Elijah Bryant travels to Athens for a EuroLeague game against Olympiacos, a team that just invested €400 million in arena upgrades. He shares his pregame routine, nutrition choices, and game analysis before the matchup, then reflects on his performance after the loss.
Ladies first. Huh? Ladies first. Big bro said go, bro. Ladies first. Get off the bus. Keep courting me. I got him, fellas.
Ladies first.
Okay, so we finally made it to Athens, Greece after traveling today. Super short flight, and the team are playing Olympiacos, Final Four team for the past few years. Very good team. And Athens is not only home to Olympiacos but also to Panathinaikos, the team that I actually lost to last next year in the playoffs. And these two teams, let's just say they don't like each other. And since we've been talking about arenas in this past video, referring to the ROIG Arena, which they spent €400 million on— if you didn't see that video, go watch it here— Panathinaikos just upgraded their arena. LED floor, more seating, green seats, increased seating for Gate 13, which is like their ultras. And Olympiacos just recently took over ownership of their gym, allowing them to make those upgrades. And in recent history when I played in, the roof was leaking. And it's not that the location is bad or they have a bad fan base. They have some of the best fans in EuroLeague. So I think as EuroLeague continues to increase in terms of fandom, in terms of stars, really good for the arenas to increase as well. So what do you guys want to see for Olympiacos plays to make the arena a better experience, not only for the fans but the players as well? And the arena they play in, I'm pretty sure it's where Greece won their first EuroBasket. So it has some history, not just to Olympiacos but Greece as a country in itself. So as I'm getting ready for bed and trying to create better sleep hygiene like we talked about. I'm gonna watch a show on the couch before I get in the bed. Probably gonna watch an NBA game. When it comes to watching NBA games, it puts me in a growth mindset because I'm able to learn from some of the best skilled players in the world and emulate that in my workouts, in my practices, and then in my games. And then another key to that, not being afraid to fail. You can live if you miss, uh, you cannot live if you don't shoot it. Too often we're so scared to make a mistake that we won't even try. And in order to learn a new skill or gain something in life, you have to fail. Watch a baby when it learns how to walk. What does it do? It falls, and then it gets up and tries again. And over time, it learns. So don't allow other people's insecurities and impressions to make you scared of wanting to try something new.
With the glass, I don't like it.
I don't like it.
Again, again, please, please. This is what I do. Get out, bro. Get out, bro.
You want it back? You want it back? Oh, oh, you're watching, you're watching the YouTube channel?
That's crazy.
So obviously this isn't a food review channel, but on this channel we be eating good. When I say we, It's usually me and Ty, my teammate, Odiasse. We're always trying to stay away from the seed oils, all the bad stuff, but this might have seed oils in it, but it's definitely better than the hotel food. So this is from Protein Garden in Greece. And then yesterday we had me, Kalanaki, I think, which is one of my favorite restaurants in Greece, and the food is fire, so go and try it. So obviously Olympiacos is a really talented team. We talked about before, they played in the Final Four. They're coming off a loss to Monaco at home, so they're going to be here, you know, ready to fight. I have an MVP on their team in Sasha Zinkov, who's actually from Bulgaria, and one of my former teammates, Dorsey. So it's not gonna be an easy game. It's going to be a game that they play super hard and physical, but they're a team that moves the ball really well. So think of like the Spurs in terms of their style of play. They don't have a bunch of isolation players, but more so like the Spurs ball movement. So let's tap in. Well, it's game time, about to head to the game. And don't forget to stay to the end to see 2 to 1 of things that I could have done better. So one thing I could have done better and two things that worked really well. Let's go.
We welcome you to Greece for round 8 of the EuroLeague, one of the pre-season Season title favorites Olympiacos welcome the unexpected league leaders, Hapoel Tel Aviv. Can the Israelis shock their hosts with a third home defeat in a row, or will the Greeks fight back to close the gap? Bryant kick out wide open. Backing in, spinning towards the baseline. Wild on the shot, over everything. Quick pass down the floor. How fast, the laser beam to the corner. Elijah Bryant up against Dorsey, spinning mid-range, couldn't get his angle right off the window. Elijah Bryant answers with the 2. Bryant penetrates the paint, floater for him is good. 4 down on the deck, rubbing salt in his wounds, Elijah Bryant. Bantis passes out, Bryant's just hit one. Front iron, that's off. Now they're down 2 possessions, they need quick scores. Blakey for 3, still dry. And they did it the gruesome way, but the big red monster wearing black tonight has awoken.
Well, as you saw, we lost the game. We always do two things I did well and one thing I can work on. And as of right now, I think I feel like there's more stuff I could work on than what I did well. We'll say I rebounded well, played decent defense, but I feel like I need to be more aggressive in and be more assertive in the game in order to help my team. But I'll watch the film as always, you know, and then I'll watch it, I'll learn from it, and move on. And as always, faith plus consistency. Love.
