Joseph Washington "Jellybean" Bryant (October 19, 1954 – July 15, 2024) was an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player and coach. He played for the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, also known colloquially as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlan ...

, San Diego Clippers, and

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA) ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(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 The Los Angeles Sparks are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Sparks compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference. The team plays its home games at Crypto.co ...

from 2005 to 2007 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 Kobe Bean Bryant ( ; August 23, 1978 – January 26, 2020) was an American professional basketball player. A shooting guard, he List of NBA players who have spent their entire career with one franchise, spent his entire 20-year career with t ...

, was inducted into the

Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pres ...

Professional career

Philadelphia 76ers (1975–1979)

After starring at La Salle University, he was drafted by the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. Founded in 1946 i ...

but traded to his hometown team, the

, where he played for four seasons. In his second season, on the 1976–77 76ers, he played alongside NBA all-stars

Julius Erving Julius Winfield Erving II (born February 22, 1950), commonly known by the nickname Dr. J, is an American former professional basketball player. Erving helped legitimize the American Basketball Association (ABA), and he was the best-known player ...

, Doug Collins, and

George McGinnis George F. McGinnis (August 12, 1950 – December 14, 2023) was an American professional basketball player who played 11 seasons in the American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball ...

. The team reached the

1977 NBA Finals The 1977 NBA World Championship Series was the championship round of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 1976–77 season, and the culmination of the season's playoffs. The Western Conference champion Portland Trail Blazers played aga ...

, eventually losing to the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (N ...

, 4 games to 2.

San Diego Clippers (1979–1982)

Before the 1979–1980 season, the Sixers traded Bryant to the San Diego Clippers, where he spent three seasons. In the first game of the 1979–1980 season, played at home against the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

, Bryant memorably had a slam dunk over center

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Kareem Abdul-Jabbar ( ; born Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor Jr. , April 16, 1947) is an American former basketball player. He played professionally for 20 seasons for the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Associatio ...

Houston Rockets (1982–1983)

Following the 1981 season, Bryant was traded to the

, where he played one season, his last in the NBA.

Europe (1983–1992)

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 Mulhouse (; ; Alsatian language, Alsatian: ''Mìlhüsa'' ; , meaning "Mill (grinding), mill house") is a France, French city of the European Collectivity of Alsace (Haut-Rhin department, in the Grand Est region of France). It is near the Fran ...

. He ended his playing career in 1992.

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 Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy is a private, coeducational, college-preparatory and religiously pluralistic Jewish day school for grades 6 through 12, located in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in Center City, Philadelphia in ...

Lower Merion, Pennsylvania Lower Merion Township is a Township (Pennsylvania), township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the Philadelphia Main Line. The township's name originates with the county of Merionethshire, Merioneth in north Wales ...

La Salle Explorers (1993–1996)

In June 1993, he left Akiba and accepted an assistant coach position at his alma mater, La Salle University. On May 7, 1996, Bryant resigned from La Salle after his son

Kobe Kobe ( ; , ), officially , is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. With a population of around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's List of Japanese cities by population, seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Port of Toky ...

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

, was named the head coach, succeeding previous coach (and former 76ers teammate) Henry Bibby. 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 Michael Jerome Cooper (born April 15, 1956), nicknamed "Coop", is an American basketball coach and former player. He played for the Los Angeles Lakers during his entire career in the National Basketball Association (NBA), winning five NBA champ ...

, who had previously helmed the team in 1999–2004. 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.

International coaching career (2007–2015)

Bryant coached the Tokyo Apache of the Japanese

bj league The was a professional basketball league in Japan that began in November 2005 as a six-team league. The league was operated as a competitor to the established Japan Super League which was run by the Japan Basketball Association, the official ...

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. Bryant served as the head coach of Japanese professional basketball team Levanga Hokkaido during the 2010–2011

JBL JBL is an American audio equipment manufacturer headquartered in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California. The company was founded in 1946 by James Bullough Lansing, an American audio engineer and loudspeaker designer. JBL currently serves the ho ...

season. In January 2012, Bryant was hired as coach of the Bangkok Cobras in the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL). He coached for the 2012 season. Bryant also coached for the Chang Thailand Slammers in 2013. Bryant coached Rizing Fukuoka of the bj League from 2014 to 2015.

