8 Years After Cocaine-Related Arrest, Kobe Bryant’s Father Moved to Italy in 1984 Owing to His Car Dealership Job

Kobe Bryant‘s career is one that every aspiring NBA star looks up to for inspiration. However, while growing up, the first player Kobe looked up to was his own father. Joe Bryant was an NBA star, who, unfortunately, had a short career in the league. Eight years after a cocaine-related arrest following his rookie season, Bryant found himself in Houston selling cars. However, he knew that this life wasn’t for him. So, as documented by Jeff Pearlman in the book, Three-Ring Circus, Bryant reluctantly moved his family to Italy in 1984 to continue playing basketball.

Joe, fondly known as “Jelly Bean”, didn’t have a noteworthy career as a professional basketball player. Unlike his son Kobe, who had a Hall of Fame career, Joe’s career was marred with problematic situations. Apart from being a mediocre NBA player, he had a decent spell with a number of different teams in Italy. That being said, Bryant never lived up to the potential many saw in him.

Kobe Bryant’s father Joe Bryant relocated his family to Italy in 1984

In 1976, Kobe Bryant’s father, Joe Bryant fled from the cops after an attempted pull over for a broken tail light, eventually crashing into some parked cars. From the outside looking in, this does not seem like a major crime. But it was what was inside Joe’s car that made this a huge problem. Following his rookie season with the Philadelphia 76rs, Joe Bryant was arrested for having “bags of cocaine” in his car.

It was a major arrest that sent his career into a downward spiral. Following the incident, Joe would go on to play for the San Diego Clippers and the Houston Rockets. But in 1984, Bryant found himself without a team. In fact, he was selling cars in a dealership in Houston.

This was not a great fit for him and he was desperate to leave. Fortunately, it was around this time that an offer from Europe showed up. Initially, Bryant viewed the deal with skepticism. He did not know how his family, who like him were Philadelphians, born and raised, would like it there. But he knew he was done selling cars and so decided to seize the opportunity, relocating his family to Italy, where he played for a team called Sebastiani Rieti. Pearlman notes in his book:

“When he [Joe Bryant] was initially presented with the idea of playing overseas, Joe expressed skepticism. Would the money be worth it? Would Pam, born and bred Philadelphian, be okay with yet another basketball-related relocation? Would the level of play be anything better than mediocre? Within a few months, the Bryants found themselves in Rieti, a city of 40,000 located 48 miles north of Rome.”

In hindsight, it was a great decision on Joe Bryant’s end. After all, his son Kobe has expressed time and time again how his childhood in Italy is one of the reasons he excelled both on the basketball court and off of it. And for that, he was surely grateful to his father.

Kobe revealed that he wasn’t on good terms with his father and they rarely conversed

Despite being proud of his accomplishments, Kobe Bryant’s father Joe Bryant wasn’t on talking terms with his son. His parents were not happy with some of his life choices, including the Black Mamba’s decision to marry Vanessa Cornejo. Around 2013 and 2016, when Kobe was dealing with injuries, he sadly revealed that he and his father hadn’t spoken to each other in years.

It is unfortunate, to say the least. Even after his passing, neither Joe nor Pamela Bryant have spoken to the media about their son. It’s a shame that they were never able to reconcile and work on their relationship.