The regular season in the world’s top basketball league is nearing its end. This year, close attention has been paid to three players from Russia who joined NBA teams after the 2025 draft: Egor Demin was selected eighth overall by the Brooklyn Nets, while undrafted players Vladislav Goldin and Viktor Lakhin signed contracts with the Miami Heat and Oklahoma City respectively. Now is the perfect time to take a closer look at how the season has gone for the Russian players, who has managed to stick with the main roster, and who is still having to prove himself in the G League.
Viktor Lakhin, Oklahoma City
Viktor had the toughest starting position from the very beginning. His team is the reigning champion, the level of competition is extremely high, and his contract was built around development in the minor league. The Russian player regularly started for the Oklahoma City Blue and put together solid season numbers: 10.4 points, 7 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 50% shooting from the field in an average of twenty and a half minutes on the floor. The other question is that the farm team of the current league champion was not exactly fighting in earnest for a playoff spot. Oklahoma finished its season 13th in the conference out of 15 teams and is not taking part in the knockout games.
Lakhin showed clear progress over the course of the season, though not in every area. For example, Viktor still has certain problems on the offensive glass. At the very least, that includes a frequent number of fouls. On the other hand, he also draws plenty of fouls himself, which often points to the attacking edge in our player’s game. The Russian is not part of the immediate reserve for the main team. So the player and the club made a decision that could help his development: a few days ago, he joined Puerto Rican championship side Cangrejeros de Santurce, becoming a teammate of the well-known Malik Beasley. The season there began only in March and will run all the way until August, which should give Viktor steady playing time and competitive rhythm. This may mean that the Thunder do have certain plans for the Russian player, and he will most likely start next season in the farm team again. What happens after that will depend entirely on him.
Vlad Goldin, Miami
Unlike Viktor, Vladislav has already managed to make his debut for the Miami Heat. Yes, his appearances with the main roster were episodic, and he spent most of the season, like Lakhin, in the development league. But the very fact that he was called up to Miami gives some grounds to hope that we will see him in the NBA again. The Heat’s farm team, like Oklahoma, did not make the playoffs. True, they missed out only at the finish, taking ninth place in the conference on tiebreakers.
The decisive stretch came in the final three games of the regular season. By losing them, Miami gave up its chances of reaching the playoffs. Vladislav’s numbers were as follows: he played around 20 minutes on average, putting up 16 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists and 1.5 blocks, while shooting 56% on 11 field-goal attempts.
Since Goldin’s two-way contract runs until the end of the season, Vlad will become a restricted free agent in the summer. All he, and we, can do is hope that Miami has a development plan in reserve for the big man — and a new contract.
Egor Dёmin, Brooklyn
Egor is the headliner not only of this text, but of the NBA in general. The top Russian talent in the league, the ambassador of the letter “Ё” in the United States, ended his season early, back in March. The reason was injury: an aggravation of plantar fasciitis in his left foot. The same injury had caused him to miss preseason games. Egor made a powerful debut, but the main thing was that his progress was visible even to a casual observer. Dёmin started with a record, scoring 14 points in his debut game, the best mark among Russians in their first NBA appearances. As the season went on, his playing time grew, it became clear that the team trusted him more and more often with important shots, and most importantly, that progress felt organic.
The environment within the team also helped, as Brooklyn places a great deal of trust in young players. On November 7, Demin made his first start, and on January 7, 2026, he scored 18 points in a loss to Orlando. Ten of those came in overtime. He was the only Nets player to score in overtime, while also setting a franchise record for made three-pointers in overtime with three, and tying the NBA rookie record in the same category.
In late January, the league announced the All-Star Weekend rosters. Dёmin made Vince Carter’s Rising Stars team and won the mini-tournament. Another record came Egor’s way in February, when he matched the NBA rookie mark for consecutive games with at least one made three-pointer: 33. Rudy Fernandez and Landry Shamet had previously managed the same in their debut seasons. Dёmin’s statistics for a rookie season are impressive: 10.3 points, 3.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game, with appearances in 52 Brooklyn games. Egor Dёmin progressed not only on the court but off it as well, taking part in team activities and building his own brand. Just the first-ever letter “Ё” on an NBA team jersey is worth something on its own.
The First&Red ambassador now needs to resolve all health issues and arrive fully armed for the next season in the league. And he will hope that Brooklyn balances the roster well enough to fight for the playoffs. We really do want to see Egor Dёmin there, because he already has everything required to play at a high level.
