Joe Bryant, a former NBA player and WNBA coach, has died at 69, four and a half years after his son, Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, granddaughter Gianna Bryant and seven other people died in a helicopter crash.
Fran Dunphy, the coach at Joe Bryant’s alma mater La Salle, told the Philadelphia Inquirer on Tuesday that Bryant recently suffered a debilitating stroke.
A teammate at John Bartram High School in Philadelphia nicknamed Bryant “Jellybean” because he had a vast array of moves despite being 6-foot-9. “Must be jelly because jam don’t shake like that,” Bryant recalled hearing, quoting the World War II-era hit song by Glenn Miller.