The Bryant family has suffered another heartbreaking loss as Joe Bryant, the father of late basketball legend Kobe Bryant, has passed away.
The news of Joe‘s passing has led many people to wonder whether he managed to rebuild the relationship with his son before the tragic helicopter crash in 2020 that saw Kobe and one of his daughters lose their lives.
There was some public animosity between Kobe and his parents back in the day, with him once tweeting: “When u give Give GIVE and they take Take TAKE at wat point do u draw a line in the sand?”
That was in response to news stories claiming that Joe and Pam had been auctioning off some of his memorabilia without asking him for permission first.
Pam and Joe ‘Jellybean’ Bryant also avoided attending their son’s marriage in 2001 due to Vanessa Bryant being from another community.
A strained relationship for many years
They were not vocal at all when Kobe passed away in 2020 which some think means there was a serious rift, but other people claim that they actually made up in 2005 when Joe joined the Los Angeles Sparks as a coach.
Kobe’s parents were also present in the stands for a few games in 2010 but some reports suggest it was due to an invitation from a fan. As per ESPN, Kobe had not spoken to his parents since 2013 for three years.
Joe passed away at the age of 69 after suffering from a stroke. Kobe and Joe are said to have been close throughout the NBA Hall-of-Famer‘s youth, which was spread between Philadelphia and Italy. This continued throughout Kobe’s time at Lower Merion High School, but the relationship soured when he joined the Los Angeles Lakers.