Career playing statistics

NBA

Source

Regular season

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Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

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, 61 , , 0 , , 10.0 , , .446 , , , , .757 , , 1.9 , , .8 , , .6 , , .2 , , 4.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 81 , , 0 , , 15.3 , , .436 , , , , .771 , , 3.5 , , 1.6 , , .7 , , .3 , , 6.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 70 , , 0 , , 15.2 , , .429 , , , , .724 , , 3.7 , , 1.5 , , .7 , , .1 , , 7.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

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, 82 , , , , 28.8 , , .479 , , .133 , , .791 , , 5.4 , , 2.3 , , .9 , , .4 , , 11.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 75 , , 49 , , 26.5 , , .486 , , .267 , , .785 , , 3.7 , , 2.5 , , 1.0 , , .4 , , 11.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

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Playoffs

Head coaching record

WNBA

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Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, style="text-align:left;", 2005 , 6, , 4, , 2, , , , style="text-align:center;", 4th in Western, , , 2, , 0, , 2, , , style="text-align:center;", Lost Conference Semifinals , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", 2006 , 34, , 25, , 9, , , , style="text-align:center;", 1st in Western, , , 5, , 2, , 3, , , style="text-align:center;", Lost Conference Finals , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", 2011 , 24, , 11, , 13, , , , style="text-align:center;", 5th in Western, , , –, , –, , –, , , style="text-align:center;", – , - , -class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 64 , , 40 , , 24 , , , , , , 7 , , 2 , , 5 , , Source:

Japan

, - , style="text-align:left;", Tokyo Apache , style="text-align:left;", 2005–2006 , 40, , 20, , 20, , , , style="text-align:center;", 3rd, , , –, , –, , –, , , style="text-align:center;", Lost semifinals , - , style="text-align:left;", Tokyo Apache , style="text-align:left;", 2006–2007 , 40, , 12, , 28, , , , style="text-align:center;", 8th, , , –, , –, , –, , , style="text-align:center;", – , - , style="text-align:left;", Tokyo Apache , style="text-align:left;", 2008–2009 , 52, , 33, , 19, , , , style="text-align:center;", 2nd in Eastern, , , 4, , 3, , 1, , , style="text-align:center;", Runners-up , - , style="text-align:left;", Rera Kamuy Hokkaido , style="text-align:left;", 2010–2011 , 22, , 6, , 16, , , , style="text-align:center;", Fired, , , –, , –, , –, , , style="text-align:center;", – , - , style="text-align:left;", Rizing Fukuoka , style="text-align:left;", 2014–2015 , 32, , 9, , 23, , , , style="text-align:center;", 9th in Western, , , –, , –, , –, , , style="text-align:center;", – , - Source:

Personal life and death

In 1975, Bryant married Pam Cox, sister of former NBA player John "Chubby" Cox III. Their son

, also an NBA player, was subsequently inducted into the

. 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 The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. Through his wife Pam, he was the uncle of professional basketball player John Cox IV. Bryant died on July 15, 2024 at the age of 69. While no official cause of death was announced, ''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', often referred to simply as ''The Inquirer'', is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded on June 1, 1829, ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is the third-longest continuously operating da ...

'' reported that Bryant had recently suffered a major

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

References

External links

Joe Bryant at Basketball-Reference.com

Joe Bryant statistics in Italian Championship
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bryant, Joe 1954 births 2024 deaths 20th-century Roman Catholics 21st-century Roman Catholics African-American basketball coaches African-American Catholics American Roman Catholics American Basketball Association (2000–present) coaches American expatriate basketball people in France American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Japan American expatriate basketball people in Thailand American men's basketball players AMG Sebastiani Basket players Basketball coaches from Pennsylvania Basketball players from Philadelphia Bryant family Catholics from Pennsylvania Centers (basketball) FC Mulhouse Basket players Golden State Warriors draft picks Houston Rockets players John Bartram High School alumni La Salle Explorers men's basketball coaches La Salle Explorers men's basketball players Levanga Hokkaido coaches Los Angeles Sparks head coaches Olimpia Basket Pistoia players Pallacanestro Reggiana players Philadelphia 76ers players Power forwards Rizing Zephyr Fukuoka coaches San Diego Clippers players Small forwards Tokyo Apache coaches Viola Reggio Calabria players 20th-century American sportsmen