KOBE,LEBRON & CARMELO COVER SLAM MAGAZINE

Issue 120 is still on stands and the annual champs issue is coming soon, but there was no way we were going to let the basketball story of the summer go by without honoring it. And honor it we did.

I thought the best way to introduce this issue—which is on stands in NYC as we speak and should be national this weekend (note: like KICKS and PUNKS, this does NOT go to subscribers; it is a special issue)—to our online audience would be the same way I introduced it in the mag itself. Here’s my editor’s letter:

“These days, the NBA boasts players from nearly every corner of the globe (and is only too happy to, well, boast about that fact). Still, the NBA is ultimately an American game, with the games that count being played on American (and Torontan) ground, and the annual awarding of a ‘Word Championship’ to the Lakers, Spurs or whoever else always coming off as a little disingenuous. Our man David Stern knows this, which is why he is quietly exploring the feasability of launching NBA franchises across the pond. But, given the cost of oil and international drama, such expansion has got to be at least a decade or more from happening.

All this to say: when you want the world to see its best players compete in games that matter, the Olympics are where it’s at. This is surely true for all Olympic sports, but you know us: basketball is all that matters. And it is Olympic basketball that gives players—and the companies who are invested in their success—a chance to show and prove on the biggest of stages. Michael Jordan knew this in ’92. LeBron James knows this today. We at SLAM certainly know it, which is why we were so eager to devote a cover to this year’s Olympic team. We were actually planning to devote a regular SLAM cover to the players charged with bringing Olympic gold back to the States, but then Nike stepped in and offered to make our Olympic coverage so much more special by sponsoring an entire issue. The result is the very special—dare I say, unprecedented—issue you hold in your hand.

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