ABC News, May 18, 2005
Joe Bryant, father of Los Angeles Lakers' guard Kobe, was named head coach of Tokyo Apache in Japan's new professional basketball league on Wednesday.
Bryant, himself a former NBA player, will coach the Tokyo-based team in the inaugural Basketball Japan League which starts in November.
The 50-year-old formerly played for the Philadelphia 76ers and also had spells in the American ABA and Italy.
The six-team Japanese league includes sides from Osaka, Saitama, Niigata, Sendai and Oita.
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Talk about using your connections! I wonder if this guy has any clue how to coach... (I know nothing about basketball, but I think he played for one year in the NBA, right?)