Kobe Bryant’s estranged dad has been seen for the first time since having to deal with the “black hole” of his son’s death.
Joe “Jellybean” Bryant was spotted and photographed by Dailymail.com after a large bouquet of flowers was delivered to the home he shares with Kobe’s mother, Pamela.
According to the New York Post — Joe Bryant was actually on the cusp of mending his years-old rift with his son when the Lakers’ legend died in Sunday’s helicopter crash.
“Jellybean had been “all happy and good and talking about the gorgeous weather” the previous day, said one neighbor, who asked not to be identified.
“Then it switched in 24 hours where their lives were turned upside down,” the neighbor said.
Wayne Slappy, one of the NBA legend’s ex-coaches and a good friend of his dad, previously told the site that the Bryant family is struggling to deal with the “black hole” of his loss.
“His family are going to miss him more than you can begin to imagine,” Slappy told the Mail.”
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It was back in 2016 when Kobe stated his relationship with his parents was ‘shit’ and that he hadn’t spoken to them in 3 years. They had a fallen out in 2013 after they attempted to sell some of his basketball memorabilia without his knowledge. He told ESPN in 2016, “Our relationship is s—. I say, ‘I’m going to buy you a very nice home,’ and the response is, ‘That’s not good enough?’ Then you’re selling my s—?”
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“Everybody’s family has issues, disagreements here and there. The healing comes, but this healing is going to be hard because he’s not here,” he said, adding tearfully that Kobe “was starting to look so much more like [his dad] as he was getting older.”
“Can you imagine a black hole? It’s empty, how do you fill it? They’re a close-knit family. He was 41 years old, and then his daughter dies in an accident with him, too. His family are going to miss him more than you can begin to imagine,” Slappy said.
“I know NBA players whose kids can’t stand them, they never spent any time with them. That ain’t Kobe. He great up with his family loving each other. He was doing the same thing his father did for him, for his daughters, to the best of his ability.”
Joe “Jellybean” Bryant played in the NBA himself from 1975 to 1983, playing for the Philadelphia 76ers, San Diego Clippers and Houston Rockets.
