Over three decades, we’ve covered many amazing basketball figures, but some stand out not just for their on-court skills (although those are always relevant), but also for how they impacted and continue to impact basketball culture, and thus SLAM. At the same time, SLAM has changed the lives of these players in various ways, and we have documented their careers with classic covers, legendary photos, great stories, engaging videos, and more.
We compiled a group of individuals who are of special significance to SLAM and our audience (programming notes: 30 entries, not 30 people total).read Full list here and order a copy of SLAM 248, where this list was originally published, here.
Where to start?it is he. Sorry, hey. What else hasn’t been written or said? Anything else to say or write? There is a goat and there is a God. What would you write about someone who occupies both? God, are you here?it’s me, michael. Not Margaret. your partner. Your Pippen. The one you made in your own image, like another of your sons.
Over the course of his career and the existence of this magazine, he became a greater person than anyone else (including himself), despite how it was presented in the magazine. Air——It was expected. At the time, Ali and Babe Ruth were mysterious and mysterious rulers. Jordan’s ascent above them takes him into a God-space that only God can explain.
Jordan. Yam. brand. logo. symbol. Purpose. significance. exist. He was standing on it. One country. at his pace. Under his influence. Except God. Caught in awe of “ah”. There is a spiritual connection to what he does, fans pray for him to be like him; defenders just pray. Moving basketball from a game into what was once the domain of religion and the NFL. Get your feet closer to heaven. He got up. We stood up.
“Is this the end? Only God knows.”
Double use of the word “God”. For him and him. shared. Black background, black thirteen, black cat. This is the magnum opus of covers in the history of magazine covers.Even Alex Wong’s doctrinal testament cover story (a book about classic magazine covers) sleep on it. Better than “A Star Is Born” and “Michael, Wrap Up!” 》Deeper.Go deeper than “why”
Above him: “The only Jordan story that matters.” It’s like we’re going to write something biblical. Jordan 6:23-45. As a magazine, we have come to believe the outside hype that we are a “basketball bible.” Twenty-seven questions are deep. Readers repeat the words of our articles and stories back to us like hymns. admirer. We call it the SLAM Dome, but it feels more like a temple, like our own feels. It’s like we’re serving a greater purpose. Are we wrong? The only reason Jordan’s story matters is because we’re the only basketball publication that speaks his language. To his people. We are one. Can’t tell us anything.
As the great Amiri Baraka said: Wise, why, Y? A wise man said in 1988: “Once I get the ball, you’re at my mercy.” Damn if he wasn’t a prophet and profited from it. This statement rings true as gospel. Every note was written by Shirley Caesar and TD Jakes. Every move Elgin Baylor makes, every move Julius Erving makes. Every decision the company makes is Bob Johnson’s and Oprah’s. Every approval is Deloris’s. He went from entertainer to empire. All the while, we have faithfully focused on the fact that “In God We Trust” is printed on every dollar bill printed in this country.
Thirteen covers.
Thirteen million stories. As you can tell from 30 years of writing about Jordan, he’s the hardest person to write about (with the possible exceptions of Nelson Mandela and Kanye West, for two completely different reasons). He always blesses us with access, even when he isolates himself from other media (without Ahmed, no doubt). Just enough time to build, maintain, and sustain a relationship with him. He never did a B.Russ attack on us or pushed us away or away. Always making sure we are part of His congregation.
Somehow, Judy Bloom knew just what to say for Margaret.if he had Esther At that time, Jordan couldn’t speak for Mike. Honestly, none of us can do it.But that’s what we try to do in SLAM: speak for Mike was talking about him. The way he spoke removed the corporate aura and color-blind force field he had built to gain recognition and advance like no other athlete in America. He doesn’t perform enough, and he doesn’t do enough endorsements. Neither are the shoes, style, personality and charm. “Like Mike” has limitations, but it works for them. “Mike is Ours” is for us.
Every time he appears or his name is mentioned in these pages, that sense of belonging to basketball and black culture, SLAM rather than basketball culture sports illustrated– This is what we try to preach. Our sermons not only tell his story, they spread our own. How he represents everything we try to do and everything we strive to hold on to. Still, since all gods work in mysterious and extremely impenetrable ways, Michael Jordan was never truly close.
Exactly the way I wanted it.
Photo via Getty Images. Portrait of Atiba Jefferson.