One of the best-known local NBA voices, longtime Bulls TV analyst Stacey King, has passed away.
King died Sunday at 59 years old, the team announced. No cause of death was given. The former Bulls player, who won three-straight NBA titles as part of the first Michael Jordan-led threepeat from 1991-93, had been part of Bulls broadcasts for 20 years — spending most of that time as lead analyst alongside play-by-play voice Neil Funk and later Adam Amin.
Throughout his tenure as the Bulls’ lead analyst, and perhaps especially during the team’s Derrick Rose led-resurgence of the early 2010s, King’s exuberant calls often achieved notice beyond Chicago. From his imitations of the old Redd Foxx character Fred Sanford to his “drive home safe, Chicago” at the end of Bulls victories, he was as recognizable a voice as there was in the league for both Bulls fans and League Pass subscribers.
In an interview on this site’s podcast last year, Amin was effusive in his praise of King, calling him “truly one of one” and “the full package.” Amin: “I’m fortunate that I have somebody next to me that is both a great analyst, really entertaining, really funny. He’s always had the gift of gab. That’s just how he’s been that way for the last, probably his entire life, but certainly since I’ve been familiar with his work going back to his days as a player in Oklahoma; watching interviews, he was always a charming, funny person.”
In addition to being a standout on the basketball team, King was a journalism major during his college days at Oklahoma.
King’s passing brings to mind the deaths of Bulls analysts Norm Van Lier and Johnny “Red” Kerr on the same day in 2009. Van Lier’s passing, at just 61, was unexpected. Kerr, who like King brought memorable personality to Bulls calls over a three-decade tenure, had been ill with prostate cancer. As he battled the disease, Kerr often worked alongside King in a three-man booth (with play-by-play voice Tom Dore) during his final years.
