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Joe Bryant

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Not to be confused with Joe Bryant Jr..

Joe Bryant
Bryant coaching Levanga Hokkaido in 2010
Personal information
Born(1954-10-19)October 19, 1954
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedJuly 15, 2024(2024-07-15) (aged 69)
Listed height6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight185 lb (84 kg)
Career information
High schoolJohn Bartram
(Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
CollegeLa Salle (1973–1975)
NBA draft1975: 1st round, 14th overall pick
Selected by the Golden State Warriors
Playing career1975–1991
PositionPower forward, small forward
Number23, 22
Coaching career1992–2015
Career history
As player:
1975–1979Philadelphia 76ers
1979–1982San Diego Clippers
1982–1983Houston Rockets
1983–1986AMG Sebastiani Rieti
1986–1987Standa Reggio Calabria
1987–1989Olimpia Pistoia
1989–1991Reggiana
1991Mulhouse
As coach:
1992–1993Akiba Hebrew Academy
1993–1996La Salle (assistant)
2003–2004Las Vegas Rattlers
2004–2005Boston Frenzy
2005–2007Los Angeles Sparks
2007–2009Tokyo Apache
2010–2011Levanga Hokkaido
2011Los Angeles Sparks
2012Bangkok Cobras
2013Chang Thailand Slammers
2014–2015Rizing Fukuoka
Career NBA statistics
Points5,252 (8.7 ppg)
Rebounds2,441 (4.0 rpg)
Assists1,049 (1.7 apg)
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at NBA.com
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at Basketball-Reference.com

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[1] and returned to that position for the remainder of the 2011 WNBA season. Bryant also coached in Japan and Thailand. His son, basketball player Kobe Bryant, was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Professional career

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Philadelphia 76ers (1975–1979)

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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.[2] In his second season, on the 1976–77 76ers, he played alongside NBA all-stars Julius Erving, Doug Collins, and George McGinnis. The team reached the 1977 NBA Finals, eventually losing to the Portland Trail Blazers, 4 games to 2.[3]

San Diego Clippers (1979–1982)

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Before the 1979–1980 season, the Sixers traded Bryant to the San Diego Clippers,[4][5] where he spent three seasons.[4] In the first game of the 1979–1980 season, played at home against the Los Angeles Lakers, Bryant memorably had a slam dunk over center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.[4]

Houston Rockets (1982–1983)

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Following the 1981 season, Bryant was traded to the Houston Rockets, where he played one season, his last in the NBA.[4]

Europe (1983–1992)

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Bryant played overseas in Italy and France from 1982 to 1992, playing for Italian teams Sebastiani Rieti, Standa Reggio Calabria, Olimpia Pistoia, and Reggiana; and French team Mulhouse.[6] He ended his playing career in 1992.[7]

Coaching career

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Akiba Hebrew Academy (1992–1993)

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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.[8][4]

La Salle Explorers (1993–1996)

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In June 1993, he left Akiba and accepted an assistant coach position at his alma mater, La Salle University.[9] On May 7, 1996, Bryant resigned from La Salle after his son Kobe announced his intentions to enter the NBA out of high school.[10]

SlamBall and ABA coach (2003–2005)

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Bryant served as coach for the Diablos during the 2003[11] season of SlamBall.[12]

From 2003–05, Bryant also coached two ABA teams, the Las Vegas Rattlers and the Boston Frenzy.[6]

Los Angeles Sparks (2005–2007, 2011)

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On August 17, 2005, Bryant, who was an assistant coach for the WNBA team Los Angeles Sparks,[13] was named the head coach, succeeding previous coach (and former 76ers teammate) Henry Bibby.[14] 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.[1]

In 2011, Bryant returned to the Sparks, first as an assistant coach, but later as the head coach for the rest of the 2011 season.[13][4]

International coaching career (2007–2015)

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Bryant coached the Tokyo Apache of the Japanese bj league from 2007–09.[15]

On July 3, 2009, Bryant signed a contract with Italian club Sebastiani Rieti, whom he had played for.[16] However, the contract fell through, due to the team's move to Naples.[15]

Bryant served as the head coach of Japanese professional basketball team Levanga Hokkaido during the 2010–2011 JBL season.[15]

In January 2012, Bryant was hired as coach of the Bangkok Cobras in the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL). He coached for the 2012 season.[17][15] Bryant also coached for the Chang Thailand Slammers in 2013.[15]

Bryant coached Rizing Fukuoka of the bj League from 2014–15.[15][18]

Career playing statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

NBA

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Source[19]

Regular season

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1975–76 Philadelphia 75 3 16.0 .422 .626 3.7 .8 .6 .3 7.4
1976–77 Philadelphia 61 0 10.0 .446 .757 1.9 .8 .6 .2 4.4
1977–78 Philadelphia 81 0 15.3 .436 .771 3.5 1.6 .7 .3 6.1
1978–79 Philadelphia 70 0 15.2 .429 .724 3.7 1.5 .7 .1 7.6
1979–80 San Diego 81 28.7 .431 .147 .742 6.4 1.8 1.3 .5 9.3
1980–81 San Diego 82 28.8 .479 .133 .791 5.4 2.3 .9 .4 11.6
1981–82 San Diego 75 49 26.5 .486 .267 .785 3.7 2.5 1.0 .4 11.8
1982–83 Houston 81 56 25.4 .448 .222 .703 3.4 2.3 1.0 .4 10.0
Career 606 108 21.2 .450 .200 .743 4.0 1.7 .9 .3 8.7

Playoffs

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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 3.0
Career 30 9.1 .448 .679 1.8 .7 .5 .1 4.1

