The Chicago Bulls opened their new season with celebration. But one familiar voice was missing. Stacey King, who spent two decades giving life to Chicago basketball with his voice, died in June at 59. On opening night, play-by-play announcer Adam Amin paid tribute to his late broadcast partner.
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Amin’s words not just captured the loss he endured as a colleague. But also as someone who lost a family member.
In a tribute video aired by CHSN during the Bulls’ opener against the Toronto Raptors, Amin compared Stacey King’s voice to a mockingbird. A direct reference to Harper Lee’s classic novel, ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’. As Amin narrated in the background, the video played clips of the two sharing laughs, with King singing and bringing his trademark energy to their broadcast.
“I never wanted to get in the way of his energy or his poetry, or his song, jingle or otherwise,” Adam Amin said before delivering an ending monologue that hit straight in the heart.
“Harper Lee wrote that mockingbirds simply sing their hearts out for us, and that it was a sin to kill one. And I thought it would be a broadcast sin to silence this bird, this sui generis (one of its kind) being, this one of one. There was nobody like him doing the job. There was nobody like him in my life. A big brother, an uncle, a great friend, all in one. He knew my partner and her son.”
Amin added that Stacey King FaceTimed him from his nephew’s high school gym after recognizing the boy.
“He made me feel like family just by singing his song. Right now there is no nuance that soothes this loss. A mockingbird has died, and the song has died with it. And my heart breaks for us, for his people, for his sons. But I know exactly who he was. I know what his gift could do. And I know that we were all just a little happier, a little better off for getting to hear the song for as long as we did.”
The words resonated with Bulls fans who find it difficult to watch their favorite team without King’s voice being part of the experience. One fan wrote, “That man was a gift to us all. Adam Amin you did him right by your tribute. 1 of 1. Well said.”
Another fan shared, “I’ve lived my whole life with Stacey on the broadcast. Not hearing his voice is making me very emotional. A part of my childhood memories has left.”
Stacey King died at home on June 7, 2026, at age 59. Reports initially said he had suffered a fall; his official cause of death was later determined to be hypertensive cardiovascular disease, with obesity listed as a contributing factor.
The organization made sure his absence was felt on opening night.
Adam Amin called the first quarter alone, while King’s usual chair remained empty, marked by a crown and a vintage card. The Bulls also introduced custom microphone patches bearing King’s name, which they will wear throughout the season as a tribute.
King’s legacy extended beyond his years behind the microphone.
A former Oklahoma Sooners star and sixth overall pick in the 1989 NBA Draft, he won three championships with the Bulls during the team’s first title three-peat. His broadcasting career began in 2006, and his partnership with Adam Amin started in 2018.
Particularly, fans resonate with his famous ‘Give me the hot sauce.’
Moreover, Amin’s tribute wasn’t just an emotional piece. It let Stacey King’s own joy fill the screen one more time, reminding Chicago why his voice mattered.