Background and career
Joseph Washington "Jellybean" Bryant (October 19, 1954 – July 15, 2024) was an American professional basketball player and coach. He played for the Philadelphia 76ers, San Diego Clippers, and Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He also played for several teams in Italy and one in France. Bryant was the head coach of the WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks from 2005 to 2007 and returned to that position for the remainder of the 2011 WNBA season. Bryant also coached in Japan and Thailand. He was the father of the late basketball player Kobe Bryant.
After starring at La Salle University, he was drafted by the Golden State Warriors but traded to his hometown team, the Philadelphia 76ers, where he played for four seasons. In his second season, on the 1976–77 76ers, he played alongside NBA all-stars Julius Erving, Doug Collins, and George McGinnis. The team reached the 1977 NBA Finals, eventually losing to the Portland Trail Blazers, 4 games to 2.
Before the 1979–1980 season, the Sixers traded Bryant to the San Diego Clippers, where he spent three seasons. In the first game of the 1979–1980 season, played at home against the Los Angeles Lakers, Bryant memorably had a slam dunk over center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Following the 1981 season, Bryant was traded to the Houston Rockets, where he played one season, his last in the NBA.
Bryant played overseas in Italy and France from 1982 to 1992, playing for Italian teams Sebastiani Rieti, Standa Reggio Calabria, Olimpia Pistoia, and Reggiana and French team Mulhouse. He ended his playing career in 1992.
Bryant's first coaching position, after returning from Europe, was when he was deployed with the U.S. Armed Forces in Italy. In the 1992–1993 season, he served as the head coach of the women's varsity team at Akiba Hebrew Academy in Lower Merion, Pennsylvania.
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth (October 2026), in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
