Joe “Jellybean” Bryant, a Philadelphia basketball hero who died Monday at the age of 69, played eight seasons in the NBA and is best known as the father of the late basketball great Kobe Bryant.

“Kobe: The Making of a Legend,” a new three-part docuseries from the CNN Originals department, is not hagiography. It is a clear-eyed look at Kobe Bryant the basketball player driven by ...