Head coaching record

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Legend
Regular season G Games coached W Games won L Games lost W–L % Win–loss %
Playoffs PG Playoff games PW Playoff wins PL Playoff losses PW–L % Playoff win–loss %

WNBA

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Team Year G W L W–L% Finish PG PW PL PW–L% Result
Los Angeles Sparks 2005 6 4 2 .667 4th in Western 2 0 2 .000 Lost Conference Semifinals
Los Angeles Sparks 2006 34 25 9 .735 1st in Western 5 2 3 .400 Lost Conference Finals
Los Angeles Sparks 2011 24 11 13 .458 5th in Western – – – – –

Source:[20]

Japan

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Team Year G W L W–L% Finish PG PW PL PW–L% Result
Tokyo Apache 2005–2006 40 20 20 .500 3rd – – – – Lost semifinals
Tokyo Apache 2006–2007 40 12 28 .300 8th – – – – –
Tokyo Apache 2008–2009 52 33 19 .635 2nd in Eastern 4 3 1 .750 Runners-up
Rera Kamuy Hokkaido 2010–2011 22 6 16 .273 Fired – – – – –
Rizing Fukuoka 2014–2015 32 9 23 .281 9th in Western – – – – –

Source:[21]

Personal life and death

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In 1975, Bryant married Pam Cox, sister of former NBA player Chubby Cox.[22] Their son, Kobe, was also an NBA player, who 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.[23] Bryant also had two daughters, Sharia and Shaya. The family is Catholic.[24] Through his wife Pam, he was the uncle-in-law of professional basketball player John Cox IV.[22]

Bryant died on July 15, 2024,[25] at the age of 69.[2] While no official cause of death was announced,[26] The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that Bryant had recently suffered a major stroke.[27]

References

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  1. ^ a b "ESPN.com – WNBA – Bryant out, Cooper Back in as Sparks Coach". ESPN.
  2. ^ a b Jennings, Danielle; Mazziotta, Julie (July 16, 2024). "Joe Bryant, Father of NBA Icon Kobe Bryant, Dies at 69 After Stroke". People. Retrieved July 16, 2024.
  3. ^ "1976-77 Philadelphia 76ers Roster and Stats". Basketball Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Herbert, James (July 16, 2024). "Joe Bryant dies at 69: Kobe Bryant's father starred at La Salle, played eight NBA seasons before coaching". CBS Sports.
  5. ^ Bryant was traded for what eventually turned out to be the first pick in the 1986 NBA draft, although prior to the draft the 76ers traded the pick to the Cleveland Cavaliers, who selected Brad Daugherty.
  6. ^ a b Kirschenbaum, Alex (July 16, 2024). "Joe 'Jellybean' Bryant, Longtime NBA Vet and Father to Kobe Bryant, Dead at 69". Newsweek.
  7. ^ Cavallier, Andrea (July 16, 2024). "Kobe Bryant's dad Joe dies aged 69". Yahoo! News.
  8. ^ Charry, Rob (February 27, 2004). "Coach Bryant? Akiba Once Led by Kobe's Dad". The Forward. The Forward. Retrieved March 24, 2009.
  9. ^ "Bryant Returns to LaSalle as Assistant". Philadelphia Daily News. Philadelphia Daily News. June 24, 1993.
  10. ^ "Bryant Quits La Salle Job". The New York Times. Associated Press. May 8, 1996. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
  11. ^ "Lakers' Magic Johnson 'devastated' after death of Kobe Bryant's father". ClutchPoints. July 16, 2024. Retrieved July 17, 2024.
  12. ^ "Lakers News: Joe 'Jellybean' Bryant, Father of Kobe, Passes Away at Age 69". Sports Illustrated. July 16, 2024. Retrieved July 17, 2024.
  13. ^ a b "Joe Bryant elevated to head coach of the Sparks". Los Angeles Sentinel. July 14, 2011. Retrieved July 17, 2024.
  14. ^ "Bibby finishes 13–15 in short stint as Sparks coach". ESPN. August 17, 2005. Retrieved July 17, 2024.
  15. ^ a b c d e f Mario García Martín (February 18, 2015). "Joe Bryant, padre de Kobe, se busca la vida en Japón". Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved July 17, 2024.
  16. ^ Maffioli, Luca (July 3, 2009). "Joe Bryant nuovo coach di Rieti" (in Italian). Sport Blog. Archived from the original on September 27, 2010. Retrieved July 4, 2009.
  17. ^ Bangkok team hires Kobe’s dad Archived January 13, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  18. ^ Bryant out as Rizing Fukuoka coach
  19. ^ "Joe Bryant NBA stats". Basketball Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
  20. ^ "Joe Bryant WNBA Coaching Record". basketball-reference. Retrieved July 17, 2024.
  21. ^ Joe Bryant basketball profile
  22. ^ a b Stevens, Eric (March 4, 2005). "Talent Runs in the Family". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 16, 2024.
  23. ^ Winton, Richard; Woike, Dan (January 26, 2020). "Kobe Bryant is killed in helicopter crash in Calabasas". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
  24. ^ Gleeson, Scott. "Kobe Bryant, 'man of faith,' attended Mass with his family morning of helicopter crash". USA TODAY. Retrieved July 16, 2024.
  25. ^ Sielski, Mike (July 16, 2024). "Philly hoops great Joe Bryant, father of NBA legend Kobe, has died". www.inquirer.com. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
  26. ^ "'Jellybean' Bryant, father of Kobe, dies at age 69". ESPN.com. July 16, 2024. Retrieved July 16, 2024.
  27. ^ Sielski, Mike (July 16, 2024). "Philly hoops great Joe Bryant, father of NBA legend Kobe, has died". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved July 16, 2024.
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