Joe “Jellybean” Bryant, former NBA player and father of Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, has died at the age of 69.
Bryant’s death was announced on social media by the official X account of Bryant’s LaSalle University men’s basketball team.
“It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of La Salle University basketball great Joe Bryant,” the team posted on social media.
“Joe played for the Explorers from 1973-75 and was a member of our coaching staff from 1993-96,” the statement continued. “He was a beloved member of the Explorers family and we will miss him dearly.”
We are saddened to announce the passing of La Salle University basketball great Joe Bryant.
Joe played for the Explorers from 1973 to 1975 and was a member of our coaching staff from 1993 to 1996. He was a beloved member of the Explorers family and we will miss him dearly. pic.twitter.com/A3sgZzVkkt
— La Salle Men’s Basketball (@LaSalle_MBB) July 16, 2024
Fran Dunphy, Head Coach, LaSalle University Said of Philadelphia Inquirer Bryant reportedly recently suffered a severe stroke.
Bryant was a first-round draft pick by the Golden State Warriors in 1975. Nicknamed “Jellybean” for his sweet tooth, he played in the NBA until 1983. After leaving the NBA, Bryant had a successful career in Europe.
In 1991, Jellybean returned with his family to Philadelphia, but soon began his coaching career, again traveling overseas, throughout Asia, before Bryant eventually returned to the United States, where he coached the Los Angeles Sparks from 2005 to 2007.
Bryant’s death comes more than four years after his son Kobe and granddaughter Gigi were killed in a fatal helicopter crash in Calabasas, California, that also killed the pilot and six other passengers.
