In this behind‑the‑scenes preseason vlog, professional basketball player Elijah Bryant chronicles a whirlwind European tour that includes stops in Istanbul, Slovenia, Croatia (Petrović Memorial game), Antalya, and Athens. He shares candid reflections on the logistical challenges of travel (lost luggage, jet lag, early flights), team‑bonding activities (cold lake dip, skiing aspirations), and the emotional weight of imposter syndrome despite his NBA and EuroLeague success. Bryant emphasizes the central role of sleep as the ultimate recovery tool, details his daily journaling practice for intentionality, and offers concrete nutrition guidance (day‑time keto, night‑time carbs, electrolyte hydration, cutting bread). He outlines a systematic approach to skill development—watching, recording, and replicating moves across practice and games—while stressing the necessity of failure for growth. The vlog also touches on media day frustrations with sponsor content restrictions and the repetitive nature of promotional shoots. Throughout, Bryant’s tone is informal yet purposeful, aiming to provide fans and fellow athletes with authentic insights into the highs, lows, and daily habits that shape a professional basketball preseason.
Chapters
3, 2, 1, go!
Summer is over, guys. We are back in Istanbul, and actually I'm in the car just because kids are too loud at home, so I couldn't actually talk to you guys because it would— you wouldn't be able to hear me. We went to Slovenia, which is great for team bonding, to get outside, to do things. After Slovenia, I got invited— Shane was invited to the Petrović Memorial game, but he got hurt the night before, and I was told the night before that I'm going. So I'm going to Croatia to play in this game, and talk about imposter syndrome. We drove there which was like hour and a half played. I had to eat McDonald's, which I haven't had McDonald's in 10 years. Like, this was just like a— but I got a chicken wrap and I got some fries, which for sure have seed oils in them. But anyways, we played some games in Ljubljana, then we came home for 12 hours, repacked, went to Antalya, Turkey. After that, we came home and then we went to Athens to play and the Olympic Stadium. God is good. I'm excited for the season. If, if you're into health, you know, mindset, faith, and nutrition, I think you'll enjoy this journey. It'll be up and down, but that's life, right?
Let's get it. Good morning.
So I don't know if I told you guys yesterday, I missed medical because jet lag. So this morning I came extra early just because I got no sleep last night again, and I beat the workers. Since we're leaving so early in the morning, I decided to stay at the hotel in the airport. Our flight leaves at 6 in the morning.
To Slovenia.
Just got to the hotel. They forgot my bags in Istanbul. So thank you, Turkish Airlines. Like, how do you just not put someone's bags on the flight? 346. Yes, 346.
No, it's not working. Zang, zang, zang! I say zang, zang, zang! Nice pass! Hey, we're gonna finish first!
Hopefully this season I can capture the good and the bad moments, because I want you guys to see the real stuff that goes on, not all the fake stuff that goes on social media when you play well or when your life is going well, because it's in the pitfalls is where you grow. I finally got my bags 2 days later, literally 2 days later. Okay, so I wanted to clarify a little bit with the bags. I know I might sound like a diva, but you have to understand, my body is what performs on the court, and the best recovery tool is sleep. So my bag doesn't show up with my chili pad, my vitamins, all this stuff, that's a big deal for me. I mean, I have to go out on the court and perform. So that is why I was so upset about my bags. But at the end of the day, You only control what you control, and I got through it, but the chili pad is a must. Guys, I am journaling daily. Well, I'm trying to be better at it daily, to do as much as possible, and I'm giving my self-grace with it. But if you're an athlete, a cook, a chef, or whatever, you need to be giving your day's intention. Because with intention, we can see progress. And then when you're feeling bad about how today went, then you can go back and look and like, oh, it wasn't that bad, or oh, I've had better times. So the journaling allows you to document and see your progress, but also allows you to learn better. Because I say, when you write, it's like more connection points, and it Wires better than your brain. How do you say consistency in German? Consistenz. Muy bien. Where are you going? Shopping. Oh my, is your bike? That's fire. No, it's right through the thing.
What do you do in Slovenia when you have the day off?
Of course you go get in the lake, the freezing lake to be exact. So it was a great time with the team, a time to bond and obviously get cold. All righty, man, come on, man. You just said it was a challenge.
3, 2, 1, go. 3, 2, 1, now. These are some real— this shit is live though.
Oh, for sure. I'll do it.
I need to ski one time at least in my life.
Joe, how you doing?
All right, so total, total freaking change of plans. So some stuff came up.
