Elijah Bryant

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Elijah Bryant
No. 6 – Anadolu Efes
PositionShooting guard / Small forward
LeagueBSL
EuroLeague
Personal information
Born (1995-04-19) April 19, 1995 (age 28)
Gwinnett County, Georgia
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Listed weight210 lb (95 kg)
Career information
High school
College
  • Elon (2014–2015)
  • BYU (2016–2018)
NBA draft2018: undrafted
Playing career2018–present
Career history
2018–2019Hapoel Eilat
2019–2021Maccabi Tel Aviv
2021Milwaukee Bucks
2021–presentAnadolu Efes
Career highlights and awards
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at NBA.com
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at Basketball-Reference.com

Elijah Brigham Bryant (born April 19, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for Anadolu Efes of the Turkish Basketball Super League (BSL) and the EuroLeague. He played college basketball for the Elon Phoenix and Brigham Young Cougars.

Early life and high school career[edit]

Born in Gwinnett County, Georgia,[1] Bryant began playing basketball at a young age, always playing against older children. As a junior in high school, he had a growth spurt and grew one foot in a year.[2] Bryant attended New Hampton School in New Hampton, New Hampshire, where he averaged 13 points, four rebounds and four assists per game and led the Huskies to the NEPSAC AAA final.[3]

College career[edit]

Bryant started his college career with Elon University, where he averaged 14.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.3 steals per game in his freshman year.[3] Bryant was named Colonial Athletic Association Rookie of the Year and earned a spot in the Third-team All-CAA and CAA All-Rookie Team.[4] On July 28, 2015, Bryant transferred from Elon to Brigham Young University (BYU), but sat out first season at BYU per NCAA transfer rules.[5]

He posted 11.7 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game as a sophomore. He only played 23 games due to the effects of a knee injury.[6] Despite the injury, Bryant scored career-high 39 points, including seven 3-pointers in a win against Portland.[2]

In his junior year at BYU, Bryant finished the season as the West Coast Conference second-leading scorer with 18.1 points per game, third in free-throw percentage (.850), third in 3-point field goal percentage (.415), fourth in steals (1.2), eighth in rebounds (6.3) and tied for seventh in double-doubles.[3] On February 27, 2018, Bryant earned a spot in the First-team All-WCC.[7] On April 18, 2018, after completing his junior year at BYU, Bryant announced his plans to graduate and forgo his remaining eligibility for a professional career.[8]

Professional career[edit]

Hapoel Eilat (2018–2019)[edit]

After going undrafted in the 2018 NBA draft, Bryant joined the Philadelphia 76ers for the 2018 NBA Summer League.[9]

On August 30, 2018, Bryant started his professional career with Hapoel Eilat of the Israeli Premier League, signing a one-year deal.[10] On October 29, 2018, Bryant recorded a season-high 31 points, shooting 11-of-20 from the field, along with seven rebounds in an 81–75 win over Bnei Herzliya.[11] On December 4, 2018, Bryant was named Israeli League Player of the Month after averaging 20.5 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2 steals in four games played in November.[12] Bryant helped Eilat reach the 2019 Israeli League Final Four, where they eventually lost to Maccabi Tel Aviv. In 36 games played for Eilat, he finished as the league fourth-leading scorer (17.5 points per game) and fourth in efficiency rating (19.4 per game). On June 6, 2019, Bryant earned a spot in the All-Israeli League First Team.[13]

Maccabi Tel Aviv (2019–2021)[edit]

On July 1, 2019, Bryant joined the Milwaukee Bucks for the 2019 NBA Summer League, where he averaged 14.2 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game.[14]

On July 23, 2019, Bryant signed a two-year deal with Maccabi Tel Aviv.[15] On February 5, 2020, Bryant recorded a EuroLeague career-high 21 points, while shooting 9-of-19 from the field, along with six rebounds and four assists, leading Maccabi to an 80–77 win over Khimki.[16] On May 10, 2021, he left Maccabi.[17]

Milwaukee Bucks (2021)[edit]

On May 13, 2021, Bryant signed with the Milwaukee Bucks.[18] In his first and only regular-season NBA game, Bryant scored 16 points against the Chicago Bulls on May 16, 2021, in the Bucks' season finale. Bryant won an NBA championship when the Bucks defeated the Phoenix Suns in 6 games of the 2021 NBA Finals. By playing 11 playoff games and only one regular season game in his career, Bryant has played in 10 more playoffs games in his career than he has regular season games.[19] In those 11 playoff games he averaged 1.3 points 1.1 rebounds in 4.5 minutes per game.[20] On September 26, he was waived by the Bucks,[21] but was re-signed three days later.[22] On October 14, the Bucks waived Bryant.[23]

Anadolu Efes (2021–present)[edit]

On October 18, 2021, Bryant signed with Anadolu Efes of the Basketbol Süper Ligi in Turkey.[24] On June 22, 2023, it was announced that he had renewed his contract for another two years.

