Joe “Jellybean” Bryant, the former NBA player and father of Kobe Bryant, has died. He was 69.
The news was first reported by The Philadelphia Inquirer, which cited La Salle Explorers head coach Fran Dunphy in saying that Bryant had recently suffered a massive stroke.
Bryant’s death comes over four years after the passing of his son and his granddaughter Gianna in a helicopter crash in California.
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“We are saddened to announce the passing of La Salle basketball great Joe Bryant,” the X account of La Salle's men’s basketball team wrote in a post Tuesday. “Joe played for the Explorers from 1973-75 and was a member of our coaching staff from 1993-96. He was a beloved member of the Explorer family and will be dearly missed.”
Joe Bryant, who reportedly earned his “Jellybean” moniker because of his liking for the candy, was a first-round pick for the Golden State Warriors in 1975. He would go on to play for the Philadelphia 76ers, San Diego Clippers, and Houston Rockets before joining several teams in Europe.
After his professional playing career, Bryant coached college, semi-pro, and professional teams, including as the head coach of the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks in 2005-07 and 2011.
Bryant had a strained relationship with his son and had made no public comment about Kobe’s death, according to the Inquirer. Kobe was 41 at the time of his fatal chopper crash in Calabasas on Jan. 26, 2020—Gianna was just 14-years-old. Seven others also died in the crash.
In addition to Kobe, Joe Bryant and his wife Pam have two daughters, Shaya and Sharia.
Kobe’s widow, Vanessa Bryant, posted a statement on her Instagram stories offering her condolences to her father-in-law.
“Sending our condolences upon hearing the news of my father in law’s passing,” she wrote.
