Horace Grant talks Stacey King’s Passing, Jordan-Pippen Rift, Magic and More

By Kyle Odegard

Horace Grant pauses to collect his thoughts, eyes welling as he begins to formulate the words.

Months earlier, the Chicago Bulls’ former All-Star power forward had hosted ex-teammate Stacey King for Grant’s upcoming television series Legends in Session, and now King was gone.

King wasn’t a major star during his playing days, but still contributed to the Bulls’ three championships in the early 1990s and then became a beloved announcer for the team until his untimely passing in June after a fall at his home.

King was only 59.

“That was one of the toughest things I have ever been through,” Grant told Online Casinos Canada in an exclusive interview. “Growing up in the hood, the projects, in Georgia, you go through a lot. But in terms of losing someone so close, that I had the pleasure of knowing throughout my career and after I retired, that was tough.”

While Grant is still clearly grieving, he acknowledged it was nice to have a final chat with King to remember his friend.

“One of our producers came up and said to me, ‘Horace, this is why we give people their flowers before it’s their time,’” Grant said. “That’s what the show is mainly about. Giving guys their flowers before their time, because you never know.”

“To have Stacey on there, it brought joy, brought energy. He was a comedian to his heart. Just to have him on the show was such a blessing. If anyone ever heard Stacey announce Bulls games, they knew what type of person he was.”

Grant: King’s Passing Should Remind Jordan, Pippen to Mend Fences

King’s death got Grant thinking.

He was the third cog alongside Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen during their first three titles in Chicago, and the dynamic duo would go on to win three more in the late 1990s.

But ever since The Last Dance came out in 2020 to commemorate the run, there has been a rift, as Pippen thought it portrayed Jordan more favorably than himself.

Grant still talks to Pippen regularly, and in the aftermath of losing King, he is hoping the two legendary basketball players will squash their beef and become friends again.

Jordan recently did so with Charles Barkley after a long feud.

“It was great to see MJ and Charles reconnect, because they’d been friends forever,” Grant said. “I hope and pray that the same thing happens with MJ and Pip. I talk to Scottie two or three times a week. I hope they can get this thing together. I’m 61. Pip is 60. MJ is 63. We’re in the twilights of our lives.”

Grant says the two have made their grievances known, and now it’s time to move on.

“What is beef anyway?” Grant said. “Somebody says something negative about you. You respond. And then, let it go. That’s the way I see life. If somebody says something negative that’s not true, then you respond and it’s over with. Let’s go to dinner. Let’s have a cocktail. Life is so short. If anyone looks at the situation with my friend Stacey, my brother, it should come to mind.”

Jordan and Pippen were two immensely accomplished basketball players, and Grant said the dissension is likely rooted in pride on both sides.

“To be that successful, you have to have an ego,” Grant said. “Even little old me has an ego. So you can imagine those two, what their egos are like. I think it’s more or less being appreciated on both sides, and what they brought to the table.”

Grant was asked how a rekindling of the friendship could come to fruition.

“I think it’s going to be people around Pip, people around MJ, who have to intervene and get them to sit down and hash out this, I wouldn’t even say, issue,” Grant said. “It’s just messy.”

Grant: Magic “One of Better Teams in East”

While he’s best-known for his time with the Bulls, Grant was also a major part of the Orlando Magic when they made the NBA Finals in 1994-95, knocking off Chicago in the process.

The ceiling for that group dropped quickly as Shaquille O’Neal left for the Lakers in 1996 and Penny Hardaway suffered through multiple knee injuries.

Grant played with prime Jordan and then prime Kobe Bryant, and says Hardaway was right there in terms of raw talent.

“Man, listen,” Grant said. “That young man, if he didn’t get hurt, you’re talking top-15, maybe top-10 of all-time. He was Magic Johnson in being athletic. No disrespect to the best point guard ever, but Penny, man. The IQ, the scoring, the post-up, the defense, the rebounding. You name it. There wasn’t a flaw in that man’s game.”

“I was so blessed to have played with him when he was young. Man, people just don’t know. They need to Google No. 1 in Orlando and they will see the great highlights of Penny Hardaway.”

Success has been fleeting for the Magic in the ensuing three decades, but Grant likes the makeup of the current squad and thinks it can do damage in 2026-27 if the injury bug subsides.

“I think they’re one of the better teams in the East,” Grant said. “They have Paolo (Banchero) and when they picked up (Desmond) Bane from Memphis, that was a great fit. And then the (Wagner) brothers from Germany. Wendell Carter is a major piece there. So I think the core is solidified, but I think it’s just injuries, man. Injuries on injuries.”

Grant would like to see one other major thing improve for Orlando’s core as it moves forward.

“They need to learn how to trust each other out there on the court,” Grant said. “Trust plays into everything. I always say this: When I played in Chicago, when MJ and Pip went for a steal but didn’t get it, they knew I had their back. And I felt the same when I went for a steal or something, because I knew Bill Cartwright had my back. There was a trust factor. Once they do that and stay healthy, they can be one of the top teams in the East.”

Grant: MJ the GOAT, but LeBron best “all-around player”

Grant holds Jordan’s ability in high regard, calling him the greatest of all-time, but also has huge appreciation for what LeBron James has done in his career.

James recently announced he will join the 76ers to put a bow on his storied NBA career.

“If I had to choose one, MJ would be my GOAT,” Grant said. “I played with him. I played against him. But if I had to choose an all-around player, it would be LeBron. The No. 1 scorer, the rebounding, assists. Yeah, he played a lot longer, but man, I watched that young man since he came into the league until now. Of course he’s not 24- or 25-year-old LeBron, but when he’s on your team, you’ve still got a good chance of winning that chip.”

Grant said a lot of other players can also be considered the GOAT depending on the criteria.

“What resonates as the GOAT?” Grant said. “Is it culture change? Is it rings? Is it rebounding? What is it? What are the ingredients of the GOAT? If you say rings, you’ve got to go with Bill Russell. You can say A.I. (Allen Iverson) because he changed the culture. MJ made it global. LeBron made it global. But then you need to put Magic and Bird in there, in terms of putting life back into the NBA. That GOAT thing: I can say I’ve enjoyed GOATs of their era.”

One player already threatening to join the pantheon of the league’s all-time stars is Spurs center Victor Wembenyama, who finished third in MVP voting this season at age-22 and led San Antonio to the NBA Finals.

“I don’t think that young man has a ceiling,” Grant said. “From once he got into the league until this past year, every year has been (stepping up). And he’s got that nastiness in him, too. I don’t think he cares what people think. He wants to win.”

Grant said Wembenyama’s skill-set at his height sets him apart.

“To be 7-5 and be able to bring the ball up the court, block shots, shoot 3s, rebound, intimidation, I don’t think there’s a ceiling for that young man,” Grant said. “I’m looking forward to this year to see how much he’s going to improve.”