- Former BYU hoops star has enjoyed a professional career highlighted by team & personal milestones.
- Faith and consistency have proven a reliable formula for the Latter-day Saint athlete.
- Bryant has discovered the rewards in his professional & personal lives are found in the journeys — not the final destinations.
Elijah Bryant deserves a moment to call time out, exhale and reflect on the highlight-filled pro basketball journey he continues to trod following his college days at BYU.
Besides claiming an NBA ring with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2021, Bryant has been a key player on title winning teams in the Israeli League and the 2022 EuroLeague crown. And this past season, the 6-foot-5-inch Latter-day Saint was named to the All-EuroLeague’s first team.
But nostalgia’s a luxury reserved for retired folks. Mid-career pro athletes such as Bryant are all about seizing every free moment to get a bit faster, a bit stronger and a bit wiser.
“I think it will all set in — once I’m done playing,” Bryant told the Deseret News when asked about his ongoing globetrotting hoops adventures.
The versatile shooting guard can be forgiven for not setting aside time to reminisce on his playing career. Besides resting up in Utah for the upcoming basketball season with Israel’s Hapoel Tel Aviv, Bryant and his wife, Jenelle, are now prepping for another life-changing domestic event.
“We are about to welcome another blessing to our family,” he proudly reported. “So we are all over the place right now.”
The Bryants are already the parents of a couple of little boys — Blu, 5, and Rocco, 3.
Still, when Bryant’s competitive days are behind him, he’ll surely relish an accolade-rich hardwood career made largely possible by, no doubt, his rare athleticism.
But he’s also quick to equally attribute his ongoing success to hard work, daily prayer, then more hard work — all blended with his tenacious belief in himself and the divine.
Drawing down spiritual guidance
After averaging over 18 points a game during an all-conference 2018 junior season, Bryant opted to skip his senior year at BYU for the professional ranks.
Some told him to stick around Provo for another year, arguing it would boost his NBA draft stock. But BYU Coach Dave Rose supported Bryant’s decision to leave early even though it meant bidding farewell to a special talent.
“Sports should be something that should unite everyone and allow us to come together.”
— Former BYU basketball player Elijah Bryant, on what he learned in his globetrotting career
“Coach Rose listened to me and allowed me to carve out my own path,” Bryant remembered. “That made my decision even more special because it was my choice. I wasn’t leaning on someone else’s choice for me.”
Rose remembered Bryant being well-positioned to make that huge life choice because “he was so meticulous” in all he did.
“Eli was just really prepared to make that decision to move on, even though I would have really loved for him to come back and play that senior year,” he said.
Bryant still solicits advice from trusted friends such as Rose. But ultimately he trusts his judgement. Then he moves forward.
But he doesn’t make choices alone.
“I pray and the Spirit tells me what I need to do,” said Bryant. “Sometimes it’s what I want to hear. Sometimes it’s not what I want to hear. But over the course of my career, I’ve tried to follow the Spirit as much as I can.
“That’s led to some cool things that have allowed my family to have some cool experiences and set me up for life.”
Now 31, Bryant is enjoying a pro athlete’s “sweet spot.” He’s still young enough to flex his physical attributes — but he’s also equipped with the maturity afforded veteran players.
“I’ve changed my mentality in terms of just focusing on what I can control and doing the best that I can and not allowing outside noise to determine what I’m doing on the court,” he said when asked about his memorable 2026 EuroLeague season.
“And also my faith and meditation are big parts of what have allowed me to get to where I am. And, of course, you have to put in the work.”
Bryant changed his training regiment about three years ago, becoming “very objective” about his personal and professional development. That meant elevating his self-awareness while studying other ballplayers to emulate on the court.
The guy who gets most of Bryant’s screen attention these days? Newly crowned NBA champ/New York Knick Jalen Brunson, aka “Captain Clutch.”
“Brunson’s the player I watch the most, and all my teammates know it,” he said. “It’s because of Brunson’s ability to play off two feet. I’ve never been a guy who really plays above the rim. But I knew that if I was able to add that to my game — playing off two feet — it would allow me to not only extend my career, but make the game slow down for me.”
Bryant also boosts his durability by incorporating new tech and research — using hyperbaric oxygen and red light therapies, while also eschewing bread and dairy from his diet.
The reward’s in the journey. “I don’t really set goals to achieve accolades — it’s more about asking myself, ‘How good can I be?’”
Bryant also buys into another essential attribute: Mastering the noise between his ears during the good, and the not so good, moments.
“The biggest skill that I’ve developed over the past three years is the ability to control my emotions,” he said. “It’s one of the hardest things to do as an individual, even for someone not playing sports.”
