Joe “Jellybean” Bryant, the father of Hall of Famer Kobe Bryant and a former NBA player, has passed away at the age of sixty-nine. As of Tuesday morning, no official cause of death has been disclosed. La Salle University, where Bryant played and later coached, released a statement expressing that he “was a beloved member of the Explorer family and will be dearly missed.”…

Doug Young, a former teammate of Kobe, remembered Joe as an exemplary “role model,” noting, “He made basketball fun and made us all want to be better.” Joe Bryant later coached at various levels, including the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks.

Arn Tellem, Kobe’s former agent, said, “Joe ‘Jellybean’ Bryant was a true Philly hoops legend… whose warmth touched everyone he met.”