Joe Bryant, father of Kobe, dies at 69

Former NBA player and WNBA coach Joe Bryant passed away this week at the age of 69. Bryant, the father of legendary NBA star Kobe Bryant, had suffered a massive stroke recently, La Salle head coach Fran Dunphy told the Philadelphia Inquirer on Tuesday.

“We are saddened to announce the passing of La Salle basketball great Joe Bryant,” the La Salle men’s basketball team said in a post on X.

Bryant played his collegiate ball at La Salle, and was a first-round pick for the Warriors in the 1975 NBA Draft. He went No. 14 overall and went on to play eight seasons in the NBA. He played for the Philadelphia 76ers, the San Diego Clippers and the Houston Rockets, tallying 606 games played and averaging 8.7 points per game. Bryant then went to Europe where he played for several teams in Italy.

Upon returning to the United States, the former NBA player decided to enter into coaching. He made one stop before returning to his alma mater to coach from 1993-1996. He then coached for the Las Vegas Rattlers, a semi-pro men’s basketball team.

Bryant then coached the defunct Boston Frenzy before taking over the Los Angeles Sparks WNBA team. In 2006, he led the Sparks to a 25–9 record and a Conference Finals berth. On top of coaching in the U.S., he also coached in Japan and Thailand. He last served as the head coach of Rizing Fukuoka of the BJ League during the 2015 season.

Bryant passed away four years after he lost his son, Kobe, and granddaughter, Gigi, in a helicopter crash in California.