Did Joe Bryant Play in the NBA? Digging Deeper Into Kobe Bryant’s Late Father’s On-Court Numbers

Part of the NBA for 8 seasons, selected as the #14 overall pick in the 1975 NBA draft, and the early mentor for the late Kobe Bryant, Joe ‘Jellybean’ Bryant had a story of his own. He moved to Italy once his NBA days were over. During his time with Olimpia Pistoia in 1987, his son Kobe would work as a mop and ball boy and practice hooping during the time breaks.

‘Jellybean’ was so impressed by his son’s skills that he decided to move back to America when Kobe was just 13. And the rest is history as Kobe Bryant turned out to be one of the greatest NBA players of all time, spending his entire career with the Lakers.

Not only did he coach Kobe, but Joe also coached the WNBA team Los Angeles Sparks twice and the other teams around the world. So where did his coaching experience come from? Let’s first look at his playing career.

Jellybean was 6’9″ and was given the name by one of his high school teammates because of the incredible agility he had for his frame. He played for La Salle Explorers from 1973–1975 and averaged 20.3 points, 11.1 rebounds, and 1.2 assists in 55 games. It was enough for him to be drafted by the Golden State Warriors in the 1975 NBA draft. But he was traded to his hometown team Philadelphia 76ers.

Representing the 76ers for 4 seasons, Joe Bryant averaged 6.4 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 287 games and played in the NBA finals in his second season itself. In the 1977 finals, against the Portland Trail Blazers, Joe averaged 3.2 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 1.0 assists in 6 games.

Later ‘Jellybean’ would represent the San Deigo Clippers for 3 seasons, averaging a much improved 10.9 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 238 games. While there was no NBA finals story with San Deigo, Joe Bryant achieved a historic feat. During the game against the LA Lakers, he would posterize the great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the 3rd quarter of the game.

Kobe Bryant’s father Joe’s last season with the NBA

Playing for the Houston Rockets in his final season in the NBA, Joe averaged 10.0 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 81 games. Post the season with the Rockets, he would move to Italy with the family. Playing until 1991 in Europe, Joe hung his boots but quickly began the next phase of his career.

Kobe Bryant’s father started coaching in 1992 with the Akiba Hebrew Academy in Pennsylvania. He would then return to his alma mater the next season as the assistant coach of La Salle Explorers.

Apart from coaching in America, Joe also traveled to Japan and Thailand for coaching stints. However, his most famous stint came with the WNBA team Los Angeles Sparks during his first tenure. The Sparks made it to the conference finals with a 25–9 record in 2006 with Joe in charge. However, his second tenure with the team in 2011 didn’t go well as the Sparks registered an 11-13 record.

Stay tuned for more such updates, and to follow what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, has to say about the infamous Shaq-Kobe feud, Caitlin Clark’s Olympic snub, and more, watch this video.