Joe Bryant, Father of Kobe, Dies at 69

Father of Kobe Bryant Joe Bryant Died, La Salle Confirms

JOE BRYANT – The father of the late 5-time NBA champion Kobe Bryant, Joseph “Jellybean” Bryant, died at 69 years old.

There are clans who are families of basketball players. Among these are the Bryants. Countless people across the globe are fans and supporters of Kobe Bryant, a 5-time champion of the National Basketball Association. A big part of his success are his learning from his father, Joseph Washington Bryant.

Joe Bryant, Kobe Bryant
Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images

Joseph is also known as Jellybean or Joe Bryant. He played a forward during his NBA years. Prior to it, he played at the Philadelphia school from 1973 to 1975. It was followed by a successful basketball career that brought him to play for many of the biggest teams in the court.

Jellybean Bryant

From 1975 to 1983, Joe played for the Philadelphia 76ers, the San Diego Clippers, and the Houston Rockets. He played with the 76ers from 1975 to 1979, with the San Diego Clippers from 1979 to 1982, and the Houston Rockets from 1982 to 1983. He also played for Europe from 1983 to 1992.

Joe Bryant and Kobe Bryant
Photo from CNN

Joe also had his coaching career. He was the head coach of the women’s varsity team of Akiba Hebrew Academy in Pennsylvania from 1992 to 1993. He was an assistant coach of the La Salle Explorers from 1993 to 1996 and also coached the Diablos during the 2003 season of Slamball.

From 2005 to 2007 and in 2011, Joe Bryant coached the Los Angeles Sparks as the head coach and the assistance coach, respectively. He retired from his basketball career in 1991. Recently, an update about the father of Kobe Bryant crossed the surface.

The La Salle University confirmed that Joe Bryant has died at the age of 69. In his entire NBA career, he scored an average of 8.7 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.7 assists a game.

Joe is finally home with his beloved son, Kobe Bryant. The Black Mamba is the youngest among the three children of Joe and Pamela Cox, the sister of former NBA player Chubby Cox. In January 2020, countless people grieved for the death of Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna, and several others due to a helicopter crash.

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