To honor the freshly minted MVP and his magical title run, we’ve put the irrepressible offensive force front and center on SLAM’s annual champs issue – cop it at the SLAM Store today.

While the significance of Gilgeous-Alexander’s season from an individual standpoint (he’s the first player to claim MVP, Finals MVP, Conference Finals MVP and the scoring title in the same season) is no secret, credit belongs equally to the historically dominant team behind him.

The 2024-25 Oklahoma City Thunder where a stubbornly merciless defensive juggernaut that moonlit as a Top 3 offense, an unrelenting swarm of switchable length and suffocating grit that fed on the souls of opposing offenses when not racking up a 119.2 offensive rating of their own.

Now they’re NBA champions with the youngest NBA Finals squad in nearly 50 years and fascinatingly deep war chest of draft capital that could keep them in position to be back here year in and year out.

But this isn’t about Oklahoma City’s hypothetical stranglehold on the future, this is about the very tangible, confetti-filled present.

Celebrate the moment with all-new champs cover merchandise, the yearly tradition print magazine and special serial-numbered versions of the mag at the SLAM Store while supplies last.

View the Oklahoma City Thunder Champs Issue Collection now.

The post Big Rings: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Graces Champs Issue appeared first on SLAM.

“I’m like a new mother, just trying to figure out life,” Collier says, thinking back to her mindset on that day. “I feel way more sure in myself and like motherhood [now],” she says. “I’m back to playing, so that feels really good. Being around my teammates again. I just feel way more grounded in my life. That time was so uncertain. Everything was brand new.”

Today, on set with Collier—better known in these parts as Queen Phee—you can see a change. She’s now a two-time Olympic Gold medalist, a WNBA finalist, the co-founder of Unrivaled, the unmistakable leader of her team and now a captain for the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game. As we went to press, Collier was averaging a League-leading 24.5 ppg along with 8.4 rpg and 3.8 apg for the League-leading Lynx. 

Three years have flown by, but one thing remains the same: Collier is still a superwoman.

SLAM: You were the first Western Conference Player of the Month this season. What has changed for you from last year to this year?

NAPHEESA COLLIER: You know, last year felt like it was a happy accident. Every year you try your best, of course, but we happened to have the best team chemistry-wise and then we also happened to be really good basketball players. And to have both of those things—it sounds small, but it’s really rare when you love all of your teammates and you guys are good at basketball at the same time. So we kind of fell into that last year. And so now we know what it can be. I think just making sure that we don’t lose that opportunity. This year, that’s what it feels like—we want to make the best of it and make the most of this year.

SLAM: You’ve played under Coach Cheryl Reeve your whole professional career. What is it about her coaching style that has pushed you to grow?

NC: I think Cheryl does a really great job of putting people in places to be successful. She brings out the best in you as a player, and she knows where you’re going to fit well into the team and how to get that out of you. So she’s really taught me, like, how to take advantage of the things you’re really good at, and obviously work at the things you need to. She kind of makes you look at the game a little bit more technically, and I think that makes you a better player.

SLAM: There are so many great former Lynx players. Which veterans have had the biggest impact on you?

NC: That’s so hard because we have two [Rebekkah Brunson and Lindsay Whalen] on the coaching staff. But I mean, Mama Syl [Sylvia Fowles] is definitely one of my favorites. I played with her for four years. She’s just, like, the best person you ever want to meet. So I have to say she’s definitely one of my favorites.

SLAM: Can you give us a story during the time you played together?

NC: Syl was the first person that welcomed me when I came to the Lynx, the very first day of training camp, which—she’s, like, a Hall of Fame player, MVP, Defensive Player of the Year. She’s like, What’s up baby? If you ever need anything, you come to me, and she just, like, got me in a huge bear hug. I was squished on her. And that’s just who she is. So that was awesome to have her as my vet coming into the League, and now still she texts me after every game day. You know, Good job, or Good luck, or whatever it is. She’s awesome.

SLAM: You’re in this period of your career where you’re not yet a vet…

NC: Thank you for saying that.

SLAM: Over the last few years, you’ve seen the League grow, but you’ve also grown yourself as a player. How has that transition been?

NC: Yeah, I think it’s just more responsibility for the younger people on your team. I talked earlier about how Syl made me feel as a rookie, so inviting. And now it’s my job to do that for the younger people. You see what that responsibility is. This is my seventh season. I still feel young on the inside, but now I have to realize that it’s my job to take care of the younger ones. So having that transition was a little bit harder a couple years ago when it started.

