Joseph Washington Bryant (born October 19, 1954), nicknamed "Jellybean", is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player and coach. He played for the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eas ...

San Diego Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division in the league's Western Conference. The Clipper ...

, and

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its ho ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA). He also played for several teams in Italy and one in France. Bryant was the head coach of the WNBA's

Los Angeles Sparks The Los Angeles Sparks (LA Sparks) are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Sparks compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The team was foun ...

from 2005 to 2007 and returned to that position for the remainder of the

2011 WNBA season The 2011 WNBA season was the 15th season of the Women's National Basketball Association. The regular season began on June 3 with the Los Angeles Sparks hosting the Minnesota Lynx, featuring 2011 WNBA Draft top pick Maya Moore, in a game televise ...

. Bryant has also coached in Italy, Japan, and Thailand.

Professional career

Philadelphia 76ers (1975–1979)

After starring at

La Salle University La Salle University () is a private, Catholic university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The university was founded in 1863 by the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools and named for St. Jean-Baptiste de La Salle. History La ...

, Bryant, a 6'9" (2.06 m) forward, was drafted in the first round by the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...

in the

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

. Before the season started, though, he was dealt to his hometown team, the

, with whom he played for four seasons. In his second season, the 1976–77 76ers team, featured NBA all-stars

Julius Erving Julius Winfield Erving II (born February 22, 1950), commonly known by the nickname Dr. J, is an American former professional basketball player. Erving helped legitimize the American Basketball Association (ABA), and he was the best-known player ...

, Doug Collins, and

George McGinnis George F. McGinnis (born August 10, 1950) is an American former professional basketball player who played 11 seasons in the American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA). He was drafted into the ABA from Indiana ...

, they reached the 1977 NBA Finals, but eventually lost to the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Con ...

, 4 games to 2.

San Diego Clippers (1979–1982)

Before the 1979–80 season, the Sixers traded Bryant to the

, where he spent three seasons. In the first game of the 1979–80 season, played at home against the Los Angeles Lakers, Bryant memorably had a slam dunk over center

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Kareem (alternatively spelled Karim or Kerim) ( ar, کریم) is a common given name and surname of Arabic origin that means "generous", "noble", "honorable". It is also one of the Names of God in Islam in the Quran. Given name Karim * Karim A ...

. Despite the dunk and a 46-point effort by teammate Lloyd Free (who had also been his teammate on the Sixers), the Lakers prevailed on a game-winning sky hook by Abdul-Jabbar.

Houston Rockets (1982-1983)

Following the 1981 season, Bryant played one season for the Houston Rockets.

Europe (1983–1992)

Bryant played overseas in Italy and France from 1982–1992. He ended his playing career in 1992.

Coaching career

Akiba Hebrew Academy (1992–1993)

Bryant's first coaching position, after returning from Europe, was when he was deployed with the U.S. Armed Forces in Italy. In the 1992–93 season, he served as the head coach of the women's varsity team at

Akiba Hebrew Academy Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy is a coeducational college-preparatory and religiously pluralistic Jewish day school for grades 6 through 12, located in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Founded in Center City, Philadelphia in 1946 as Akiba Hebrew Acad ...

Lower Merion, Pennsylvania Lower Merion Township is a township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It is part of the Philadelphia Main Line. The township's name originates with the county of Merioneth in north Wales. Merioneth is an English-language transcription of the ...

La Salle Explorers (1993–1996)

In June 1993, he left Akiba and accepted an assistant coach position at his alma mater,

. On May 7, 1996, Bryant resigned from La Salle after his son

Kobe Kobe ( , ; officially , ) is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture Japan. With a population around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Tokyo and Yokohama. It is located in Kansai region, whic ...

announced his intentions to enter the NBA out of high school.

Diablos (2003)

Bryant served as coach for the Diablos during the 2003 season of

SlamBall Slamball is a form of basketball played with four trampolines in front of each net and boards around the court edge. The name SlamBall is the trademark of SlamBall, LLC. While SlamBall is based on basketball, it is a contact sport, with blocks ...

, in which the team posted a record of 4–6 and finished seventh place.

Los Angeles Sparks (2005–2007)

On August 22, 2005, Bryant, who was an assistant coach for the WNBA team

, was named the head coach, succeeding previous coach (and former 76ers teammate)

Henry Bibby Charles Henry Bibby (born November 24, 1949) is an American former professional basketball player who played for the New York Knicks, New Orleans Jazz, Philadelphia 76ers, and San Diego Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He a ...

. During the 2006 season, he led the Sparks to a 25–9 record and a Conference Finals berth. However, in April 2007, Bryant was replaced as Sparks head coach by

Michael Cooper Michael Jerome Cooper (born April 15, 1956) is an American basketball coach and former player who is the boys varsity coach at Culver City High School. He played for the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association (NBA), winning ...

, who had previously helmed the team in 1999–2004.

Tokyo Apache (2007–2008)

Bryant spent the 2007–08 season coaching the

Tokyo Apache Tokyo Apache (東京アパッチ) was a Japanese basketball club, based in the city of Tokyo, Kantō Region. They played in the bj league, the top-level Japanese professional League. Their home games were played at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium II ...

of the Japanese

BJ League The was a professional basketball league in Japan that began in November 2005 as a six-team league. The league was operated as a competitor to the established Japan Super League which was run by the Japan Basketball Association, the official go ...

