Stacey King is gone.
The Chicago Bulls announced Sunday that King, a three-time NBA champion who became the franchise’s television voice for more than two decades, died at age 59. No cause of death was released. The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office has opened an investigation.
King’s story with Chicago started in 1989, when the Bulls drafted him sixth overall out of Oklahoma. He came off the bench as a rookie, averaging 8.9 points and 4.7 rebounds over all 82 games, fitting himself into a team that was quietly becoming one of the most dangerous rosters in basketball. Three championships followed in 1991, 1992, and 1993, alongside Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Horace Grant. King wasn’t the central figure. He never pretended to be. But he had three rings, and he earned all of them.
A second act worth remembering
When King’s playing career ended in 1996, he pivoted to broadcasting. What started as a career transition turned into a vocation. He spent more than 20 years calling Bulls games on television, earning an Emmy Award and a reputation built on genuine enthusiasm, homegrown nicknames, and the instinctive connection of a man who understood the game from the inside.
His calls had a way of sounding personal – like he actually cared how the season went, because he did. Generations of Bulls fans grew up with his voice as the soundtrack to games that mattered and games that did not.
“Loved being a Bull,” he said over the years, in interviews that rarely felt staged. His three rings and his broadcast career were evidence he meant it.
Tributes pour in across the league
Social media filled with remembrances Sunday night. Former teammates, current players, coaches, and NBA officials shared memories of a man who had given two very different versions of himself to the same city – one in a uniform, one behind a microphone – and had been fully present for both.
The Bulls have not released details about memorial services as of Sunday evening.
King’s death comes during the 2026 NBA Finals, where the New York Knicks are chasing the franchise’s first championship since 1973. Chicago’s last title came in 1998. King was part of the team that made the first three of those six rings possible, a contribution that is easy to minimize when the dynasty gets remembered mostly through Jordan’s lens.
He averaged 6.1 points and 3.4 rebounds across a seven-year career. The numbers don’t capture the era or the franchise bond. The three banners at United Center tell a more complete story.
The NBA has lost one of its most distinctive broadcast voices, and Chicago has lost one of its own.
