Basketball world mourns the death of Oklahoma All-American Stacey King

Stacey King, one of the stars of the great Oklahoma men's basketball teams of the 1980s, died on Sunday. He was 59 years old. The cause of death was not disclosed.

King played four seasons at Oklahoma from 1985-89 and ranks sixth in OU career scoring with 2,008 points and a 17.6 career scoring average and is eighth in program history with 825 rebounds.

The 6-foot-11 center/forward played on the Oklahoma team that lost to Kansas in the 1988 national championship game. The Sooners were Big Eight champions in both King's junior and senior seasons, and his senior year he was named a consensus First-Team All-American, as well as Big Eight Player of the Year. In his final two seasons at Oklahoma, the Lawton, Oklahoma, native averaged 24.0 points and 9.3 rebounds per game.

"We are heartbroken over the death of Stacey King, a true Oklahoma legend," said OU head coach Porter Moser in a statement released by the OU athletic department. "Stacey was one of the most accomplished and likeable players in OU men's basketball history, and he meant so much for our program because of his passion for the sport and the university."

King went on to a nine-year career in the NBA after leaving Oklahoma, primarily with the Chicago Bulls, who selected him with the sixth overall pick in the first round of the 1989 NBA Draft. King won three consecutive NBA titles with the Bulls playing alongside Michael Jordan.

He played four seasons and part of a fifth with Chicago and also played with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Miami Heat, Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks during his professional career. Over his nine seasons in the NBA, King averaged 6.7 points and 3.3 rebounds in 438 games.

Following his playing career in the NBA, he served as a longtime TV analyst with the Bulls.

"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," said Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf in a statement.

King was inducted into the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame in 2020.

Oklahoma will honor King throughout the coming season, according to Moser. King's No. 33 jersey number is one of five OU basketball jersey numbers that has been retired by the university and hang prominently from the rafters in the Lloyd Noble Center.

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