By Stefan Djordjevic/ info@eurohoops.net
John Cox is a 36-year-old Venezuelan-American shooting guard playing his first season with Medi Bayreuth. He is also already quite well known as the cousin of the Black Mamba himself, Kobe Bryant.
Cox was born in Venezuela, but his parents are Americans. His father, John “Chubby” Cox, had a professional basketball stint in Venezuela, however, he has also played in the NBA as a member of the Washington Bullets.
Still, the Cox father and son duo is not the most famous duo in their family. John Cox’s aunt Pamela is married to Joe “Jellybean” Bryant and is the mother of Kobe Bryant.
The relationship between John and Kobe is strong as Bryant follows his cousin’s basketball ventures. He had also tweeted about him during the 2016 Olympics.
On the other side, John supports his cousin as he wears Kobe’s signature shoes.
In 2016 Cox played for Venezuela against team USA in Olympics in Rio. He finished the game with 19 points, taking 20 shots, a performance which had similarities with Kobe’s game. Unfortunately, Bryant was already retired and the two cousins didn’t get a chance to meet on the floor.
John Cox attended San Francisco College and was a member of San Francisco Dons men’s basketball team. He didn’t get drafted in the NBA, so he decided to move overseas, where he’s spent most of his career, playing in France.
He arrived in France back in 2005 and remained there for a whole decade. He played for Chalon, Le Havre, Nancy, Paris-Levallois Basket, Cholet Basket.
In 2015 he returned to Venezuela where he played two seasons for Bucaneros de La Guaira before signing with Bayreuth. In 2015 he also won the FIBA AmeriCup with Venezuela.
The 2007-2008 season was his best, since he made buckets uncontrollably, averaging 18.8 points per game while playing for Nancy.
At age 36, he is not as explosive as he used to be, but he is providing many other things for the team. He is bringing a dose of much-needed experience to Medi Bayreuth making sure that his younger teammates going in the right direction and providing a sprinkle of Mamba mentality.