Joe “Jellybean” Bryant had a successful, albeit short, career in the NBA. The late forward had the opportunity to play alongside Julius Erving and Moses Malone to begin his professional tenure, and ended his stint in the league still averaging double-digit points. Bryant played his final NBA season at just 28 years old, not due to injury or that he wasn’t good enough, but because he prioritized his family above all.
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After his final season with the Houston Rockets in 1983-84, Bryant decided to move his family to Europe, where he would continue his professional playing career for another decade. Bryant’s move to Italy marked a major shift in his basketball life. Though soccer dominated the scene, Italians were passionate about local basketball as well.
With only two American players allowed per team, imports like Bryant enjoyed strong roles, good pay, and a more family-friendly schedule compared to the NBA grind. In stark contrast to the American game, Italian basketball emphasized frequent practices — often twice daily —while games were typically held only once a week, mainly on Sundays.
For Bryant, this flexible schedule was important because he could spend more time with his children. “I’m able to take the kids to school and pick them up in the afternoon,” Joe told the Philadelphia Tribune. And it wasn’t just his work-life balance that became more flexible. Bryant’s game also expanded in a league that allowed for more of his creative flair.
After feeling limited in the NBA, Bryant thrived in Italy, becoming a star by averaging 30 points per game against mostly young players, with the freedom to showcase his flashy style. Jellybean became an overseas superstar and was so beloved by fans that they even began chanting his name.
“You know the player who’s better than Magic [Johnson] or [Kareem Abdul-] Jabbar? It’s Joseph, Joseph Bryant!” the lyrics went, according to Showboat by Roland Lazenby. Considering Magic and Kareem were arguably the NBA’s top stars at the time, this was incredibly high praise from the locals.
Of course, the lyrics were in Italian, which may have prompted a young Kobe Bryant to take up the language. The late legend committed the lyrics to memory in Italian, eventually becoming fluent in the language. Joe was known to be Kobe’s childhood idol, so seeing his father showered with praise was undoubtedly a big moment for the young Mamba.
Bryant made a small mark in the NBA, but his best basketball work came during his extensive overseas career. Jellybean played with five different teams throughout his tenure in Europe, with four being in Italy and the last in France. He began his European career with AMG Sebastiani Rieti, where he played from 1983 to 1986.
That proved to be his longest tenure with one team, as Bryant would go on to spend one season with Standa Reggio Calabria and two seasons with both Olimpia Pistoia and Reggiana. He ended his playing career with one final season with Mulhouse before officially retiring in 1992.
Joe Bryant may have taken an unconventional route in professional basketball, but it proved to be the one that worked for him and his family. He didn’t need the bright lights of the NBA to enjoy hooping. Besides, he’d be right back in the NBA spotlight just four years later when Kobe became the newest young star of the Los Angeles Lakers.
