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Joe Bryant is an American former professional basketball player who is currently a coach. Joe Bryant is the father of the late American basketball prodigy, Kobe Bryant. Similarly, he played for teams like the Philadelphia 76ers, San Diego Clippers and Houston Rockets among others. He also coached teams like the Las Vegas Rattlers, Boston Frenzy, Los Angeles Sparks, and Tokyo Apache, among many other teams.
Early life and childhood
Joe Bryant’s full name is Joseph Washington Bryant and he was born on October 19, 1954. His present age is 66 years and her zodiac sign is Libra. Also, he is originally from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. His parents’ names are not available as he prefers to keep his personal life as private as possible.
Talking about his educational background, he attended John Bartram High School and later enrolled in La Salle University, both institutions located in Philadelphia. However, there is no information about what subject he majored in and when he graduated. There is also not much information about his family and his childhood. Also, his nickname is Jellybean.
Professional life
Joe Bryant is an American former professional basketball player and current coach. He was the head coach of the Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA from August 22, 2005, to April 4, 2007. He then returned to that position for the remainder of the 2011 WNBA season. He has also trained in Italy, Japan and Thailand.
After enrolling at La Salle University, he, a 2.07 m (6’9″) forward, signed him in the first round of the 1975 draft by the Golden State Warriors. However, before the season began, he was invited to his hometown team. he played with for four seasons. The team was the Philadelphia 76ers. Hola’s 1976–77 Sixers team, featuring NBA stars Julius Erving, Doug Collins, and George McGinnis, arrived to the NBA Finals, but sadly, they ultimately lost to the Portland Trail Blazers 4 games to 2.
Later, he returned to the West Coast when the 76ers traded him to the San Diego Clippers. For this team, he played from 1979 to 1982. In the first game of the 1979-80 season, he dunked on Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, but despite that and a 46-point effort from Bryant’s teammate, the Sixer/ Clippers World B. Free, who was then known as Lloyd Free, the Lakers won the game on a game-winning skyhook by Abdul-Jabbar.
After a final NBA season with the Houston Rockets in 1983, he headed for Europe. He played seven seasons in Italy with clubs in the Italian A1 League and Italian A2 League. He also played with Italian clubs AMG Sebastiani Rieti (1984–86), Viola Reggio Calabria (1986–87), Pistoia (1987–89) and Reggio Emilia (1989–91). In addition, he had games of 53 points with Pistoia, in the 1987-88 season.
He continued to play into his fifties, appearing in several games for the Boston Frenzy of the fledgling American Basketball Association.
Caption: Joe Bryant #23 of the Philadelphia 76ers slam dunks against the New Jersey Nets during a circa 1979 NBA basketball game at the Rutgers Athletic Center in Piscataway, New Jersey. Source: Getty Images
Teams Joe Bryant played for
- 1975-1979 Philadelphia 76ers
- 1979–1982 San Diego Clippers
- 1982–1983 Houston Rockets
- 1984–1986 AMG Sebastiani Rieti
- 1986-1987 Support Reggio Calabria
- 1987-1989 Olympia Pistoia
- 1989-1991 Reggiana
- 1991-1992 basket FC Mulhouse
coaching career
Also, his first coaching position was after his return from Europe. At that time, he served in the United States Armed Forces in Italy. In the year 1992-1993, she also served as the head coach of the women’s varsity team at Akiba Hebrew Academy in Lower Merion, Pennsylvania. Then, in June 1993, she left Akiba and accepted an assistant coaching position at her alma mater, La Salle University. She also served as a coach for the Devils in the 2003 SlamBall season.
On August 22, 2005, he, who had served as an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Sparks team in the Women’s National Basketball Association, was named head coach of the Sparks, replacing previous coach Henry Bibby. Henry is also his former teammate from the 76ers.
During the 2006 season, he led the Sparks to a 25–9 record and a berth in the Conference Finals. However, in April 2007, Michael Cooper replaced him as Spark’s head coach. Michael had previously coached the team from 1999 to 2004. In addition, he spent the 2007-08 season coaching Tokyo Apache in Japan’s professional basketball league, the Japanese BJ League.
