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, 65, was photographed Monday by DailyMail.com after a large bouquet of flowers was delivered to the home he shares with Kobe’s mother, Pamela.
The dad — also a former NBA star — was reportedly on the cusp of mending his years-old rift with his son when the Lakers legend died in Sunday’s devastating California chopper crash.
The star’s parents are “devastated” by the double tragedy, having lost a granddaughter, 13-year-old Gianna, alongside their 41-year-old son, neighbors told the site.
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.
He also told the newspaper that he had seen Kobe recently hug his father at a basketball camp in California.
“I just remember being with him up at his camp in Santa Barbara and seeing him hug his dad. You know how they loved each other from how they looked at each other, how they smiled,” Slappy said of the two men.
Kobe publicly fell out with his parents, Joe and Pam Bryant, in 2013 when they tried to peddle some of his memorabilia, including two high school uniforms and a pair of Los Angeles Lakers championship rings from 2000, without his knowledge.
Hattip to New York Post
