnosis

Brooklyn, NY — For the first time since the Brooklyn Nets shut him down for the remainder of the season, rookie guard Egor Dëmin addressed reporters on Wednesday night, offering measured optimism about his recovery while remaining deliberately vague about the “non-surgical procedure” he underwent to treat the persistent plantar fasciitis in his left foot.

The No. 8 overall pick last June, Dëmin had logged 52 appearances—45 as a starter—before the team announced on March 9 that escalating pain in his foot would end his inaugural NBA campaign. The decision came only weeks after the 19-year-old had successfully navigated two sets of back-to-back games, a benchmark that had hinted at real progress. Instead, the Nets medical staff opted for caution, prescribing what head coach Jordi Fernández later described only as a “non-surgical procedure.”

Neither Fernández nor Dëmin would specify the intervention, sidestepping questions about whether it involved a stem-cell injection, platelet-rich plasma therapy, or a cortisone shot. “I don’t think it’s something that we’re trying to focus on right now,” Dëmin said. “The details aren’t the important part. What matters is what follows—how we get my recovery the best way possible.” He confirmed the process “went well” and that he has already begun the early phases of rehabilitation.

Brooklyn’s March statement projected that Dëmin would “return to basketball activity early in the offseason and be a full participant in the summer development program.” When pressed about a potential appearance in July’s Las Vegas Summer League, the Russian teenager demurred. “It’s a little too far yet to really talk about it,” he said, echoing Fernández, who likewise declined to commit but hinted at the possibility. “You got all this time to work and better and go into summer league,” the coach noted.

Despite the abrupt end, Dëmin’s debut season offered encouraging flashes. He buried 38.5 percent of his three-point attempts on high volume, a dramatic leap from the 27.3 percent he shot in his lone collegiate season at BYU, and converted 8-of-17 tries in clutch situations. Yet the guard—who began the year as the starting point guard before sliding to the wing once veteran Nolan Hickman joined the rotation—insists the numbers pale next to the experience of steering an NBA offense. “Being a rookie who has an opportunity to start as a starting point guard … that’s something that gave me a lot, just from a standpoint of learning and growing as a player, as a vocal … trying to be a leader,” he reflected.

Now, instead of crisscrossing the globe as he did during past off-seasons—Real Madrid to Provo to Brooklyn—Dëmin will spend the summer in a single location, following a regimented rehab schedule. “It feels safe,” he said. “I know exactly where I’m going to be, what I’m going to be doing, and what type of timing throughout the summer I’m going to have. This summer is probably one of the most important summers in my life.”

Watching games from the bench has tested his patience. “I just really want to play basketball,” Dëmin admitted. “In the season, it’s pretty hard for me being a rookie … being in the process of that many games for the first time.” Plantar fasciitis, he now understands, is no minor inconvenience under the grind of an 82-game schedule.

With 19 games remaining on Brooklyn’s slate, Dëmin’s attention has shifted entirely to long-term health and strength gains. The Nets, mired in a transitional year, hope the extended runway will allow their youngest core piece to return sturdier, steadier, and ready to justify the faith that made him a top-ten selection.

The season is over, but for Egor Dëmin, the work has only just begun.