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Joe ‘Jellybean’ Bryant, father of late Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, dies at 69

Joe Bryant, a former NBA player and WNBA coach with a colorful nickname, 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 feet 9.