Joe 'Jellybean' Bryant, basketball star and father of Kobe Bryant, dies aged 69

Head coach Joe Bryant of the Los Angeles Sparks during the WNBA game against the Phoenix Mercury at US Airways Center in 2011 in Phoenix, Arizona Picture: Christian Petersen/Getty Images Head coach Joe Bryant of the Los Angeles Sparks during the WNBA game against the Phoenix Mercury at US Airways Center in 2011 in Phoenix, Arizona Picture: Christian Petersen/Getty Images
Head coach Joe Bryant of the Los Angeles Sparks during the WNBA game against the Phoenix Mercury at US Airways Center in 2011 in Phoenix, Arizona Picture: Christian Petersen/Getty Images | Getty Images
A basketball icon - who would go on to father a true legend of the sport - has died aged 69.

Joe “Jellybean” Bryant, a former NBA player and WNBA coach, was the father of Kobe Bryant.

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La Salle University Athletics, for whom Jellybean used to play from 1973 to 1975, confirmed the news. He was a member of the 1975 East Coast Conference Championship team, earning them a place in the NCAA Tournament.  

“I am heartbroken by the sudden loss of my uncle,” said La Salle men's basketball assistant coach and Bryant's nephew, John Cox. “He was a basketball icon in the city of Philadelphia and someone I grew up admiring. The impact he has made both here at La Salle and in the Philly basketball community will be felt for years to come.”

In two seasons with the Explorers, Bryant scored 1,188 points. He then played eight years in the NBA, spending four with the Sixers from 1975-79, and three with the San Diego Clippers (1979-82). His last season in the league was spent with the Houston Rockets before spending nine years playing professionally in France and Italy. He averaged 8.7 points and 4.0 rebounds in 606 career NBA games. 

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Joe Bryant, while head coach of the Los Angeles Sparks, during the WNBA game against the Phoenix Mercury at US Airways Center on September 3, 2011 in Phoenix, Arizona Picture: Christian Petersen/Getty Images) Joe Bryant, while head coach of the Los Angeles Sparks, during the WNBA game against the Phoenix Mercury at US Airways Center on September 3, 2011 in Phoenix, Arizona Picture: Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Joe Bryant, while head coach of the Los Angeles Sparks, during the WNBA game against the Phoenix Mercury at US Airways Center on September 3, 2011 in Phoenix, Arizona Picture: Christian Petersen/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Following his playing career, Bryant spent several years in various coaching roles, including time as an assistant on the Explorers' staff from 1993-96. He also had two stints as head coach of the Women's National Basketball Association's Los Angeles Sparks. In 1981, Bryant was inducted into the Big 5 Hall of Fame. 

His son Kobe Bryant is one of the all-time greats of basketball, spending 20 years as a shooting guard with the LA Lakers. He died in January 2020 in a helicopter crash. Kobe’s middle name Bean was derived from his father’s playing nickname.

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