Slam (magazine)
Slam is an American basketball magazine in circulation since 1994.
History
Slam was launched in 1994 as a basketball magazine that combined the sport with hip hop culture at a time when the genre was becoming increasingly popular. It was founded by publisher Dennis Page at Harris Publications, and he hired Cory Johnson to be the first Editor in Chief. Its first issue had a cover story on Larry Johnson of the Charlotte Hornets and a feature on University of California freshman Jason Kidd. Many of the magazine's lasting features, such as In Your Face, Slam-a-da-month, and Last Shot all began with that first issue.Slams ownership has changed several times. Peterson Publishing bought Slam in 1998. The next year, Peterson was acquired by British publisher EMAP. In 2001, EMAP sold its US division to Primedia. When Primedia left the magazine business in 2007, Source Interlink acquired a majority of the company, including Slam. In August 2017. Slam was acquired by an investment group led by Dennis Page and David Schnur. The new holding company is Slam Media Inc. based in New York City.
The magazine carries advertising for basketball related products, street-wear clothing and hip hop music, and has been credited with helping to market hip hop culture and basketball as one.
Slam has published over 200 issues in its history, and has featured the biggest names in basketball on its cover, in articles, and on its famous SLAMups posters. To date, only two female athletes has ever appeared on the Slam cover – Chamique Holdsclaw in October 1998 and Maya Moore in the September/October 2018 issue. Kobe Bryant and LeBron James have appeared on a record seventeen covers. "A Basketball On Fire" was the 1st Slam magazine cover without a player in February 2012.
The magazine is now available to international NBA fans, with special editions printed in some territories, and the addition of Slam to digital stores, such as iTunes.
Writers and editors
Editors for Slam Magazine have included:- Cory Johnson
- Russ Bengtson
- Darrylle T. Coston
- Anna Gebbie
- Tony Gervino
- Scoop Jackson
- Ben Osborne
- "Old" Dave Lewis
- Dennis Page
- Susan Price
- Khalid Saalam
- Lang Whitaker
- Ryan Jones
- Sam Rubenstein
- Ryne Nelson
- Matt Caputo
- Tzvi Twersky
- Abe Schwadron
- Adam Figman
- Tom Scharpling
- Darrylle T. Coston
- Bethlehem Shoals
- Davy Rothbart
- Zach Burgess
- Tonya Pendleton
Magazine features
- "Trash Talk": readers give their love to Slam or share some beef they had with the last magazine, and selected letters are put in this section.
- "SLAMADAMONTH": a short article describing a slam dunk accompanied by a photograph of the play. This feature usually features a dunk performed by an NBA player, but has featured college players in the past. The first SLAMADAMONTH featured Chris Webber dunking on Charles Barkley.
- "NOYZ": a series of one-line jokes commenting on recent basketball events, written anonymously. The first NOYZ column appeared in the March 1995 issue.
- "In Your Face":
- "Last Shot": a former back-page column documenting a game-winning shot during a game. This feature was discontinued after the January 2000 issue.
- "SLAM Magazine's top 75 NBA players of all time"—released in 2003.
- "SLAM Magazine Old School"—Released in 2005.
- "What's My Name?": SLAM fans make nicknames for NBA players and if they win they get a prize from the slam vault.
- "The SLAM high school diary": In 1994, SLAM began a tradition of choosing a highly talented high school basketball player to keep a monthly diary recording their accomplishments as they moved toward playing college or professional basketball. Only LeBron James and Sebastian Telfair were not in their final year of high school when they wrote the diary. The following players have been keepers of the SLAM diary:
- 1995 – Stephon Marbury and
- 1996 – Ronnie Fields
- 1997 – Edmund Saunders
- 1998 – Ray Young
- 1999 – Mike Dunleavy, Jr.
