How did Kobe Bryant's father die? Cause of death and all we know so far as Joe Bryant dies aged 69

On Tuesday morning, the basketball world was hit hard by the news of Kobe Bryant's father. News emerged that Joe Bryant has passed away at the age of 69.

At the time this was written, the only medical update on Joe Bryant came from La Salle University's basketball head coach Fran Dunphy. He reportedly stated that the dad of the Hall of Fame guard recently suffered a stroke.

Kobe Bryant's father attended La Salle before having a brief career in the NBA. Following this tragic news, the school put up a heartfelt post on X (formerly Twitter).

This news comes roughly four-and-a-half years after Joe lost his son and one of his granddaughters after they were in a helicopter crash in 2020. His legacy will now be carried on by his two daughters, Shaya and Sharia.

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Kobe Bryant's father also had a long basketball career

Similar to his son, Kobe Bryant's father also had a long career in professional basketball. The only glaring difference is that most of Joe's playing days were spent outside of the United States.

After averaging 21.8 points as a junior at La Salle, Joe put his name in the 1975 NBA draft. He'd end up being taken 14th overall by the Golden State Warriors, but he never ended up playing for them.

Before the 1976 season began, Golden State sold Joe's draft rights to the Philadelphia 76ers. This meant that Kobe Bryant's father had the rare opportunity to get to play for his hometown team. He'd end up spending four seasons with the franchise before eventually being traded to the then San Diego Clippers.

Following three seasons with the Clippers, Joe was traded again. This time, to the Houston Rockets. He'd play just one season for them, marking the end of his career in the NBA.

Joe ended up playing in a little over 600 career games in the league. During that time, he averaged 8.7 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.7 assists.

In 1983, Joe would take his talents to Europe. He played overseas in France and Italy for nine years before eventually retiring as a player in 1992.

Not long after his playing career ended, Kobe Bryant's father moved into coaching. Among his stops was LA Salle, where he attended college.

Joe never ended up coaching in the NBA, but did get close. After spending some time as an assistant in the WNBA, he was named head coach of the LA Sparks in 2005. Joe held the position for 64 games across three seasons and posted a record of 40-24.

Similar to his playing days, Joe's coaching career also ended overseas. He held positions across a variety of leagues before eventually calling it quits in 2015.