Kobe Bryant's dad Joe has died aged 69
Topics: Kobe Bryant, Basketball, NBA
Callum Jones
Featured Image Credit: Stephen Dunn/Getty Images / John W. McDonough /Sports Illustrated via Getty Images
Topics: Kobe Bryant, Basketball, NBA
Joe Bryant, father of the late Kobe Bryant, has died at the age of 69.
Like his famous son, Joe enjoyed a lengthy career at the height of sport, including playing in the NBA for the likes of Philadelphia 76ers, San Diego Clippers and Houston Rockets.
Joe, who gained the nickname 'Jellybean' due to how much he liked candy, was a towering 6 foot 9 inches - three inches taller than Kobe.
Like his son, he too starred in the NBA and was a first round draft pick, 14th overall, when he joined the Golden State Warriors after playing college basketball at La Salle, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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According to the La Salle head coach Fran Dunphy, Joe recently suffered a 'massive stroke'.
His death comes four and a half years after his son Kobe, and grandchild Gianna, died in a helicopter crash along with seven other people.
His playing career spanned 16 years from 1975 to 1991, while his coaching career lasted even longer - 23 years in total from 1992 to 2015.
In 1975, when he joined the Philadelphia 76ers, he married his wife Pam Cox - who is the sister of former NBA star Chubby Cox.
Together, they had three children - two daughters, Sharia and Shaya, and their only son Kobe.
Joe prestigious playing career saw the giant power forward don the numbers 22 and 23, meanwhile his son wore the shirts 8 and then 24 for the Los Angeles Lakers.
In full he played the first four seasons of his career at the 76ers before moving to the San Diego Clippers for three years to 1982, from there he had a short stint at the Houston Rockers before flying to Europe and playing in the Italian league.
For nine years he bossed the basketball in Italy before moving to France for his final year on the court.
After hanging up his boots he started his coaching career at Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy, a private Jewish school in Pennsylvania, in 1992.
The following year he went back to La Salle as an assistant coach - the college where he made it out the ranks and into the NBA.
He was there three years until Kobe himself made it in NBA and so decided to put his coaching career on hold to help his son as he went to each of his games.
Joe went back into coaching in 2003 and continued to teach players the ropes until 2015 when he decided to retire following a year in the Japanese league.
During his time in the NBA he scored 5,252 points, an average of 8.7 per game, made 2,441 rebounds, which averaged 4.0 per game, and assisted 1,049 - 1.7 per game.