Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant’s father Joe Bryant has died at the age of 86, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
LaSalle head coach Fran Dunphy told the Inquirer on Tuesday that Bryant recently suffered a massive stroke.
The LaSalle Men’s Basketball team, where Bryant played from 1973-75, also took to social media to announce his death:
We are saddened to announce the passing of La Salle basketball great Joe Bryant.
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. pic.twitter.com/A3sgZzVkkt
— La Salle Men’s Basketball (@LaSalle_MBB) July 16, 2024
Bryant, who was nicknamed ‘Jellybean’ due to his affinity for sweets, was a first-round draft pick of the Golden State Warriors out of LaSalle in 1975. He quickly found himself back in his hometown of Philadelphia to play for the 76ers after the Warriors sold his rights to the team.
After playing four seasons with the 76ers, Jellybean played three seasons with the San Diego Clippers and one with the Houston Rockets. He averaged 8.7 points and four rebounds in 606 career NBA games.
In 1983, he continued his basketball career overseas by playing in Italy and France before retiring in 1992.
Kobe was famously fluent in a number of languages after spending some of his younger years in Italy while his dad played. Joe Bryant then eventually got into coaching and even spent time with the Los Angeles Sparks from 2005-07 and 2011.
The Bryant family moved back to the U.S. when Kobe was 13, settling in the Philadelphia area. Kobe went on to have a successful high school career at Lower Merion before landing with the Lakers as a 17-year-old.
Joe Bryant’s death comes four years after Kobe and his daughter Gianna were tragically killed in a helicopter crash. He is survived by his wife Pam, his daughters Sharia and Shaya and his grandchildren.
Jayson Tatum calls it an honor to wear Kobe Bryant’s Team USA jersey no. 10
Joe Bryant wasn’t the only member of his family to play overseas as Kobe Bryant also had a lot of success at the international level with Team USA Basketball. And the current iteration is set to embark on what will hopefully be another successful trip to the Olympics in Paris.
One of the stars featured on the 2024 version of Team USA is Jayson Tatum, a well-known Kobe fan who was able to work with the Lakers legend before his passing. And Tatum will be wearing Kobe’s No. 10 in the tournament.
The importance of this was not lost on Tatum, who called it an ‘honor’ to wear the jersey, adding that is something he does not take lightly.
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