Joe Bryant

Joseph Washington "Jellybean" Bryant (October 19, 1954 – July 15, 2024) was an American professional basketball player and coach. He played for the Philadelphia 76ers, San Diego Clippers, and Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He also played for several teams in Italy and one in France. Bryant was the head coach of the WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks from 2005 to 2007 and returned to that position for the remainder of the 2011 WNBA season. Bryant also coached in Japan and Thailand. He was the father of the late basketball player Kobe Bryant.

Professional career

Philadelphia 76ers (1975–1979) After starring at La Salle University, he was drafted by the Golden State Warriors but traded to his hometown team, the Philadelphia 76ers, where he played for four seasons.

San Diego Clippers (1979–1982) Before the 1979–1980 season, the Sixers traded Bryant to the San Diego Clippers, where he spent three seasons.

Coaching career

Akiba Hebrew Academy (1992–1993) Bryant's first coaching position, after returning from Europe, was when he was deployed with the U.S. Armed Forces in Italy. In the 1992–1993 season, he served as the head coach of the women's varsity team at Akiba Hebrew Academy in Lower Merion, Pennsylvania. On May 7, 1996, Bryant resigned from La Salle after his son Kobe announced his intentions to enter the NBA out of high school.

SlamBall and ABA coach (2003–2005) Bryant served as coach for the Diablos during the 2003 season of SlamBall.

From 2003 to 2005, Bryant also coached two ABA teams, the Las Vegas Rattlers and the Boston Frenzy.

Los Angeles Sparks (2005–2007, 2011) On August 17, 2005, Bryant, who was an assistant coach for the WNBA team Los Angeles Sparks, During the 2006 season, he led the Sparks to a 25–9 record and a Conference Finals berth. In April 2007, Bryant was replaced as Sparks head coach by Michael Cooper, who had previously helmed the team in 1999–2004.

International coaching career (2007–2015) Bryant coached the Tokyo Apache of the Japanese bj league from 2007 to 2009.

On July 3, 2009, Bryant signed a contract with Italian club Sebastiani Rieti, whom he had played for. However, the contract fell through, due to the team's move to Naples.

Career playing statistics

NBA Source

Regular season

Playoffs Year Team GP MPG FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG 1976 Philadelphia 3 14.3 .750 .714 4.3 .3 .3 .3 7.7 1977 Philadelphia 10 7.4 .387 .625 1.5 .7 .6 .2 2.9 1978 Philadelphia 10 12.2 .447 .727 2.5 .9 .6 .1 5.0 1979 Philadelphia 7 5.0 .385 .500 .1 .6 .1 .0 3.0Career 30 9.1 .448 .679 1.8 .7 .5 .1 4.1

Head coaching record

WNBA

Source:

Japan

Source:

Personal life and death In 1975, Bryant married Pam Cox, sister of former NBA player John "Chubby" Cox III. Their son Kobe, also an NBA player, was subsequently inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. Kobe died in a helicopter crash on January 26, 2020, alongside his 13-year-old daughter (Joe's granddaughter) Gianna. Bryant also had two daughters, Sharia and Shaya. The family is Catholic. Through his wife Pam, he was the uncle of professional basketball player John Cox IV. at the age of 69. While no official cause of death was announced, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that Bryant had recently suffered a major stroke.