SLAM: Looking back, can you think of a moment in your career that felt small at the time but ended up changing everything?

NC: Getting drafted to Minnesota, because you have no control over where you get drafted. And you always think, Wherever I go, you’re gonna make the best of it. But I’m so lucky to have gotten drafted here, and it’s changed the trajectory of my entire career. So it might have seemed small at the time—like, obviously not small in the sense that you’re getting drafted and it’s so exciting, but you have no control and you’re gonna go wherever you go. You have to go there. But I’m so lucky that it happened that way. And when I got drafted here, that definitely changed my life. 

SLAM: If we were to take all the titles and accolades away, how would you describe yourself at your core?

NC: I feel like mother is a huge one—mother and wife. I am so family centered. I take a lot of pride in those areas. I’m a family person. At my core, I love just decompressing, being around my family. I would much rather have a night and play games with my family than be out anywhere else. 

SLAM: What does a perfect off-day look like?

NC: A perfect off-day for me—it depends on if it’s a weekend or a school day, or Mila, if it’s a school day, you know, she’s at school for a little bit so I get some time to relax. I’ll probably—this is going to sound boring—but get errands done. Getting that done for me is fun now, so I don’t know, buying stuff for my house, or taking a nap is awesome, binging some shows, just doing, like, lazy stuff is the perfect day.

SLAM: What drives you now that maybe didn’t drive you early on in your career? 

NC: Definitely my family, my daughter. It just puts so many things into perspective. Like I said before, basketball has never been the most important thing in my life, but it was the biggest thing for a really long time. And so now there are just so many more things that are so much more important to me. And it really grounds you, it makes you see that it’s not so important. Like, we’re playing a game at the end of the day, and playing the game is really important, but my family is the number one always. So whether I have a good day or a bad day, Mila at the end of the day, she’s like, “Mama!” [and] runs into your arms. It just makes everything better. So my why has definitely changed in that way.

SLAM: How do you manage the chaos of everything that the season brings? 

NC: I don’t feel like I take work home with me. I’ve never been one that was obsessed with basketball. I really like to do other things in my life. And so definitely, I love napping. I have always loved napping. So napping is number one when I have time, but, also, like starting shows or watching movies, doing things away from basketball, really kind of fills my cup back up so I can give my all when I am playing.

SLAM: You won your second Olympic God medal last summer with Team USA. Does it feel like the Olympics were just yesterday or actually almost a year ago?

NC: Honestly, both. Because when I think about it, that it’s been almost a year, it’s crazy—so much has happened in between then [and now]. Also, it’s so vivid in my mind that it feels like it could be yesterday. But then I think, after that we went to the WNBA Finals, we launched Unrivaled—I’ve done all these things since then. So it’s kind of like that at the same time. It feels far away and like it just happened.

SLAM: The landscape of women’s basketball has been constantly growing and evolving. When you think back to your rookie season, did you ever imagine this would be the reality?

NC: No, honestly. I mean, it’s crazy, because usually change happens so slowly, you can’t really track it. Like, it happens little by little, and all of a sudden you look at where you are and it’s different. This change has happened so fast. You can track year by year how different it is. So it’s amazing to be a part of. I didn’t know if this would happen [during] my career, so to see it happen so quickly, it’s so fun to be a part of.

SLAM: Your involvement in the growth has not gone unnoticed, with the creation of a new community in Unrivaled. As a player, trailblazer and leader within the league, how would you describe this time in women’s basketball?

NC: I think it’s just like such a time of empowerment, honestly, like we hold the most cards we’ve ever held, the most power that we’ve ever held as women athletes. Just the way that people view women’s sports, the accessibility to us is more than it’s ever been, the availability, the way that you’re able to see us on TV more than ever. Like, we still want to make a lot of changes in that area, but it’s better than it’s ever been, and you can see the growth that’s happening because of that. And so, yeah, I just feel like we’re in a time where you can see the cards, like, changing hands almost, or the power the players clearly have the most power. And it’s obviously, as a player, a really fun time to be a part of women’s sports.

SLAM: Building the League one brick at a time, you’ve always stressed the importance of the W being a space to play and to invest. Now seeing the business side, what are some lessons you’ve picked up? 

NC: I think you see what happens when you invest in women’s sports—like, when you pay the players accordingly, when you give them a chance to be owners in a league. I think it’s incredible. Just the buy-in that you get from the players, how well it’s received by the fans. You also get a little bit where the League side comes from. Obviously as players, we want to ask for the most amount of money. And you see the business side where you have X expenses. What I do think is there are areas where we could push the boundaries some more.