Given Bryant’s experience and his on-the-court success, it’s likely he will increasingly be looked to as a leader on the Hapoel Tel Aviv squad. “I’ve tried to lead more by example, but I think over the next few years I want to be a little more vocal in trying to help people.”
Rose believes the same skills that served Bryant well as a college athlete in Provo continue to guide his growth in the pros.
“It was impressive to watch Eli commit himself to his mental routine and his physical routine,” said Rose. “He would delve into anything that he felt could help give him an edge.”
Finding spiritual respite in the Madrid Spain Temple
Bryant’s eight-year post-BYU career has meant relocating his young, growing family to Israel, Turkey, Bulgaria and, in 2021, to Milwaukee.
The EuroLeague where Bryant currently competes features 20 clubs headquartered in 10 different nations.
During his pro career, his international teammates have hailed from a variety of different countries and cultures. Bryant enjoys experiencing the world through his sport.
“Basketball,” he said, “unites us. … It’s a universal language.”
And regardless of where he’s playing, Bryant’s at ease living his Latter-day Saint faith.
Bryant has played for teams based in predominantly Muslim or Jewish countries. But his religious beliefs are respected. “And I’ve also grown to respect their faiths even more because there are a lot of similarities,” he said. “I feel like, religion-wise, we’re more similar than we are different.”
The Muslim practice of, say, fasting during Ramadan, is harmonious with Latter-day Saint fasting beliefs, Bryant noted.
Meanwhile, the solemn day Yom Kippur observed by Jews is grounded in repentance and seeking forgiveness from others — practices also held sacred by Latter-day Saints.
“So it’s been super cool for me to see and understand,” said Bryant of his globetrotting. “Not only to show what my faith is about, but also to learn and be open-minded to what others are doing and understanding their faiths.”
“The biggest skill that I’ve developed over the past three years is the ability to control my emotions. It’s one of the hardest things to do as an individual, even for someone not playing sports.”
— Former BYU basketball player Elijah Bryant
During his pro basketball career, Bryant and his family have found fellowship worshiping in Latter-day Saint branches in countries such as Israel, Turkey and Bulgaria.
“The only thing we really miss is the temple,” said Bryant. “But during our last playoff series we were playing in Madrid and we had a day off, so I made my way to the Madrid Spain Temple.”
Bryant’s most recent season in Europe unfolded amid global conflict. But the ballplayer doesn’t talk politics, focusing instead on what he can control: basketball.
“Sports,” he said, “should be something that should unite everyone and allow us to come together.”
Championing faith + consistency
Power emerges when faith meets consistency. That’s a truism found in pro basketball — and in any life path, asserts Bryant.
Utilizing several social media platforms, Bryant formed his “Consistency Club” to encourage young people to embrace both faith and “showing up” every day.
When time allows, he crafts a club newsletter, breaks down film and shares lessons of steadiness and endurance from his own career and others. Consistency, Bryant teaches his followers, is about doing the correct things over and over and over and over again.
But building skills through daily habits accumulated exponentially over time isn’t always enjoyable.
“Everyone wants quick results — right now,” he said. “It’s the dopamine effect. So what I’m trying to teach the next generation is that it takes work. Rome wasn’t built in a day.’
Keeping tabs on fellow BYU alums AJ Dybantsa and Richie Saunders
Seven thousand miles separate Provo, Utah, from Tel Aviv, Israel. But Bryant remains connected to his alma mater and the BYU basketball program.
He calls BYU athletic director Brian Santiago “my main guy.” And current Cougar head coach Kevin Young was his first summer league coach out of college. Meanwhile, BYU assistant coach Tim Fanning was one of Bryant’s assistant coaches when he played for Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv early in his pro career.
Bryant also stays in touch with recent BYU player Richie Saunders, who was drafted last week by the Memphis Grizzlies.
“I’m super excited for Richie’s journey,” he said. “I think he has a lot of things that he can offer to an NBA team. … Richie’s going to have a very successful NBA career once he gets his opportunity.
And, no surprise, Bryant’s anxious to track AJ Dybantsa’s pro career — touting the 2026 NBA Draft No. 1 overall pick’s shooting and overall development.
BYU, he said, “has prepared AJ very well. He’s set up to lead an NBA franchise to the promised land.”
As for Elijah Bryant’s future, he’s enjoying a well-earned summer break in Utah while counting down the hours until Baby Bryant’s arrival. Then he will return to Europe with three more years on his Hapoel Tel Aviv contract.
“I never really try to promise anything or say I’m going to bring a championship,” he added. “I’m just trying to be the best version of myself, every single day. I’m trying to be better than I was yesterday.”