Joe Bryant Bio, Wiki

Joe Bryant is an American retired professional basketball player, current coach, and the father of the late great Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant.

He was the head coach of the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks from August 22, 2005, until April 4, 2007. Bryant returned to that position for the remainder of the 2011 WNBA season after Jennifer Gillom was fired by the Los Angeles Sparks on July 10, 2011. He has also coached in Italy, Japan, and Thailand.

Joe Bryant Professional Career

After starring at La Salle University, Joe was drafted in the first round by the Golden State Warriors in 1975. Before the season started, though, Bryant was dealt to his hometown team, the Philadelphia 76ers, with whom he played for four seasons.

Bryant’s 1976–77 Sixers team, featuring NBA all-stars Julius Erving, Doug Collins, and George McGinnis, reached the NBA finals but eventually lost to the Portland Trail Blazers 4 games to 2. Bryant went back to the West Coast when he was traded by the 76ers to the San Diego Clippers, for whom he played from 1979 to 1982.

In the first game of the 1979–80 season at home in San Diego, Bryant slam dunked on Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, however, despite that and a 46-point effort by Bryant’s Sixer/Clippers teammate World B. Free (then known as Lloyd Free), the Lakers won the game off a game-winning sky hook by Abdul-Jabbar.

After a final NBA season with the Houston Rockets in 1983, he headed to Europe, playing seven seasons in Italy with clubs of the Italian A1 League and the Italian A2 League. Bryant played with the Italian clubs AMG Sebastiani Rieti (1984–86), Viola Reggio Calabria (1986–87), Pistoia (1987–89), and Reggio Emilia (1989–91). He continued to play into his fifties, appearing in several games for the Boston Frenzy of the fledgling American Basketball Association.

Joe Bryant Coaching Career

Joe’s first coaching position after returning from Europe was in 1992–1993 as the head coach of the women’s varsity team at Akiba Hebrew Academy in Lower Merion, Pennsylvania. He left Akiba in June 1993 and accepted an assistant coach position at his alma mater, La Salle University. He served as a coach for the Diablos in the 2003 Season of SlamBall.

On August 22, 2005, he was named Head Coach of the Sparks, succeeding previous coach (and former 76ers teammate) Henry Bibby. During the 2006 season, Bryant led the Sparks to a 25-9 record and a Conference Finals berth. However, in April 2007, he was replaced as Spark’s head coach by Michael Cooper, who had previously helmed the team from 1999–2004.

He spent the 2007–08 season coaching the Tokyo Apache in Japan’s professional basketball league the Japanese BJ League. On July 3, 2009, Bryant signed a contract with his first Italian club, Sebastiani Rieti. In January 2012, Bryant became coach of the Bangkok Cobras in the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL). He also served as the head coach of Rizing Fukuoka of the bj-league.

Joe Bryant Age

Bryant was born Joseph Washington Bryant on October 19, 1954, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. He is 69 years old.

Joe Bryant Height

Bryant stands at a height of 6 feet 3 inches (2.06 m) tall weighing 185 lb (84 kg).

Joe Bryant Wife

Bryant is married to Pam Bryant since 1975. She is the sister of former NBA player Chubby Cox. The couple has two daughters Sharia Bryant, and Shaya Bryant, and one son Kobe Bryant.

Joe Bryant Son | Joe Bryant Son’s Death

Bryant’s son, Kobe Bryant, was an American professional basketball player who played his entire 20-season career in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with the Los Angeles Lakers. Kobe Bryant died on January 26, 2020, in a helicopter crash near Calabasas, California.  He died alongside eight others, including his 13-year-old daughter Gianna Bryant.

Others on board are Orange Coast College baseball coach John Altobelli, Altobelli’s wife Keri, Altobelli’s daughter Alyssa, Christina Mauser, an assistant girls basketball coach at Harbor Day School in Corona del Mar, and three others departed from John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California, in a Sikorsky S-76 helicopter owned by Bryant.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti released a statement on Kobe Bryant’s death:

“Kobe Bryant was a giant who inspired, amazed, and thrilled people everywhere with his incomparable skill on the court — and awed us with his intellect and humility as a father, husband, creative genius, and ambassador for the game he loved. He will live forever in the heart of Los Angeles and will be remembered through the ages as one of our greatest heroes. This is a moment that leaves us struggling to find words that express the magnitude of shock and sorrow we are all feeling right now, and I am keeping Kobe’s entire family in my prayers at this time of unimaginable grief,” Garcetti said.

Joe Bryant Net Worth

Bryant has an estimated net worth of $53 Million which he has earned through his successful career as a professional basketball player and coach. His son, Kobe Bryant, had an estimated net worth of $600 million at the time of his death.

The table below answers some of the frequently asked questions about Bryant.