Joe Bryant, Father of NBA Icon Kobe Bryant, Dies at 69 After Stroke

Joe Bryant, the father of late NBA legend Kobe Bryant and a former basketball star, has died at the age of 69.

Joe is said to have recently suffered a massive stroke, according to La Salle University head coach Fran Dunphy, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. Joe played basketball at La Salle and Bartram High School before playing multiple seasons in the NBA.

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La Salle confirmed the news in a post on X, writing, “We are saddened to announce the passing of La Salle basketball great Joe Bryant.”

“Joe played for the Explorers from 1973-75 and was a member of our coaching staff from 1993-96. He was a beloved member of the Explorer family and will be dearly missed.”

Over four years ago, Bryant’s son Kobe and his granddaughter Gianna, died in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California, in January 2020. The NBA legend was 41 at the time of his death and Gianna was just 13.

After graduating from La Salle, Joe was picked in the first round of the NBA draft by the Golden State Warriors in 1975. But he never played for the California team, who sold his rights to his hometown Philadelphia 76ers four months after the draft. 

Joe played eight season in the NBA, for the 76ers, the San Diego Clippers and the Houston Rockets before moving overseas and playing in Italy and France. The Bryant family moved back to the U.S. when Kobe was 13, settling back in the Philadelphia area where Kobe went on to his nationally-recognized high school career at Lower Merion.

Joe started coaching basketball after his playing days, both internationally and at home, including a one-year stint as the head coach for the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks.

Along with Kobe, Joe and his wife Pam Bryant also have two daughters, Sharia and Shaya.