Cougars in the pros: Elijah Bryant wins Euroleague championship with Anadolu Efes
All Elijah Bryant does is win.
The former BYU men’s basketball star added another major feat to his career resume by winning the Euroleague championship Saturday, as Bryant’s Anadolu Efes squad narrowly defeated Real Madrid 58-57 for the title.
Bryant averaged 7.3 points over 57 games for Anadolu this past season in Turkey, starting in 32 contests and shooting 49.1% from the field. In the final against Real Madrid, Bryant was held scoreless over 29 minutes but grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.
Bryant becomes the first player in history to win NBA and Euroleague championships in consecutive seasons, having won the 2021 NBA Finals as a member of the Milwaukee Bucks. Bryant was the third BYU alumnus to win an NBA title — joining former Boston Celtics Danny Ainge and Greg Kite — and is the 10th player to win championships in both the NBA and Euroleague, joining a group which includes Hall of Famers Bob McAdoo and Manu Ginóbili.
Transferring to BYU from Elon, Bryant spent two seasons with the Cougars and received First Team All-WCC honors as a junior in 2018 after averaging 18.2 points on 49.4% shooting. He began his international career in Israel, where he won an Israeli League championship in 2020 with Maccabi Tel Aviv prior to joining the Bucks.