, during which the team was the runner-up in the playoffs.

Sebastiani Rieti (2009–2010)

On July 3, 2009, Bryant signed a contract with his first Italian club, Sebastiani Rieti. The 2009–2010 season was also the club's last.

Levanga Hokkaido (2010–2011)

Bryant served as the head coach of Japanese professional basketball team

Levanga Hokkaido Levanga Hokkaido is a Japanese professional basketball team based in the city of Sapporo on the island of Hokkaido. The club was founded in 2006 as ''Rera Kamuy Hokkaido'', this name comes from the language of the Ainu, an ethnic group indigenou ...

during the 2010–2011

JBL JBL is an American audio equipment manufacturer headquartered in Los Angeles, California, United States. JBL serves the customer home and professional market. The professional market includes studios, installed/tour/portable sound, cars, music ...

season.

Bangkok Cobras (2012–2013)

In January 2012, Bryant was hired as coach of the

Bangkok Cobras The Bangkok Cobras are a professional basketball team from Thailand, Southeast Asia that play in the Asean Basketball League The ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) is a professional men's basketball league in Southeast Asia and Hong Kong/Macau, ...

in the

ASEAN Basketball League The ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) is a professional men's basketball league in Southeast Asia and Hong Kong/Macau, which includes six teams from Southeast Asian nations (Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam), one tea ...

(ABL). He coached for the 2012–2013 season.

Rising Fukuoka (2015)

Bryant served as the head coach of

Rizing Fukuoka The Rizing Zephyr Fukuoka are a Japanese basketball team, playing in the second division of the B.League. They are based in Fukuoka Prefecture and were coached by Joe Bryant, the father of Kobe Bryant, in 2015. Roster Notable p ...

of the BJ League during 2015.Bryant out as Rizing Fukuoka coach
/ref>

Head coaching record

WNBA

, - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", 2005 , 6, , 4, , 2, , , , style="text-align:center;", 4th in Western, , , 2, , 0, , 2, , , style="text-align:center;", Lost Conference Semifinals , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", 2006 , 34, , 25, , 9, , , , style="text-align:center;", 1st in Western, , , 5, , 2, , 3, , , style="text-align:center;", Lost Conference Finals , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", 2011 , 24, , 11, , 13, , , , style="text-align:center;", 5th in Western, , , –, , –, , –, , , style="text-align:center;", – , -

Japan

, - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", 2005–06 , 40, , 20, , 20, , , , style="text-align:center;", 3rd, , , –, , –, , –, , , style="text-align:center;", – , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", 2006–07 , 40, , 12, , 28, , , , style="text-align:center;", 8th, , , –, , –, , –, , , style="text-align:center;", – , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", 2007–08 , 44, , 27, , 17, , , , style="text-align:center;", 2nd in Eastern, , , 2, , 1, , 1, , , style="text-align:center;", Runners-up , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", 2008–09 , 52, , 33, , 19, , , , style="text-align:center;", 2nd in Eastern, , , 4, , 3, , 1, , , style="text-align:center;", Runners-up , - , style="text-align:left;", Rera Kamuy Hokkaido , style="text-align:left;", 2010–11 , 22, , 6, , 16, , , , style="text-align:center;", Fired, , , –, , –, , –, , , style="text-align:center;", – , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", 2014–15 , 32, , 9, , 23, , , , style="text-align:center;", 9th in Western, , , –, , –, , –, , , style="text-align:center;", – , -

Personal life

In 1975, Bryant married Pam Cox, sister of former NBA player Chubby Cox. Their son,

, had a 20-year Hall of Fame career with the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

, winning five

NBA championship The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is awa ...

s. Kobe, along with his daughter Gianna, died in a helicopter crash in

Calabasas, California Calabasas (from Spanish language, Spanish ''calabazas'' "gourds") is a city in the southwestern region of the San Fernando Valley, between the foothills of the Santa Monica Mountains, Santa Monica and Santa Susana Mountains, Santa Susanna mounta ...

on January 26, 2020. Bryant also has two daughters, Sharia and Shaya. Through his wife Pam, he is the uncle of professional basketball player John Cox IV.

References

External links

Joe Bryant at Basketball-Reference.com

Joe Bryant statistics in Italian Championship
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bryant, Joe 1954 births Living people African-American basketball coaches African-American basketball players African-American Catholics American expatriate basketball people in France American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Japan American expatriate basketball people in Thailand American men's basketball players AMG Sebastiani Basket players Basketball coaches from Pennsylvania Basketball players from Philadelphia Bryant family Catholics from Pennsylvania Centers (basketball) FC Mulhouse Basket players Golden State Warriors draft picks Houston Rockets players John Bartram High School alumni La Salle Explorers men's basketball coaches La Salle Explorers men's basketball players Levanga Hokkaido coaches Los Angeles Sparks head coaches Olimpia Basket Pistoia players Pallacanestro Reggiana players Philadelphia 76ers players Power forwards (basketball) Rizing Zephyr Fukuoka coaches San Diego Clippers players Small forwards Sportspeople from Philadelphia Tokyo Apache coaches Viola Reggio Calabria players