Stacey King calls out Nikola Vucevic for going after LaMelo Ball
The Chicago Bulls have been up and down this season, but one thing is certain: teams continue to try to score on them late in games. last week, Giannis Antetokounmpo pulled off a windmill dunk in the final seconds when the game was already decided, and the Bulls weren’t happy about it.
Fast forward to this week, and the Bulls were in the same predicament again, but with the Charlotte Hornets. The Hornets have 13 points and the game is already decided, LaMelo Ball took the ball coast to coast and dunked it to give them 15 points to finish the game.
Stacey King says this is a bad look. Bulls need to stop this and just go to the locker room. If you don’t want guys to dunk on you late, then win the game.
— Hoop informatics (@hoopinformatics.bski.social) 2026-01-04T03:30:23.457Z
When the clock struck zero, Vucevic approached Balo and shared a few words with him. At that point, Stacey King was heard on the broadcast saying that it’s not good for the Bulls to keep going head-to-head with other teams when they’re behind.
“If you don’t want those guys doing things like that, win the game,” King said.
It’s always been an unwritten rule that teams shouldn’t give up a goal late in the game when it’s already decided, and when it actually happens, nothing good comes of it. After Antetokounmpo did it a week ago, Kobe White shared his thoughts.
“He shouldn’t have dunked the ball,” White said. “It’s disrespectful to the game. I said, ‘Bro, you’re better than that.’ The game is over. Why do you have to do that? It’s a matter of respect.”
The king is right; if you don’t want teams to do that to you, just win the game. At the same time, the feeling of respect is just holding the ball in the last moments.
2026-01-04 17:16:00
