The Chicago Bulls family lost one of its most beloved voices on Sunday.
Former Bulls player and longtime broadcaster Stacey King died at the age of 59, the team confirmed in a statement Sunday. No cause of death was released. The basketball world reacted with the kind of widespread sorrow that gets reserved for figures who actually mattered to people, not just to the sport.
King had two careers in Chicago, and both of them left a mark.
The first one started in 1989 when the Bulls drafted him sixth overall out of Oklahoma. He played eight seasons in the NBA, including five with the Bulls, where he was a reserve big man on three championship teams (1991, 1992, 1993). He never put up huge numbers and he never wanted to. His job was to give Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Horace Grant a break for stretches, set screens, hit the boards, and not screw it up. He did that. He also went on to play for the Minnesota Timberwolves and had brief stops with the Miami Heat, Dallas Mavericks, and Boston Celtics before retiring in 1997.
The second career was the one that made him a fixture in Chicago for two decades. King joined the Bulls broadcast team in 2008 as a color commentator alongside play-by-play voice Neil Funk, then continued the role with Adam Amin and Stephen Bardo. His blunt, excitable, unapologetically over-the-top style made him one of the most distinctive voices in the league.
The catchphrases are what most fans will remember. “Give him the hot sauce.” “Too big, too strong, too fast, too good.” “He coulda dunked it but he gonna get TWO!” Generations of Bulls fans can recite those calls from memory, especially during the lean years when watching the actual basketball was not always fun but listening to King made it tolerable.
He was also willing to call out his own team when they deserved it. When Bulls fans threw stuff at Jerry Krause’s family during a halftime ceremony years ago, King unloaded on the crowd on the broadcast in real time. That kind of honesty in a team broadcaster job is rare, and Chicago respected him for it.
King had been open about his health in recent years. He had a stretch of issues that kept him off broadcasts at different points last season, though the team did not share specifics. He still tried to make it to as many games as possible and his presence on social media remained sharp and funny right up until the end.
The tributes started pouring in within minutes of the Bulls’ announcement. Barstool Sports shared what they called one of the most legendary calls of all time. Former Bulls players posted memories. Fans across multiple generations shared moments where King’s call made a Bulls highlight feel even bigger than it already was.
King also remained close with the Oklahoma program that drafted him into his NBA career. He was a Big 8 Player of the Year in 1989 and helped lead the Sooners to a Final Four appearance in 1988. The Oklahoma athletic department issued its own statement Sunday calling him one of the greatest players in school history.
The Bulls have not announced any plans yet for a tribute, but it is safe to assume his number will be honored at the United Center at some point next season. Television broadcasts of Bulls games will not be the same without him on the call. The team’s social media accounts have already been flooded with clips that hit harder now than they did when they first aired.
Three rings, 14 years on the broadcast, a generation of Chicago fans who grew up listening to him scream about dunks at the United Center. That is a basketball life that mattered.
Rest in peace, Stacey King.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
