Stacey King, who won three NBA titles with the Chicago Bulls and was a longtime broadcaster for the team, died on Sunday. He was 59.
No cause of death was given, with ESPN 1000 in Chicago reporting that King had “a fall at his home.”
King was a first-round draft pick, No. 6 overall, by the Bulls in 1989 out of Oklahoma. He won the first of three consecutive NBA titles with the Michael Jordan-led team in 1991.
“Stacey King was a cherished member of the Bulls family and one of the truly unique personalities in our organization’s history,” Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf said in a statement. “His connection to Chicago, the Bulls and our fans spanned more than three decades, first as a player and later as the unmistakable voice that helped bring Bulls basketball into the homes of generations of fans.”
Over eight NBA seasons, King averaged 6.4 points with 3.3 rebounds over 438 games (63 starts) from 1989-97. In addition to playing his first 4 1/2 seasons with the Bulls, King also played for the Minnesota Timberwolves, Miami Heat, Dallas Mavericks and Boston Celtics.
King joined the Bulls broadcast team in 2006 as studio analyst before becoming color commentator in 2008.
At Oklahoma, King averaged 22.3 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.6 blocked shots in the 1987-88 season when the Sooners lost to then-Big 8 rival Kansas in the national championship game. The following season, he was Big 12 Player of the Year and a consensus first-team All-American while averaging 26.0 points, 10.1 rebounds and 2.3 blocked shots.
The school retired King’s No. 33 in 2008.