SLAM: If someone 10 years from now says, “Napheesa changed the League,” what do you hope they mean?

NC: I hope by “change the league” they mean definitely through Unrivaled. I hope Unrivaled is thriving in that way, and because of that, it’s pushed the envelope in all of women’s sports [and] we’re changing what it means to pay and treat women’s athletes. So I hope that we are trailblazers in that way—that is the goal of what Unrivaled is. 

There’s still a lot I want to accomplish as a player, too. So I hope I change the League in that way. I want to win championships, I want to win different things, so in both of those areas, I hope I leave a mark.

Portraits by Matthew Coughlin.

The post Minnesota Lynx Superstar Napheesa Collier on Leading the Lynx to the Top of the League and Evolution of the Women’s Game appeared first on SLAM.

“I mean, if we’re gonna play, why not be as competitive as you can and go as hard as you can? Because if you’re not going hard, to me, it’s not fun. It’s not how the game’s supposed to be played,” she says.

That’s been the mantra the 6-2 wing has played under for her entire hoops career. Pull up the tape and you’ll see.

On the offensive end, Knox gets buckets from all levels, scoring in the post and occasionally letting one fly from deep. Defensively, she locks down opponents on the interior, blocking shots like A’ja Wilson—the player she molds her game after.

But most notable on the tape is Knox’s hustle. She makes timely cuts, sets brick-wall screens and comes down with every 50/50 ball. “Even if other things, like points, aren’t showing, I was taught that other things matter, like rebounding, 50/50 balls, playing defense—and those can really determine the game at the end of the day,” she says. “Just trying to focus on what I’m good at, and I’m pretty athletic, so I think that helps a lot and brings a lot to my game.”

Knox always had athletic talent, originally aspiring to play in the NFL. Once she moved on from that dream, she switched to basketball. With the help of her father, she started seriously working at the game. After hooping in Nevada, Knox transferred to Etiwanda High School in California to better prepare for college and gain higher levels of exposure.

She dealt with nagging back injuries, which sidelined her for her sophomore season, leading to a lengthy rehabilitation process. Throughout that journey, she received vital support from her family and used her goal of playing college hoops to motivate herself to recover. Even from the bench, Knox still improved her game in different areas.

“I think it helped me as well in an IQ way, just learning the floor from a different angle, from a different perspective, and just kind of seeing things that I wouldn’t see if I was playing,” she says.

When she returned to the court, the accolades began piling up.

Playing alongside guard Puff Morris, Knox averaged 17.2 points and 11.9 rebounds per game in her junior season, leading the Eagles to a CIF Open Division state championship. During her senior season, Knox averaged another double-double and was stuffing around four shots a game. She was named a McDonald’s All-American and played in the Nike Hoop Summit.

As if scouts weren’t already turning their heads after the showcases, her final playoff push cemented her status as a top player in the nation.

Knox closed out her high school career in a league of her own, winning her second CIF Open Division state championship in a row.

It’s easy to see why Knox received over 40 DI offers during her recruitment. Powerhouse programs like USC, Texas and Tennessee offered her, but she eventually committed to LSU in November. “I felt like their program in general, their style of play, matches really well with how I want to be able to play and develop along the years,” Knox says. “The culture had a lot to do with my decision as well, just the family welcoming, comfortable culture, just knowing that I’ll be taken care of.”

But more importantly, coach Kim Mulkey’s development program factored into her decision.  The four-time champion’s pipeline goes far. Brittney Griner. NaLyssa Smith. Angel Reese. The talent speaks for itself. Now, Knox is in a prime position to become Mulkey’s next great wing.

Alongside fellow five-star recruits ZaKiyah Johnson and Divine Bourrage, Knox headlines LSU’s No. 2 ranked recruiting class (according to 247sports) for the 2025-26 season.

Her goal for the upcoming season is simple, and one that will have Tiger Nation excited for what’s to come. Knox said she wants to bring home hardware and hang another championship banner in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. “My goal is to eventually become a starter during my freshman year,” she says. “I want to be on the first All-Conference team for the SEC and just [win] as many freshman accolades as I can, just so people know who I am and that I can prove myself.”

Portraits by Sam Muller.

The post Grace Knox, the No. 7-Ranked Player in the Class of 2025, is Poised to Make a Whole Lot of Noise at LSU appeared first on SLAM.