- 2000 – Andre Barrett
- 2001 – Eddy Curry
- 2002 – LeBron James
- 2003 – Sebastian Telfair
- 2004 – Marvin Williams
- 2005 – Eric Devendorf
- 2006 – Thaddeus Young
- 2007 – Kevin Love
- 2008 – Tyreke Evans
- 2009 – Xavier Henry
- 2010 – Harrison Barnes
- 2011 – Quincy Miller
- 2012 – Shabazz Muhammad
- 2013 – Andrew and Aaron Harrison
- 2014 – Tyus Jones
- 2015 – Malik Newman
- 2016 – Jayson Tatum
- 2017 – Mohamed Bamba
- 2018 – Zion Williamson
- Trash Talk: Readers' letters to the editor are posted here, with occasional comments by the editor.
- Rookie Diary – The Rookie Diary is held by a new NBA rookie yearly, as they speak about their first experiences in the league:
- 2002–03 – Drew Gooden
- 2003–04 – Carmelo Anthony
- 2004–05 – Andre Iguodala
- 2005–06 – Ike Diogu
- 2006–07 – Kyle Lowry
- 2007–08 – Joakim Noah
- 2008–09 – Eric Gordon
- 2009–10 – Jonny Flynn
- 2010–11 – DeMarcus Cousins
- 2011–12 – Derrick Williams
- 2012–13 – Bradley Beal
- 2013–14 – Victor Oladipo
- 2014–15 – Aaron Gordon
- 2015–16 – D'Angelo Russell
SLAM Magazine cover athletes
- Issue #1: Cover—Larry Johnson
- Issue #2: Cover—Shawn Kemp
- Issue# 3: Cover—Shaquille O'Neal
- Issue #4: Cover—John Starks
- Issue #5: Cover—Tim Hardaway & Latrell Sprewell
- Issue #6: Cover—Michael Jordan
- Issue #7: Cover—Grant Hill or Hakeem Olajuwon
- Issue #8: Cover—Penny Hardaway & Michael Jordan
- Issue #9: Cover—Allen Iverson or Charles O’Bannon
- Issue #10: Cover—Scottie Pippen
- Issue #11: Cover—Jerry Stackhouse or Damon Stoudamire or Magic Johnson
- Issue #12: Cover—Michael Jordan
- Issue #13: Cover—Alonzo Mourning
- Issue #14: Cover—Shawn Kemp
- Issue #15: Cover—’96–97 Rookie Class
- Issue #16: Cover—Dennis Rodman
- Issue #17: Cover—Grant Hill
- Issue #18: Cover—Allen Iverson
- Issue #19: Cover—Michael Jordan
- Issue #20: Cover—Scottie Pippen
- Issue #21: Cover—Kevin Garnett & Stephon Marbury
- Issue #22: Cover—Rafer Alston
- Issue #23: Cover—Chris Webber
- Issue #24: Cover—Kobe Bryant
- Issue #25: Cover—NJ Nets: Cassell, Gill, Kittles, Van Horn, Williams
- Issue #26: Cover—Gary Payton
- Issue #27: Cover—Michael Jordan
- Issue #28: Cover—Michael Jordan
- Issue #29: Cover—Chamique Holdsclaw
- Issue #30: Cover—Penny Hardaway
- Issue #31: Cover—Stephon Marbury
- Issue #32: Cover—Allen Iverson
- Issue #33: Cover—Michael Jordan or Reggie Miller
- Issue #34: Cover—Shaquille O'Neal
- Issue #35: Cover—Vince Carter or Paul Pierce or Jason Williams
- Issue #36: Cover—Latrell Sprewell
- Issue #37: Cover—Lamar Odom
- Issue #38: Cover—Kevin Garnett
- Issue #39: Cover—Kobe Bryant or Shareef Abdur-Rahim
- Issue #40: Cover—Chris Webber & Jason Williams
- Issue #41: Cover—Vince Carter
- Issue #42: Cover—Allen Iverson or Jason Kidd
- Issue #43: Cover—Shaquille O'Neal & Kobe Bryant