Career statistics[edit]

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high
 †  Won an NBA championship

NBA[edit]

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2020–21 Milwaukee 1 0 32.0 .462 .200 1.000 6.0 3.0 .0 1.0 16.0
Career 1 0 32.0 .462 .200 1.000 6.0 3.0 .0 1.0 16.0

Playoffs[edit]

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2021 Milwaukee 11 0 4.5 .350 .000 1.1 .4 .2 .1 1.3
Career 11 0 4.5 .350 .000 1.1 .4 .2 .1 1.3

College[edit]

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2014–15 Elon 33 13 25.5 .382 .349 .751 4.2 2.7 1.3 .4 14.2
2016–17 BYU 23 9 24.7 .426 .278 .796 3.6 2.2 .9 .3 11.7
2017–18 BYU 35 34 34.7 .494 .415 .850 6.3 2.3 1.3 .5 18.2
Career 91 56 28.8 .437 .366 .800 4.9 2.4 1.2 .4 15.1

Personal life[edit]

Bryant is the son of Israel Bryant and Reginald Strother, a physician. He is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He married Jenelle Fraga in August 2017. They have one son.[2]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Elijah Bryant Player Profile". Eurobasket.com. Retrieved August 31, 2018.
  2. ^ a b c Call, Jeff (February 21, 2018). "How Elijah Brigham Bryant overcame knee injuries to star for BYU". Deseret News. Retrieved August 31, 2018.
  3. ^ a b c "Elijah Bryant Profile – BYU Athletics". BYUCougars.com. Retrieved August 31, 2018.
  4. ^ "W&M's Thornton Headlines All-CAA Men's Basketball Team". CAASports.com. March 5, 2015. Retrieved August 31, 2018.
  5. ^ "Guard Elijah Bryant announces he is transferring to BYU". DeseretNews.com. July 28, 2015. Retrieved August 31, 2018.
  6. ^ Drew, Jay (November 8, 2017). "Elijah Bryant, Luke Worthington are BYU basketball captains for 2017-18 season". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved August 31, 2018.
  7. ^ "BYU Men's Hoops: Bryant, Haws, Childs earn All-WCC honors". HeraldExtra.com. February 27, 2018. Retrieved August 31, 2018.[permanent dead link]
  8. ^ "BYU star Elijah Bryant announces plans to graduate, turn pro". KSL.com. April 18, 2018. Retrieved August 31, 2018.
  9. ^ "Summer 76 – Summer League Roster Finalized". NBA.com. July 5, 2018. Retrieved August 31, 2018.
  10. ^ "Hapoel Eilat signs rookie Elijah Bryant". Sportando.basketball. August 30, 2018. Retrieved August 31, 2018.
  11. ^ "Winner League, Game 4: Hapoel Eilat Vs Herzliya". basket.co.il. October 29, 2018. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
  12. ^ "שחקן חודש נובמבר: אלייז'ה בראיינט". basket.co.il (in Hebrew). December 4, 2018. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
  13. ^ "מצטייני עונת 2018/19 בליגת ווינר סל". basket.co.il (in Hebrew). June 6, 2019. Retrieved July 6, 2019.
  14. ^ "Bucks Announce Roster for MGM Resorts NBA Summer League 2019". NBA.com. July 1, 2019. Retrieved July 6, 2019.
  15. ^ "Maccabi brings aboard swingman Bryant". EuroLeague.net. July 23, 2019. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  16. ^ "Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv vs. Khimki Moscow Region - Game". EuroLeague.net. February 5, 2020. Retrieved February 7, 2020.
  17. ^ "Maccabi Tel Aviv officially allows Elijah Bryant to pursue his NBA dream". Sportando.basketball. May 10, 2021. Retrieved May 10, 2021.
  18. ^ "Bucks Sign Elijah Bryant". NBA.com. May 13, 2021. Retrieved May 15, 2021.
  19. ^ "Elijah Bryant Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2022-02-11.
  20. ^ "Elijah Bryant Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2022-02-11.
  21. ^ Shaw, JD (September 26, 2021). "Bucks Waive Elijah Bryant". Hoops Rumors. Retrieved September 26, 2021.
  22. ^ "Bucks Sign Elijah Bryant and Johnny O'Bryant". NBA.com. September 29, 2021. Retrieved September 29, 2021.
  23. ^ "Milwaukee Bucks Request Waivers on Elijah Bryant". NBA.com. October 14, 2021. Retrieved October 16, 2021.
  24. ^ "Amerikalı oyuncu Elijah Bryant ile iki yıllık sözleşme imzaladık". AnadoluEfesSK.org (in Turkish). October 18, 2021. Retrieved October 18, 2021.

External links[edit]