Sure, every prospect who’s reached this point has had to sacrifice something to get here. But Egor’s sacrifice was just…different. Not in the abstract sense, but in the deeply personal kind—the kind that asks a teenager to leave home at 15, cross continents, learn two new languages and carry the weight of not just his own ambition, but his family’s dreams. That kind of sacrifice.

We’re a few days out from the NBA draft, and Egor is on the cusp of hearing his name called, walking across the stage and shaking Adam Silver’s hand. The 19-year-old, 6-9 point guard—yes, point guard—has the vision of a veteran optometrist and the feel for the game of a seasoned pro. But none of that means much unless you understand what it took to get here.

You have to start in Russia.

Egor was born into basketball. His father had a long professional career and represented Russia on the national team. And his mother, who played until she was 18, was the first person to put the battery in his back.

“For me, it was just like, Well, that’s fun, because all my family was doing it,” Demin tells SLAM. “But then I had the moment where I heard my mom saying, Hey, if you really like it, then respect it. Put effort in this. And if you really want to play basketball, then try to be the best in it. And this is the moment when I kind of started to take it serious.”

But while kids stateside grow up with the NBA stitched into their imagination, Egor grew up a world away, where that dream felt distant, if not impossible.

“Growing up in Russia, it was always a dream, and it was always in my head,” he recalls. “But it always felt unreal, because it’s really far, and not many Russian players were in the NBA. It was always a feeling of, Well, how’s it even gonna happen?”

So rather than chase a dream that felt so out of reach, he focused on improvement. Relentlessly. By 15, it became clear he wasn’t just another tall kid with a nice handle. His gifts were unordinary for a kid his age, a kid his size. The way he processed the game. The way he saw space. The purpose he played with.

And with that clarity came a new choice: stay in Russia and hit the ceiling or leave everything behind in pursuit of something greater.

Egor moved to Spain to join Real Madrid’s famed youth system. His parents stayed behind.

Imagine that. You’re a teenager. You live in a new country. You barely speak the language. Your parents—your comfort, your counsel—are more than four thousand miles away.

“It was really hard to move to a different country and spend three years in Spain, really far away from my family and they couldn’t really come visit me. This was the hardest stage of my path,” he says. “When something was frustrating, or if I was sad, I couldn’t just call my parents, because they’d just freak out. So I’m thinking about how I could take care of my mental health, but I also gotta take care of my parents’ mental health.”

But he did it. And in doing so, he learned what it meant to be a pro. Soon enough, the dream no longer felt far-fetched. It felt tangible. And more than that, it felt earned. Now, it was time to take it to yet another level.

Egor could’ve taken the traditional NCAA route. Blue bloods lined up. He fielded offers from the likes of Duke, UConn and more. But like he’s done his entire basketball life, he took the path less traveled. He committed to Coach Kevin Young and Brigham Young University, becoming the Cougars’ then highest-rated recruit in program history.

Some asked, why BYU? The answer was simple: NBA pedigree.

“Who can prepare me better than an NBA coach?” Egor says. “Besides [Young], they had an NBA strength and conditioning coach. They had a nutritionist from the NBA. We had a mental coach from the NBA. Everybody’s like, Provo, Utah, is so boring. I’m like, You play basketball there, man!”

In Provo, he was everywhere. Guarding multiple positions. Running the break. Dishing with touch. Setting screens. Reading rotations. He became BYU’s connective tissue. And through it all, his game spoke louder than he did.

He sees the pass before you see the lane. He anticipates plays before they happen. His frame—long and fluid—lets him make plays few guards can. His basketball IQ exceeds his age, and his character might rate even higher than his game. That might be the most impressive part.

This isn’t a kid who’s been handed anything. He doesn’t see himself as a final product. He sees himself as a piece that can fit in any puzzle. A weapon that can be sharpened. A player who can make an impact now while evolving into something even greater.

His potential is untapped, but he’s eager to make an instant contribution to any organization that takes a bet on him. As for what that contribution may be? He doesn’t care.

“I just want to be helpful. Whatever it takes,” he says. “I want to bring my versatility to any team that takes me, and that’s why I believe I can be a good fit for any team.

“I’m not just a point guard, I’m a playmaker,” Egor continues. “I told every team I was meeting with [during the pre-draft process], Hey, I can be whatever you want me to be. I want to learn.”

Egor envisions himself being one of the strongest, most complete guards in the League someday. He envisions himself being one of the best defenders in the League. He wants to dominate in every aspect of the game. And he’s building the foundation brick by brick.

“I’m not running away from anything. I’m not trying to hide my weaknesses. I know it’s going to be hard anywhere I go,” he says. “I’m ready for the worst, but I’m expecting the best.”