- Issue #44: Cover—Steve Francis
- Issue #45: Cover—Shaquille O'Neal
- Issue #46: Cover—Tracy McGrady
- Issue #47: Cover—Tim Duncan
- Issue #48: Cover—Stephon Marbury
- Issue #49: Cover—Rasheed Wallace or Jerry Stackhouse
- Issue #50: Cover—Michael Jordan or Michael or Michael
- Issue #51: Cover—Vince Carter
- Issue #52: Cover—Alonzo Mourning
- Issue #53: Cover—Chris Webber
- Issue #54: Cover—Shaquille O'Neal
- Issue #55: Cover—Allen Iverson
- Issue #56: Cover—Michael Jordan
- Issue #57: Cover—Los Angeles Clippers: Brand, Odom, Miles
- Issue #58: Cover—Kevin Garnett
- Issue #59: Cover—Baron Davis or Paul Pierce
- Issue #60: Cover—New Jersey Nets
- Issue #61: Cover—Dirk Nowitzki
- Issue #62: Cover—Sebastian Telfair & LeBron James
- Issue #63: Cover—Shaquille O'Neal
- Issue #64: Cover—Tracy McGrady
- Issue #65: Cover—’02-03 Rookie Class
- Issue #66: Cover—Kobe Bryant
- Issue #67: Cover—Gary Payton
- Issue #68: Cover—Allen Iverson
- Issue #69: Cover—Yao Ming & Steve Francis
- Issue #70: Cover—Jason Kidd or Chris Webber
- Issue #71: Cover—LeBron James
- Issue #72: Cover—Tim Duncan
- Issue #73: Cover—Carmelo Anthony
- Issue #74: Cover—Kobe Bryant
- Issue #75: Cover—Phoenix Suns or Detroit Pistons
- Issue #76: Cover—Jermaine O'Neal or Karl Malone
- Issue #77: Cover—Kevin Garnett or Allen Iverson or Shaquille O'Neal
- Issue #78: Cover—LeBron James
- Issue #79: Cover—Kenyon Martin
- Issue #80: Cover—Class of 2004 High School Stars
- Issue #81: Cover—Chauncey Billups
- Issue #82: Cover—Shaquille O'Neal
- Issue #83: Cover—Tracy McGrady or Steve Francis
- Issue #84: Cover—Allen Iverson
- Issue #85: Cover—Amare Stoudamire
- Issue #86: Cover—LeBron James
- Issue #87: Cover—Dwyane Wade or Ray Allen
- Issue #88: Cover—Vince Carter
- Issue #89: Cover—San Antonio Spurs or Ben Wallace
- Issue #90: Cover—Ron Artest
- Issue #91: Cover—Tim Duncan, Manu Ginóbili and Robert Horry
- Issue #92: Cover—Steve Nash
- Issue #93: Cover—LeBron James
- Issue #94: Cover—Shaquille O'Neal & Dwyane Wade
- Issue #95: Cover—Sebastian Telfair or Dwight Howard
- Issue #96: Cover—Allen Iverson
- Issue #97: Cover—Kobe Bryant
- Issue #98: Cover—Chauncey Billups or Dirk Nowitzki
- Issue #99: Cover—Greg Oden
- Issue #100: Cover—Michael Jordan
- Issue #101: Cover—Dwyane Wade
- Issue #102: Cover—Gilbert Arenas or Chris Paul
- Issue #103: Cover—Ben Wallace or Amare Stoudamire
- Issue #104: Cover—Vince Carter or Chris Bosh
- Issue #105: Cover—Carmelo Anthony
- Issue #106: Cover—LeBron James
- Issue #107: Cover—Allen Iverson
- Issue #108: Cover—Phoenix Suns
- Issue #109: Cover—Dirk Nowitzki or Shaquille O'Neal
- Issue #110: Cover—Greg Oden & Kevin Durant
- Issue #111: Cover—San Antonio Spurs
- Issue #112: Cover—OJ Mayo
- Issue #113: Cover—Kevin Garnett
- Issue #114: Cover—Kobe Bryant
