Former NBA participant Joe “Jellybean” Bryant, the daddy of Corridor of Famer Kobe Bryant, has died. He was 69.
An official explanation for Bryant’s dying was not introduced as of Tuesday morning. La Salle College, the place Bryant performed and coached, stated in an announcement that Bryant “was a beloved member of the Explorer household and will likely be dearly missed.”
Longtime Philadelphia-area basketball coach Fran Dunphy, who presently is the pinnacle coach at La Salle, informed the Philadelphia Inquirer that Bryant just lately suffered an enormous stroke.
Joe Bryant seldom appeared in public after Kobe Bryant’s dying in a helicopter crash over 4 years in the past. The previous Los Angeles Lakers famous person informed ESPN in 2010 that Joe was “a terrific basketball thoughts” and credited his father with instructing him “from an early age find out how to view the sport, find out how to put together for the sport and find out how to execute.”
Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna and 7 others died in a helicopter crash in January 2020 in Calabasas, California, because the group was making its approach to a basketball match. Joe and Pam Bryant, who had been married for almost a half-century, had a generally frosty relationship with Kobe, however they had been within the entrance row for the memorial service in Los Angeles a couple of month after Kobe and Gianna died.
“Sending our condolences upon listening to the information of my father in regulation’s passing,” Vanessa Bryant, Kobe’s widow, posted Tuesday on her Instagram story. “We hoped issues would’ve been totally different. Though the occasions we spent collectively had been few, he was at all times candy and good to be round. Kobe beloved him very a lot.”
Joe Bryant performed and coached professionally each in america and internationally after starring at La Salle, the place he averaged 20.8 factors per sport in two seasons with the Explorers. He was a first-round draft choice of the Golden State Warriors in 1975 earlier than being acquired later that yr by the Philadelphia 76ers.
“Joe ‘Jellybean’ Bryant was a neighborhood basketball icon, whose legacy on the court docket transcended his journey throughout Bartram Excessive College, La Salle College, and his first 4 NBA seasons with the 76ers from 1975-79,” the Sixers stated in an announcement. “Our condolences exit to the Bryant household.”
Doug Younger, a former highschool teammate of Kobe, lauded Joe as the final word “position mannequin.”
“Joe was our JV coach at Decrease Merion and I couldn’t have requested for a extra constructive mentor, trainer, and position mannequin,” Younger informed ESPN. “It is tough to overstate how a lot he influenced me and my teammates. He made basketball enjoyable and made us all wish to be higher – he believed in us. I am going to always remember his infectious smile, his bear hugs and the unbelievable bond he shared with Kobe. Rising up in Decrease Merion, there was no household we beloved and admired greater than the Bryants – and that began with Joe.”
The 6-foot-9 Bryant performed elements of eight seasons within the NBA with the Sixers, Clippers and Rockets, averaging 8.7 factors and 4.0 rebounds in 606 profession video games. He was a member of the 1976-77 Sixers staff that misplaced to the Path Blazers within the NBA Finals.
After enjoying almost a decade abroad in France and Italy, Bryant began teaching in 1992. He was the pinnacle coach for the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks for elements of three seasons and likewise coached in numerous roles at each the skilled and faculty ranges within the U.S., Japan and Thailand.
“I am deeply saddened by the passing of Joe ‘Jellybean’ Bryant and be a part of the basketball group in mourning a real Philly hoops legend,” stated Pistons vice chairman Arn Tellem, Kobe Bryant’s former agent. “Our friendship opened the door for me to signify Kobe as he entered the NBA, a reminiscence I am going to at all times cherish. Joe was a loyal husband, father and grandfather, whose heat touched everybody he met.”
ESPN’s Dave McMenamin and the Related Press contributed to this report.