Former Chicago Bulls Center Passes Away at 43 Years Old

Michael Sweetney, a center and power forward who played four seasons in the NBA for the Chicago Bulls and New York Knicks, passed away this week.

National reports say Sweetney died at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center in New Jersey on Wednesday, with no cause of death given. He was 43.

“Our Bulls family extends our heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of former Bull Michael Sweetney, who has passed away at 43,” the team posted on X.

Sweetney came to Chicago in the Eddy Curry trade before the 2005-06 season. His run with the Bulls was short, but his first campaign on the team was the most productive season of his NBA career: 44 starts, 8.1 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. His peak Chicago nights included 24 points and 14 boards vs. the Portland Trail Blazers, plus a pair of double-doubles against the Los Angeles Lakers. In the playoffs, he started all six games and averaged 7.2 points per game in the Bulls’ first round series against the Miami Heat.

The 2006-07 season saw Sweetney working in a reduced role off the bench, but he did manage to get into one playoff game. The Bulls finished that year with their best mark since the Michael Jordan era, sweeping the reigning NBA champion Heat and taking the Detroit Pistons to six games.

He averaged 6.5 points and 4.5 rebounds in 233 career games between the Bulls and Knicks.

After his Bulls tenure, Sweetney played with the Boston Celtics during the summer league and attended training camps in 2009 and 2011.

Sweetney spent parts of the next 10 years playing professional basketball all over the world, from China to Uruguay to the Dominican Republic. He played the 2010 season with the Erie BayHawks, the former NBA G League affiliate of the Orlando Magic. He also made appearances in The Basketball Tournament and the Big3 league.

A Washington, D.C native, Sweetney played college ball at Georgetown University, joining the long line of skilled Hoya big men. He averaged 18.2 points and 9.2 rebounds per game over three seasons, earning two-time All-Big East honors. The Knicks drafted him ninth overall in 2003.

In his later years, Sweetney was active in the Jewish community in New York City, serving as an assistant basketball coach at Division III Yeshiva University.

In August, he was announced as the new boys varsity head coach at Golda Och Academy in West Orange, New Jersey.

Sweetney is survived by his widow, India Sweetney.