MILWAUKEE _ Craig Sager always could brighten up an NBA game.
The TNT sideline reporter did it with his multicolored suits but also with his questions and energy while covering the game he loved.
Sager died at age 65 in Atlanta on Thursday after a two-year battle with cancer. A TNT spokesman said the cause was leukemia, according to a New York Times report.
"He was a true legend, a pioneer," Bucks coach Jason Kidd said before his team played Chicago in a TNT-televised game on Thursday night at the BMO Harris Bradley Center. "He will be dearly missed. Our prayers go out to his family.
"He was a part of the fabric of the game. He helped the coaches and he helped the players. He brought the players and coaches closer to the people watching the game."
Sager, who once wore the "Willie Wildcat" costume as the mascot at Northwestern University in the early 1970s, later wore more outlandish suits in his TNT role.
"We maybe questioned if his colors were not bright enough," Kidd said, "but I think he had fun with it.
"Him coming back for the Finals (in June) just showed how strong his will to fight was. That will carry on for a long time. It's our job to carry that fight. We've all been touched in some way with cancer."
Rachel Nichols, a former colleague, made an emotional tribute to Sager on her show "The Jump" on ESPN. She described how he underwent three bone marrow transplants and the courage he and his family showed during the fight against cancer.
"He was fearless in doing that job," ESPN reporter Brian Windhorst said on the same show. "His energy he showed at the ESPYs, what he was doing was sending a message about how you have to have the spirit to fight."
Players throughout the league tweeted their tributes to Sager. Bucks guard Jason Terry said his first 3-pointer in Thursday's game would be in Sager's honor.
Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg said he was never "good enough" to be interviewed by Sager as an NBA player but got the chance as Iowa State's coach during the NCAA Tournament.
"He was just so great for the game of basketball," Hoiberg said. "He was not afraid to ask the tough question.
"To go through three bone marrow transplants and continue to fight all the way to the end, just shows how strong Craig is. It takes a strong support system with the family. He brought a lot of awareness to cancer.
"Receiving the award at the ESPYs last year, just getting up there and talking, he inspired a lot of people that are going through the battle."
