Elijah Bryant Joins Small Group Of BYU Players To Win NBA Championship
Jul 20, 2021, 10:10 PM
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - JUNE 13: Joe Harris #12 of the Brooklyn Nets is defended by Elijah Bryant #3 and Jrue Holiday #21 of the Milwaukee Bucks during the second half of Game Four of the Eastern Conference second round playoff series at the Fiserv Forum on June 13, 2021 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
(Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY – The Milwaukee Bucks winning the 2021 NBA Championship turned former BYU basketball star Elijah Bryant into a champion.
Congrats to NBA Champion @Elijah_Bryant3. He's the first BYU player to win a championship since Danny Ainge and Greg Kite with the Boston Celtics in 1986 #BYUBasketball @BYUMBB @kslsports
— Jeremiah Jensen (@JJSportsBeat) July 21, 2021
One of the members of the Bucks, Elijah Bryant, is a former BYU star. Bryant played at BYU from 2015-18, and now joins a small fraternity of BYU basketball alums to hoist up the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
Elijah Bryant is the third former BYU Basketball player to win NBA Championship
Elijah Bryant is only the third former BYU basketball player to ever win an NBA Championship. He joins the legendary Danny Ainge and Greg Kite. Both Ainge and Kite were members of the Boston Celtics championships during the 1980s. The most recent title was 35 years ago in 1986.
Bryant appeared in only one game during the Bucks NBA Finals series win over the Phoenix Suns. The Bucks championship is Milwaukee’s first since the 1971 season, when Milwaukee had Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Oscar Robertson leading them to glory.
Congrats to @Elijah_Bryant3 and the @Bucks – NBA CHAMPS!! pic.twitter.com/spiXxp46FF
— BYU Men's Basketball (@BYUMBB) July 21, 2021
Bryant’s appearance in the NBA Finals was only the fifth former BYU player to play in the Finals. He joined Ainge, Kite, John Fairchild, and Fred Roberts.
The Bucks signed Bryant on May 8 to a two-year contract worth $1.54 million. His contract is not guaranteed next season, but in his one regular season performance this year, Bryant shined scoring 16 points on 46.2% shooting from the field.
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12-3 pm) on KSL Newsradio. Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.
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