Pam Bryant Bio, Wiki

Pam Cox Bryant is the mother to Kobe Bryant, a professional basketball player who played his entire 20-season career in the National Basketball Association with the Los Angeles Lakers. He entered the NBA directly from high school and won five NBA championships.

Kobe Bryant tragically died in a helicopter accident in Calabasas, California, on January 26th, as reported by TMZ. According to ESPN reporter Ramona Shelburne, there were eight other people were traveling with the retired NBA star.

Kobe Bryants’s daughter, Gianna, John Altobelli, the head baseball coach at Orange Coast College and his daughter Alyssa were on board the Helicopter. Nobody survived in the accident.

Sheriff here says the manifest of helicopter crash that killed Kobe Bryant indicates 9 people were aboard.

— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) January 26, 2020

Pam Bryant Husband

Pam’s husband who is also Kobe Bryant’s father is Joe Bryant. Joe Bryant is a retired professional basketball player and a current coach. The two were married in 1975. Joe Bryant played college ball at La Salle where he married Pam Cox, the sister of a starting guard at Villanova. They named their first son Kobe, after the city in Japan.

Pam Bryant Family

Pam and Joe Bryant had three children together, son Kobe and daughters Sharia and Shaya. While the family was close growing up and through most of Kobe’s career, they had a huge falling out in 2013 after the family tried selling his memorabilia behind his back. Joe and Pam were not present for Kobe’s final NBA game before he retired. They were not invited.

Pam Bryant Oppessed Kobe’s Marriage

Kobe and his wife, Vanessa were very young when they first met and fell in love. The budding NBA star was 21 when he proposed to Vanessa, 18, a senior at Marina High. Pam and Joe, along with Sharia and Shaya, were not present at Kobe and Vanessa’s wedding in Dana Point, California, in 2001. According to Nicki Swift, Kobe’s mother opposed the marriage because she thought they were too young to tie the knot. However, after the couple welcomed their first child, Natalia, Kobe and his mother were able to mend their strained relationship, a reconciliation that lasted for over a decade.

Bryant’s Family Fallout

Back in 2013, the family had a huge falling out after the family tried selling $500,000 worth his memorabilia behind his back. Kobe said in an ESPN interview, “Our relationship is s***. I say [to them], ‘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***?”

After Bryant sued Goldin Auctions, the brokerage company Joe and Pam used, they came to an agreement a week before his case was set to go to trial in New Jersey.

His parents issued the following statement after trying to sell Kobe’s memorabilia: “We regret our actions and statements related to the Kobe Bryant auction memorabilia. We apologize for any misunderstanding and unintended pain we may have caused our son and appreciate the financial support that he has provided to us over the years.”

Pam & Joe Bryant did not attend Kobe’s Retirement Ceremony With The Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers retired both of Black Mamba’s career numbers, 8 and 24, in December 2017. Kobe attended with his wife Vanessa and daughters Natalia, Gianna and Bianka. However, noticeably absent were Kobe’s mother and father.

The man of the hour has arrived ? #Ko8be24 pic.twitter.com/ZavAPETeD3

— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) December 19, 2017

During Kobe’s emotional speech, he did not mention or thank either Pam or Joe Bryant. The former NBA star thanked his wife, whom he called “an inspiration,” and the Hall of Famers who came before him.