Beyond the Legends: Five Forgotten Faces in Philadelphia 76ers History

5 of 6

LANDOVER, MD – CIRCA 1976: Joe Bryant #23 of the Philadelphia 76ers shoots against the Washington Bullets during an NBA basketball game circa 1976 at the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland. Bryant played for the 76ers from 1975-79. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) /

Everyone knows of the late, great Kobe Bryant. He played his high school ball at Lower Merion before being drafted by the Charlotte Hornets and flipped to the Los Angeles Lakers in a draft day trade. Bryants spent his entire 20-year Hall of Fame career with the Lakers where he won five championships, was named to 18 All-Star games, and won an MVP award. Many people tend to forget that his father, Joe Bryant, spent four years with the 76ers organization from 1975 to 1979.

After playing at La Salle University, Bryant was drafted in the first round by the Golden State Warriors before being traded to the Sixers before his rookie season. This was a homecoming for Bryant, as La Salle is located just 15 miles from where the Spectrum, where the Sixers played at the time. He played 287 games with the club, averaging 6.4 points to go along with 3.3 rebounds per game. He was a big part of the 1977 Eastern Conference Champion team that featured Julius Erving, Doug Collins, and George McGinnis. They lost to the eventual NBA champion Portland Trail Blazers in six games.

Bryant was traded ahead of the 1979 season to the Clippers and played four more seasons in the NBA before ending his career overseas in 1992. While Joe Bryant’s NBA career may not have reached the same stratospheric heights as his son Kobe’s, his contributions to the game are undeniably part of the Bryant family and Sixers legacies.