On July 3, 2009, he signed a contract with his first Italian club, Sebastiani Rieti. Then, in January 2012, he became the coach of the Bangkok Cobras in the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL). He also served as the head coach of Rising Fukuoka of the BJ League. Beyond basketball, he is also a producer. He is known for the Parents of Sport (2008) and The NBA on CBS (1973).
Caption: Los Angeles Sparks head coach Joe Bryant speaks with Candace Parker #3 (R) and teammates during the WNBA game against the Phoenix Mercury at the US Airways Center on September 3, 2011, in Phoenix, Arizona. Source: Zimbio
Teams Joe Bryant Coached
- 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
- Bangkok Cobras 2012
- 2013 Chang Thailand Slammers
- The 2015 Fukuoka Uprising
civil status
Joe Bryant is a married man and his wife is Pam Cox. The lovebirds got married in the year 1975. Pam is the sister of former NBA player Chubby Cox. The couple have three children and they are Kobe, Sharia and Shaya. He is also the uncle of professional basketball player John Cox IV through his wife Pam.
His son, Kobe, was also a professional NBA player. Kobe had a 20-season career in the National Basketball Association with the Los Angeles Lakers. He also won five NBA championships with the same team. However, his son Kobe passed away in a tragic helicopter crash in January 2020.
Furthermore, he is the grandfather of Kobe’s four daughters, namely Natalia Diamante Bryant, Gianna Maria-Onore Bryant, Bianka Bella Bryant, and Capri Kobe Bryant. Unfortunately, his granddaughter Gianna also lost her life at the young age of 13 due to the same accident as her son Kobe.
Caption: Joe Bryant pictured with his wife Pam Cox and their late son Kobe. Source: The Sun
Scandal
Joe Bryant and his son Kobe did not have a very good relationship. Bryant, Pam and his two daughters, Kobe’s former adviser and agent Arn Tellem, and their Lakers teammates did not attend Kobe’s wedding to Vanessa Laine. He and Pam had issues with him marrying so young, especially to a woman who wasn’t African-American. Their disagreement resulted in a period of estrangement of more than 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. He and Pam had a huge falling out with Kobe after they tried to sell Memorabilia behind their backs in 2013.
Pam received $450,000 from the auction house for the items, and claimed that Bryant had given her the rights to the items he had left at his house. However, Kobe’s lawyers asked the auction house to return the items to Bryant. Before a scheduled trial, he and Pamela apologized to Kobe in a written statement, also acknowledging the financial support Bryant had given them in the past.
Tragic death of his son Kobe Bryant
On Sunday, January 26, 2020, Joe’s son Kobe and granddaughter Gianna tragically perished in a helicopter crash along with seven other passengers. The crash occurred in Calabasas, California, at around 9:47 a.m., where the helicopter struggled before crashing in the mountains above Calabasas in heavy fog. It was a private helicopter owned by Kobe. It took off from John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California.
Gianna was just 13 and Kobe was just 41 when they lost their lives. All the passengers were headed to Thousand Oaks, where Bryant’s Mamba Sports Academy is located. As reported by the New York Times, the young players were going to participate in a tournament as part of the team that Mamba and Kobe were going to train in Sunday’s game.
Kobe also often regarded Gianna as the successor to carry the family’s basketball legacy to the next generation. Sadly, the tragic accident on Sunday January 26, 2020 took away their combined dreams along with the lives of father and daughter.
Joe Bryant – Body Measurements
Talking about Joe Bryant’s body measurements statistics, he stands at a height of 6 feet 10 inches or 2.08 meters. Similarly, he weighs around 185lbs i.e. 84kg. These are the official measurements listed for him. However, there is no information about his other body measurement statistics like chest-waist-hip, biceps, clothing size, shoe size, etc. Also, he has black hair but is bald. Also, his eye color is black.
Joe Bryant is not available on social media platforms.
Joe Bryant – Net worth 2023
His net worth is estimated to be around $5 million. His participation in basketball teams as his coach greatly influences his net worth and his earnings.
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Source: vcmp.edu.vn