Joe Bryant, Former NBA Player and Kobe’s Father, Dead at 69

Joe Bryant, father of late basketball legend Kobe Bryant, has died after suffering a stroke.

He was 69.

via Complex:

Per a report from the Philadelphia Inquirer, itself citing comments from La Salle Explorers head coach Fran Dunphy, the “massive stroke” occurred recently, with Bryant, a.k.a. “Jellybean,” ultimately succumbing to the effects.

Born in Philadelphia in 1954, Joe’s basketball prowess ultimately led to an NBA career that included stints with his hometown Sixers, the San Diego Clippers, and the Houston Rockets. Outside the league, Bryant, a La Salle alum, also played for institutions in Italy and France before beginning an extensive coaching career in the early ‘90s. From 1993 to 1996, he served as an assistant coach for his alma mater.

Joe and Pamela Bryant’s son, Kobe Bryant, later became an NBA icon widely considered to be one of the greatest athletes to have ever stepped foot on the court. In early 2020, Kobe and his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, were among those killed from blunt force trauma in a Calabasas helicopter crash. Joe and Pamela were both in attendance for a Staples Center memorial service that February, where Kobe’s widow, Vanessa Bryant, gave an emotional speech.

Kobe’s relationship with his parents was known to be fractured, at least at times, including in connection with a lawsuit spurred by the pair’s efforts to auction off memorabilia from their son’s earlier career back in 2013. That suit led to an eventual settlement, with both Joe and Pamela issuing an apology in which they expressed gratitude for “the financial support [Kobe] has provided over the years.”

Kobe previously reflected on the impact his father’s love of the game had on his early life, saying it gave him “chills” to see Joe on the court.

“I think that I was maybe a little too young to realize how everybody looked up to my father then,” Kobe once said in an interview.

RIP.

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