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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Bryan Kalbrosky

NBA fans paid tribute to Joe ‘Jellybean’ Bryant, the father of the late Kobe Bryant, who died at 69

Kobe Bryant NBA Joe Bryant Joe Jellybean Bryant Bronny James La Salle Basketball

Joe Bryant, the father of the late Kobe Bryant, has died at 69 years old.

Bryant was the No. 14 overall pick in the 1975 NBA Draft out of La Salle University. He played eight seasons in the NBA for the Philadelphia 76ers, San Diego Clippers, and Houston Rockets. He later played several years of basketball overseas in Italy and France.

After his playing career, he had a lengthy coaching career as well. That included time as an assistant at his alma mater, La Salle. He also coached in the WNBA for the Los Angeles Sparks and in Japan and Thailand.

Alongside his son, Bryant was also briefly a minority owner for the Olimpia Milano club in Italy. Many fans and teams paid their respects for the former NBA player, whose son won five NBA championships and tragically died in 2020:

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Jayson Tatum shared a hilarious story about the time LeBron James made him cry

NBA fans roasted Bronny James for a pair of Summer League airballs

Lip-readers think Jaylen Brown and Kysre Gondrezick were criticizing Bronny James

Candace Parker shared a beautiful snippet of her mentoring Kobe Bryant’s daughter at basketball

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