What should have been a joyous June for our Chicago Bulls is now mired in tragedy.
The voice of the Bulls, three-time champion big-turned-20-year commentator Stacey King, sadly passed away on June 7. He was just 59 years old.
Fittingly, a litany of Chicago Bulls and NBA legends celebrated the legacy and career of the larger-than-life personality, who has become a singular figure in the Windy City.
While the Bulls’ on-court product has been pretty lackluster since the club fired Tom Thibodeau in 2015 and then traded Jimmy Butler in 2017, King never once wavered on the call for Comcast SportsNet/NBC Sports Chicago and later CHSN. As a team, Chicago has been through some lean seasons.
But with King providing an insightful, informed, and frequently hilarious narration for the action next to first Neil Funk and more recently Adam Amin, regional Bulls broadcasts always felt like home to the legions of Chicago faithful.
This is a Bulls team that once notched six titles in eight years. Chicago has only appeared in a single playoff series across the last nine seasons! King — who at one point applied his studious court sense as a coach in the then-CBA upon retiring as a player — brought the same enthusiasm to, say, this past season’s 31-win team that Johnny “Red” Kerr brought to King’s 67-win 1991-92 Bulls squad.
To hear former All-Star Chicago power forward Horace Grant tell it, King’s congenial comportment on the horn was an extension of his personality off the floor, too.
“His personality was like, you guys can meet each other for the first time, but his personality and his listening skills [make it seem like] you guys have been friends forever. That’s the kind of person that Stacey was,” Grant explains to Bleacher Nation. “Loved him.”
Grant and King went to battle together during some pivotal Bulls seasons. Chicago general manager selected King and B.J. Armstrong in the 1989 NBA Draft — two seasons after drafting Grant and Pippen in the top 10 — and both eventually became critical role players during the Bulls’ first three-peat run, from 1991-93. King was traded away midway through 1993-94 and Grant left that next summer as a free agent, but the two remained lifelong friends.
Stacey King, Horace Grant, and Wally Lockhard III are joined by the Legends In Session crew and dancers. Courtesy of Legends in Session.Grant: Stacey King Was As Fun Off-Camera As He Was On it
Happily, both eventually found their way back to the Bulls in retirement. Grant is now a special advisor to Chicago president and COO Michael Reinsdorf. He became a big admirer of King’s work as a commentator.
Known for bestowing unforgettable nicknames upon Bulls players and a variety of great little turns of phrase, King quickly established himself as an NBA League Pass staple for casuals, in addition to burnishing a fresh, Emmy-winning legacy on the mic.
So which Stacey-ism is Grant’s favorite?
“Oh so many,” Grant says. “I think ‘Gimme the hot sauce!‘ is that phrase. Iconic, man. And his impersonation of Bill Cartwright is iconic also.”
Prior to his death, King stopped by Grant’s brand-new interview series on Urban Grind TV, Legends in Session, for a special induction into the program’s “Hall of Legends,” celebrating luminary sports figures in basketball and (occasionally) beyond.
For the first season of the show, Grant will showcase conversations with Bulls greats like Hall of Fame former head coach Phil Jackson, plus Pippen, Cartwright, Toni Kukoc, and Charles Oakley. Grant also chats with other leading lights in the NBA and the general sports world, including Horace’s twin brother (and King’s former Oklahoma Sooners teammate) Harvey, Vernon Maxwell, and Robert Horry.
Grant reveals to Bleacher Nation that production on the show’s inaugural season has wrapped.
“I just finished the first season, and it’s going to be so exciting. I’m so glad that my crew and I gave him his flowers before he passed,” Grant reflects. “But on that set, we were doing some photos. We couldn’t get the photos done, appropriately, because Stacey was talking about the times that we were on the bus and playing and he was talking about our friend Bill Cartwright’s hairline or his clothing. I was cramping up in my stomach, man, because he was saying a whole bunch of stuff! So those are the types of moments that I’m truly going to miss of my friend and my brother Stacey.”
So will the rest of us. RIP Stacey King.
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‘I’m Going to Truly, Truly Miss My Friend:’ Horace Grant Remembers Bulls Comrade Stacey KingHence then, the article about what was horace grant s favorite stacey king catchphrase plus more memories was published today ( ) and is available on Bleacher Nation ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
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