- Issue #115: Cover—Carmelo Anthony & Allen Iverson
- Issue #116: Cover—Three LeBrons
- Issue #117: Cover—Michael Beasley or Eric Gordon or Derrick Rose
- Issue #118: Cover—Dwight Howard
- Issue #119: Cover—Boston Celtics
- Issue #120: Cover—Chris Paul
- Issue #121: Cover—Paul Pierce
- Issue #122: Cover—Michael Beasley, Derrick Rose, and OJ Mayo
- Issue #123: Cover—Kobe Bryant or Greg Oden or LeBron James or Dwyane Wade or Kevin Garnett
- Issue #124: Cover—Deron Williams or Chris Paul
- Issue #125: Cover—Allen Iverson
- Issue #126: Cover—Kobe Bryant
- Issue #127: Cover—Dwyane Wade
- Issue #128: Cover—John Wall/Lance Stephenson or Ricky Rubio/Brandon Jennings
- Issue #129: Cover—LeBron James vs. Kobe Bryant
- Issue #130: Cover—Michael Jordan
- Issue #131: Cover—Kobe Bryant
- Issue #132: Cover—Carmelo Anthony
- Issue #133: Cover—Shaquille O'Neal & LeBron James
- Issue #134: Cover—Dwight Howard or Kevin Garnett or Kevin Durant or The Lakers: Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum
- Issue #135: Cover—Brandon Jennings
- Issue #136: Cover—Kobe Bryant
- Issue #137: Cover—Kentucky Wildcats: John Wall, Patrick Patterson, DeMarcus Cousins, Eric Bledsoe, and Coach John Calipari
- Issue #138: Cover—Atlanta Hawks: Al Horford, Joe Johnson and Josh Smith or Oklahoma City Thunder: Jeff Green, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook
- Issue #139: Cover—Michael Jordan
- Issue #140: Cover—LeBron James or Dwyane Wade
- Issue #141: Cover—Kobe Bryant
- Issue #142: Cover—LeBron James or Dwight Howard
- Issue #143: Cover—Derrick Rose
- Issue #144: Cover—John Wall
- Issue #145: Cover—Chris Paul or Rajon Rondo
- Issue #146: Cover—Kobe Bryant
- Issue #147: Cover—Blake Griffin or Amar’e Stoudemire
- Issue #148: Cover—Miami Heat: LeBron James and Dwyane Wade or Carmelo Anthony or Derrick Rose or Los Angeles Lakers: Kobe Bryant and Lamar Odom
- Issue #149: Cover—Anthony Davis, Michael Gilchrist, and Austin Rivers
- Issue #150: Cover—Allen Iverson
- Issue #151: Cover—Dirk Nowitzki
- Issue #152: Cover—Derrick Rose
- Issue #153: Cover—North Carolina Tar Heels: Harrison Barnes, Kendall Marshall, John Henson, Tyler Zeller, and Dexter Strickland
- Issue #154: Cover—A basketball on fire
- Issue #155: Cover—Kevin Durant
- Issue #156: Cover—Blake Griffin and Chris Paul
- Issue #157: Cover—Ricky Rubio and Kevin Love or Jeremy Lin
- Issue #158: Cover—LeBron James & Dwyane Wade or Derrick Rose or Kevin Durant or Kobe Bryant
- Issue #159: Cover—LeBron James
- Issue #160: Cover—Anthony Davis
- Issue #161: Cover—LeBron James
- Issue #162: Cover—Carmelo Anthony
- Issue #163: Cover—Dwight Howard
- Issue #164: Cover—Dwyane Wade
- Issue #165: Cover—Memphis Grizzlies: Marc Gasol, Rudy Gay, Zach Randolph, Tony Allen, and Mike Conley, Jr.
