About Joe Bryant
Joseph Washington "Jellybean" Bryant 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. During the 2006 season, he led the Sparks to a 25–9 record and a Conference Finals berth. 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. Bryant's first coaching position, after returning from Europe, was when he was deployed with the U.S. In 2011, Bryant returned to the Sparks, first as an assistant coach, but later as the head coach for the rest of the 2011 season.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.