Who is Joe Bryant?
Joe Bryant (full name: Joseph Washington Bryant) is an American retired professional basketball player and a current coach. He is also known as Jellybean. Joe is the father of the late Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant.
Joe served as the head coach of the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks from August 22, 2005, until April 4, 2007. He later returned to that position for the remainder of the 2011 WNBA season after Jennifer Gillom was fired by the Los Angeles Sparks on July 10, 2011.
The senior Bryant has also served as a coach in Italy, Japan and also Thailand. In his fifties, Joe continued to play appearing in several games for the Boston Frenzy of the fledgling American Basketball Association.
How Old is Joe Bryant?
Joe is 65 years old as of 2019. He was born on 19th October 1954 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Joe Bryant Family
Joe has not shared any information regarding his childhood background. He keeps his personal life very private.
Joe Bryant Wife
The senior Bryant is married to Pam Cox. Pam is a socialite and sister to former NBA player Chubby Cox.
Joe Bryant Children
Bryant and Pam have three children together, two daughters Sharia Bryant and Shaya Bryant, and a son Kobe Bryant who is an NBA legend. Joe is the uncle of professional basketball player John Cox IV through his wife. He is the grandfather of Kobe’s four daughters, Natalia Diamante Bryant, Gianna Maria-Onore Bryant, Bianka Bella Bryant, and Capri Kobe Bryant
Joe Bryant Son
Joe’s only son Kobe Bryant is a former player professional basketball player. He had a 20-season career in the National Basketball Association with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Bryant and his son Kobe did not have a very good relationship. Bryant, Pam, and their two daughters, Kobe’s longtime advisor and agent Arn Tellem, and his Lakers teammates did not attend Kobe’s wedding to Vanessa Laine. Pam and Joe had problems with him marrying so young, especially to a woman who was not African-American. Their disagreement resulted in an estrangement period of over two years, which ended when Kobe’s first daughter was born.
The birth of Kobe’s first daughter Natalia resulted in a reconciliation between Bryant and his parents. Joe and Pam had a huge falling out with Kobe after they tried selling Memorabilia behind his back in 2013.
Pam received $450,000 from the auction house for the items and claimed Bryant had given her the rights to the items he had remaining in her home. However, Kobe’s lawyers asked the auction house to return the items to Bryant. Before a scheduled trial, Pamela and Joe apologized to Kobe in a written statement, also acknowledging the financial support Bryant had provided them in the past.
Kobe Bryant and Gianna Maria-Onore Bryant’s Death
On January 26, 2020, a Sikorsky S-76 helicopter departed from John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California at 9:06 a.m. Pacific Standard Time. Onboard were Kobe Byrant, his 13-year old daughter Gianna, six family friends and the pilot. The eight were traveling to a practice session at Bryant’s Mamba Academy in Thousand Oaks.
There was light rain and foggy weather that morning, the LAPD helicopters and most other air traffic were grounded. According to the flight tracker, the helicopter experienced issues above the L.A. Zoo and circled the area six times at an altitude of around 850 feet(260m).
At around 9:30 a.m., the pilot who was named Ara Zobayan contacted the Burbank Airport’s control tower. He notified the tower of the situation and was told he was “flying too low” to be tracked by radar. During that time, the helicopter experienced extreme fog and turned south towards the mountains. The helicopter climbed rapidly at 9:40 a.m. It moved from 1,200 to 2,000 feet (370 to 610 m) flying at 161 knots (298 km/h; 185 mph).
The helicopter crashed into the side of a mountain in Calabasas, about 30 miles (48 km) northwest of downtown Los Angeles, and caught on fire at 9:45 a.m. Kobe Bryant, Gianna Maria-Onore Bryant, John Altobelli, Keri Altobelli, Alyssa Altobelli, Christina Mauser, Sarah Chester, Payton Chester, and the pilot Ara Zobayan were killed instantly.
Joe Bryant Height
Joe’s listed height is 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m).
Joe Bryant Net Worth
Bryant has earned greatly from his career as a basketball player. However, his net worth is not yet revealed.
What Team Did Joe Bryant Play for?
After he starred at La Salle University, Joe is a 6’9″ (2.07 m) forward, was drafted in the first round by the Golden State Warriors in 1975. He later played for various teams.
- 1975–1979 Philadelphia 76ers
- 1979–1982 San Diego Clippers
- 1982–1983 Houston Rockets
- 1984–1986 AMG Sebastiani Rieti
- 1986–1987 Standa Reggio Calabria
- 1987–1989 Olimpia Pistoia
- 1989–1991 Reggiana
- 1991–1992 FC Mulhouse Basket
Joe Bryant Coach
- 2003–2004 Las Vegas Rattlers
- 2004–2005 Boston Frenzy
- 2006–2007 Los Angeles Sparks
- 2007–2009 Tokyo Apache
- 2010–2011 Levanga Hokkaido
- 2011 Los Angeles Sparks
- 2012 Bangkok Cobras
- 2013 Chang Thailand Slammers
- 2015 Rizing Fukuoka