- Issue #166: Cover—Blake Griffin or Russell Westbrook
- Issue #167: Cover—Jabari Parker & Andrew Wiggins
- Issue #168: Cover—LeBron James
- Issue #169: Cover—Kyrie Irving
- Issue #170: Cover—LeBron James or Kobe Bryant or Michael Jordan
- Issue #171: Cover—LeBron James
- Issue #172: Cover—Derrick Rose
- Issue #173: Cover—Stephen Curry
- Issue #174: Cover—Paul George
- Issue #175: Cover—Kobe Bryant
- Issue #176: Cover—Damian Lillard
- Issue #177: Cover—Jabari Parker or Joel Embiid
- Issue #178: Cover—Kevin Durant
- Issue #179: Cover—LeBron James
- Issue #180: Cover—Vince Carter
- Issue #181: Cover—Kawhi Leonard or Anthony Davis
- Issue #182: Cover—'14-15 Rookie Class
- Issue #183: Cover—LeBron James
- Issue #184: Cover—John Wall
- Issue #185: Cover—Kyrie Irving
- Issue #186: Cover—Stephen Curry or Damian Lillard
- Issue #187: Cover—Kentucky Wildcats Men's Basketball Team
- Issue #188: Cover—Houston Rockets: James Harden or Golden State Warriors: Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson or Atlanta Hawks: Jeff Teague
- Issue #189: Cover—Andrew Wiggins
- Issue #190: Cover—Kobe Bryant
- Issue #191: Cover—Stephen Curry
- Issue #192: Cover—LeBron James
- Issue #193: Cover—Stephen Curry
- Issue #194: Cover—James Harden
- Issue #195: Cover—DeMarcus Cousins or Kristaps Porziņģis
- Issue #196: Cover—Russell Westbrook
- Issue #197: Cover—Kawhi Leonard or Jimmy Butler
- Issue #198: Cover—Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan and Drake
- Issue #199: Cover—Ben Simmons
- Issue #200: Cover—Michael Jordan or Allen Iverson
- Issue #201: Cover—LeBron James
- Issue #202: Cover—Karl-Anthony Towns
- Issue #203: Cover—Kevin Durant & Stephen Curry
- Issue #204: Cover—Steven Adams, Russell Westbrook and Victor Oladipo
- Issue #205: Cover—Damian Lillard
- Issue #206: Cover—Kyrie Irving
- Issue #207: Cover—Joel Embiid
- Issue #208: Cover—Isaiah Thomas
- Issue #209: Cover—LeBron James or Stephen Curry
- Issue #210: Cover—Zion Williamson
- Issue #211: Cover—Lonzo, LiAngelo & LaMelo Ball or Stephen Curry & Kevin Durant
- Issue #212: Cover—Markelle Fultz, Lonzo Ball, Josh Jackson, Dennis Smith Jr., Jayson Tatum & De'Aaron Fox or Michael Porter Jr. or Marvin Bagley III
- Issue #213: Cover—Draymond Green or Devin Booker or CJ McCollum
- Issue #214: Cover—Anthony Davis & DeMarcus Cousins or Trae Young
- Issue #215: Cover—Donovan Mitchell or Klay Thompson or DeMar DeRozan
- Issue #216: Cover—Deandre Ayton or Luka Dončić or Ben Simmons
- Issue #217: Cover—Maya Moore or Cole Anthony or Andre Iguodala, Klay Thompson, Stephen Curry, Draymond Green & Kevin Durant
- Issue #218: Cover—Jayson Tatum or RJ Barrett
- Issue #219: Cover—Stephen Curry
- Issue #220: Cover—LeBron James or Kemba Walker
- Issue #221: Cover—Dwyane Wade or D'Angelo Russell or Kobe Bryant
- Issue #222: Cover—Zion Williamson or Ja Morant or LaMelo Ball
- Issue #223: Cover: Kawhi Leonard or A’Ja Wilson & Liz Cambage or Lou Williams
- Issue #224: Cover: Zion Williamson, Jrue Holiday, Brandon Ingram & Lonzo Ball or Karl-Anthony Towns, Devin Booker & D'Angelo Russell
- Issue #225: Cover: Bam Adebayo, Jimmy Butler & Tyler Herro or Trae Young or Jalen Green, Sharife Cooper & Josh Christopher
- Issue #226: Cover: Paige Bueckers or Lou Williams, Montrezl Harrell & Patrick Beverley or Jayson Tatum, Kemba Walker, Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown & Gordon Hayward
Most cover appearances
- LeBron James
- Kobe Bryant
- Allen Iverson
- Michael Jordan
- Shaquille O'Neal
Most NBA team cover appearance
- Los Angeles Lakers
- Chicago Bulls
- Miami Heat
- Cleveland Cavaliers
- Golden State Warriors
- Philadelphia 76ers
Global editions
- SLAM China
- SLAM Magazine Philippines