Former BYU Guard Elijah Bryant Accomplishes Rare Basketball Feat In Europe
May 22, 2022, 11:52 AM
Former BYU basketball guard Elijah Bryant is only the second pro player to win back-to-back NBA and EuroLeague titles. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
(Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY – Former BYU basketball star Elijah Bryant continues to pile up championships.
After winning a EuroLeague title with Anadolu Efes in Turkey, Bryant achieved a rare feat in basketball. Bryant became only the second professional basketball player to win an NBA title and a EuroLeague championship in consecutive seasons.
Celebrated with a Sprite 🙏🏽
— Elijah Bryant (@Elijah_Bryant3) May 21, 2022
The 6-foot-5 guard joins former Lakers forward Jim Brewer to be the only pro hoopers to win the top basketball championships in back-to-back years. He’s the 11th player in history to win both titles in a basketball career, joining the likes of Manu Ginobili and Toni Kukoc.
Current BYU men’s basketball coach Mark Pope congratulated Bryant on Twitter, “These BYU guys just built different. Way to rep Elijah. Congrats!! #gocougs”
Bryant logged 28 minutes in the championship game for Anadolu Efes as they took down Real Madrid 58-57. The former BYU star pulled down eight rebounds and had one assist.
Once a transfer from Elon, Bryant was a leader for BYU basketball during the 2017 and 2018 seasons. He averaged 18.2 points and nearly shot 50-40-90 (field goal, three-point, free throw) percentages during his final year at BYU.
Elijah Bryant reached a very rare milestone by becoming NBA and EuroLeague champion in back-to-back seasons 😮
Last year he became the NBA champion with the Bucks and now won the #EuroLeague trophy with Anadolu Efes. pic.twitter.com/WBI9MGZTX5
— BasketNews (@BasketNews_com) May 21, 2022
Since his college days at BYU ended four years ago, Bryant has carved out an excellent hoops career playing in Israel with Maccabi Tel Aviv. Then last year, he got the call up from the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks, where he was part of the Bucks’ run to an NBA Championship last summer.
He wasn’t brought back with the Bucks but landed with Anadolu Efes. He averaged 10.5 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 2.7 assists while shooting 56.6% from the field this season—helping Anadolu secure a second consecutive EuroLeague championship.
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 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.
