Joe Bryant, ex-NBA player and father of Kobe Bryant, dies at 69

Joe "Jellybean" Bryant, a National Basketball Association (NBA) player and the father of late basketball Hall of Famer Kobe Bryant, breathed his last on Tuesday at the age of 69.

According to a New York Times report, Joe's death was confirmed by the athletic department at La Salle University in Philadelphia, the college where he became a basketball standout.

However, it did not reveal where he died or give the cause of death.

Joe, the six-foot-nine forward played on the Bartram High School and La Salle University basketball teams, averaging over 20 points and 11 rebounds for the university.

He won the Public League Player of the Year in 1972 and was chosen 14th overall in the 1975 NBA draft by the Golden State Warriors. His rights were sold to the Philadelphia 76ers less than four months after his debut.

Joe found greater success playing in Italy as there were fewer games each season and more time off. He averaged 30 points or more a game, far above his 8.7 average in the NBA.

"I've become a family man," he said. "In the United States, I was more of a traveling man."

He went on to a coaching career for several teams in Asia as well as with the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's NBA.

Joe and his family, including wife Pamela Cox, Kobe and two daughters, Sharia and Shaya moved back to the Philadelphia area after his playing career ended.

For quite some time, Joe and his wife had been estranged from Kobe, who died at the age of 41 with his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, in a helicopter crash near Los Angeles in 2020.

Joe's estranged daughter-in-law Vanessa Bryant publicly acknowledged his passing with a touching post on her Instagram story, where she wrote: "Sending our condolences upon hearing the news of my father in law's passing. We hoped things would've been different.

"Although the times we spent together were few, he was always sweet and nice to be around. Kobe loved him very much. Our prayers go out to family."