Make New York Post a Preferred Source Nets fans sat through two tanking seasons — and suffered through almost 120 losses — to land first Egor Dëmin and then Mikel Brown Jr. as the payoff.
It’s no surprise, then, that those fans have pinned their hopes on the pair of 20-year-olds as the backcourt of the future and the foundation of their franchise.
With their preseason about to tip off Tuesday at Charlotte, what message did Dëmin and Brown — the latter coming off an ankle injury, and just now cleared for some contact — have for their fans?
“[Just] that we’re going to try to win every single day, whether it’s a game or practice or whatever it is,” Dëmin said at Sunday’s Nets Fest. “And all we need from them is support and being there for us and not against us.”
Brooklyn Nets guard Egor Demin (8) talks with media at the Brooklyn Nets HSS Training Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., Monday, Sept. 28, 2026. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect As hard as it may be for the Nets to flip the switch from the lottery and losing, it might be just as hard for their fans. Every victory was greeted with rampant panic from the tank-obsessed fanbase.
“My message is just, 1) show out. Come to the game, pack it out, because we need all the help that we can get, all the love that we can get for one,” Brown said. “And then 2) I’m gonna keep saying it, I feel like we’re gonna shock the world.
“I really do feel like we’re going to shock the world with this team and this group of guys that we got.”
Even before the Nets dove headlong into a tank, the Barclays Center crowd all too often felt like a neutral court, if not like playing on the road when a contender like the Warriors or Lakers, Celtics or Knicks came to Brooklyn.
But Dëmin and Brown represent at least a chance to somewhat change that. If they do their jobs, of course.
During Nets Fest at Major R. Owens Health & Wellness Community Center, no players were more surrounded and mobbed by young fans than them. When Dëmin hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 3.6 seconds left in overtime vs. Orlando on Jan. 7, it brought the loudest roar from a Nets crowd in years.
Brooklyn Nets’ Mikel Brown Jr. looks on during practice at the HSS Training Center, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026, in Brooklyn, N.Y. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST As not only a homegrown player but one of the two lottery picks the team tanked for, Dëmin fully grasps why fans gravitated toward himself and Brown and understands the responsibility that comes with it.
“I’m not taking that for granted. That’s the honor to be a part of that. Being able to experience that, and be a part of their community that really cheers and really roots for us, that’s very special for me,” Dëmin said. “That’s one of my biggest motivations is to keep bringing people joy — for all of us, me and the whole team in general. Those moments are definitely very, very, very special.”
Brown never experienced that weird vibe that Dëmin had as a rookie, with wins treated as losses. But after the Nets tanked last season to wind up with the No. 6 pick used on Brown, the rookie can’t wait to make his debut and represent Brooklyn, whether that comes Tuesday or at a later date.
“I don’t look at this as pressure. I just feel like people that love you for who you are. The burden of playing for this city, I wouldn’t even call it pressure; it’s a privilege,” Brown said. “It’s a privilege to be able to represent the city and represent all those fans out there.”
It’s unclear when Brown will get his first chance. He was cleared for contact right ahead of the preseason opener on the road. The regular season opener is Oct. 21 at home against those same Hornets they face Tuesday.
“I’m getting back on the court, and I’m moving way better. I’m starting to get to full speed now, starting to get a little bit of contact in as of right now in my workouts and stuff like that,” Brown said. “But as of now, I’m just leaning on my performance staff to put me in the best situation possible.”