Anyways, I'm here playing in this game, and obviously I didn't know much about who Drazen was Petrovic, but obviously I did my research and I realized this guy was a hell of a player, and unfortunately his life was cut short due to a tragic accident. Yeah, we're in Croatia. I'm gonna go explore the city a little bit before the game.
Let's get to it. LED.
Something I didn't mention, I don't think, in this video is that when I went to the Petrovic Memorial game, I was having a little bit of imposter syndrome. And you're probably saying, oh, you won an NBA championship, you won a EuroLeague championship, you play for Efes, one of the best clubs in Europe. It doesn't matter. It happens to all of us. No matter if you're Kobe Bryant, Steph Curry, or Elijah Bryant, you will have that. And unfortunately, uh, that's how I felt. But I went in the game and you kind of trick yourself into, you know, I'm supposed to be here, I'm supposed to be doing this, and it all worked out. All right, so what was your first reaction when you saw the shower in the room? I never understood this about Europe. Like, what's up with the half? Cuz then the water gets on the—
I was lost how to, how to operate the glass.
Random question: in hotels, should you wear sandals in the shower? Cuz there's no way possible they're clinging to the thing. How they should—
and Like, should you put toilet paper on the toilet seat? What's the difference between a toilet here and a toilet in the airport?
When you go to the bathroom and you're in the airport, are your hands clean when you walk into the bathroom? Or should you wash them, then use the bathroom, and then wash them again?
What time's the game at? Oh my God, he's the next nigga! I should have never trusted you.
Elijah Bryant.
Elijah Bryant. We got the dubski. Dubski. Had Roddy back out there. Oh man, Roddy got a bang out. Gotta work on mid-range. Felt good, just a little bit low, so I gotta shoot a little bit higher. But God is good. Everyone's healthy. Um, everyone's healthy on the other team as well, so Get some food. Day off tomorrow, finally.
Man, God is good.
Remember that.
So a lot of you guys have been asking me about what you should do to shoot better, what you should do to eat better. First order of business before all of this is sleep. If you can't get your sleep right, which is the best recovery tool on the market, has been, will be, no matter what comes out, then all the other stuff is irrelevant. But once we get our sleep right and want to lose weight, then focus on muscle building, all that stuff, you need to focus when eating meat, fish, chicken, veggies, fruit. Limit the carbs to only at night, so be kind of keto during the day. Drink tons of water with electrolytes. Doesn't have to be an electrolyte powder, it can be just some salt and water. Make sure it's a good salt— Himalayan pink salt, Celtic salt. I promise if you do that, then you'll start to feel better. Cut out bread, just cut it out. I know sourdough is better because of the fermentation process, it gets the gluten out, so it's easier for your body to digest. But start with cutting out the bread and then try to implement some things back in and see how your body reacts. In terms of basketball, the biggest thing I always, always tell you guys is to focus on your system. There's gonna be highs, there's gonna be lows in the season. Focus on your systems and gamify what you're trying to get better at. Like I said before, with me, I watch a player that I want to emulate in practice. I write down the moves, I video the moves, I try the moves after practice, I try the moves during practice, I try the moves in games. If you don't ever try and fail, you'll never be able to progress. You have to understand that. Let me say it again. If you don't ever try and fail, you will never progress. The same thing when you lift, you get stronger because your muscles fail, they rip, and they grow back strong together. So you must try and fail in order to progress in life. And be consistent, you know, that's what we're preaching here, consistency.
Come on, get in, get in. No, that's enough, bro.
Come on, let's go, Elijah Bryant. How much do you miss— how much do you miss me?
A lot?
A little bit? The full screen. I should be off the screen. Okay. So after so many days away from home, and probably like 20 days away from home, We finally come back, we have media days back to back and take a bunch of photos, GIFs, videos, and these companies don't share. These are all our sponsors, so I'm super grateful for them, but it's annoying that they just can't share the same photos because they all want their intellectual properties where they can use it on their social channels. But super annoying, but I understand it. So you end up being there for like 6 hours of doing the same exact stuff and you get kind of drained, to say the least.
Assistant coaches working at a Saturday concert.
Like I said before, I really appreciate you guys joining me on this preseason video. Again, I don't want this to turn into I'm this guy on this level and you guys are down here. We are all on different chapters in this journey. I'm just a little bit— I play basketball a little bit longer. Maybe you played a little bit less, but I have a little bit more experience and I want these videos to be more interactive. Let me know what you guys want to see in terms of health, fitness, basketball. But remember, the main thing in anything you do is stay consistent.