His voice never wavers. You can tell he’s said this to himself in the mirror. During tough nights in Spain. During quiet days in Utah. During the moments no one sees. He isn’t playing for applause. He’s playing for meaning.

Every conversation with Egor eventually comes back to his family. His father, whose dreams stopped short. His mother, who first planted the seed of seriousness. The weight of their faith propels him to stay the course.

“I just talked to my dad a couple of days ago, and he was talking about how crazy life is,” Egor shares, “for bringing his kid dream to life through his kid.

“For me, it’s hard to really understand how big it is for him, because I don’t have kids yet. But I see myself in the future as a really proud father. My parents were living this whole process through me, and it was probably even harder for them than it was for me.”

The draft is days away. There will be cameras. A fresh suit. Green room nerves. And millions of new eyeballs on him. But Egor will walk in with the same mindset that took him across an ocean: gratitude.

“I have a lot of good people surrounding me. The opportunities that I’m getting are a blessing. It’s nothing but gratitude from my part,” he says. “Everything around me is taken care of, thanks to all these people around me. Now I just have to grind. I just gotta give my best to the game.”

There’s something riveting about the long road. The scenic route. The inconvenient path. It reveals more. Demands more. Shapes more.

Egor didn’t come up through viral mixtapes. He wasn’t raised in the AAU circuit. His journey—from Russia to Spain to Utah to the NBA—is the epitome of a tireless pursuit of excellence. And when his name is called on draft night, he won’t act surprised. He won’t act entitled. He’ll simply get ready.

To train. To adapt. To lead. To prove, over and over, that he belongs. He’s not a dreamer anymore. He’s the dream realized.

Photos via Getty Images.

The post BYU’s Egor Demin Breaks Down His Journey From Russia to the NBA appeared first on SLAM.

It’s a fitting representation of the game and the opening line of the new book Courtside Candy.

Everybody remembers their first time watching basketball. The satisfaction of swishing a jumper or using creativity to get to the rack. In a new book, former SLAM Editor-in-Chief Ben Osborne explores the impact of the game beyond these core moments.

In collaboration with German independent publishing house gestalten, Courtside Candy explores how the game has transcended beyond the court—how it’s created new fashion, art and a subculture that brings all hoop fans together.

“The photos are spectacular. It’s basically a coffee table book that anyone who appreciates basketball culture will love,” Osborne says.

There are five sections in the book. An introduction about basketball’s impact beyond the court and a personal tribute to Stephon Marbury, a player whom Osborne believes embodies the book’s message. Displays of basketball fashion trends, the game’s global reach, artistic interpretations and the variety of courts found worldwide fill the pages.

Nearly 40 artists, photographers and fashion designers are featured, with each page draped in a myriad of colorful images and short essays that tell the unique backstories of each work.

“I’m not sure a book has been presented in this manner that kind of tries to touch all the different things that basketball has influenced,” Osborne says. “I think it’s really like a love letter to the game.”

Courtside Candy is out July 1.

Photos courtesy of Wenpeng Lu, Walter Looss Jr., Maddy Talias, An Rong Xu and Jorge Espinoza.

The post Former SLAM Editor-in-Chief Ben Osborne Showcases the Game’s Global Impact in New Photo Book Courtside Candy  appeared first on SLAM.

Next thing he knew, Jazz forward Taylor Hendricks was being stretchered off the court to the back of American Airlines Center in Dallas. The injury, which he now describes as a “freak accident,” had occurred during a regular-season matchup between the Jazz and the Mavericks as Hendricks, who was running down the court, seemingly slipped. After athletic trainers rushed over to pop his dislocated ankle back in place, Hendricks thought to himself, OK, I’m probably good. I’ll probably be out for a few weeks. I’m probably straight. But later, X-rays would reveal that his season was over before it had ever really started. Three games in, he was ruled out indefinitely with a fractured fibula and a dislocated ankle on his right leg.

“I was like, bro, there’s no way this is happening to me,” Hendricks tells us in late April, six months after the injury went down in October. “You know, you would see it online happen to other players, like crazy injuries, but for it to actually happen to you, it’s crazy.”

Hendricks, whose family was watching the game live on television, remembers his phone immediately blowing up with calls from his mom, Danielle, and his siblings. “They were really distraught,” he remembers. “I was just trying to keep a calm voice, pretty much tell them everything is straight, I’m good…[But] inside my mind, I’m thinking about 100 different things.”

The reality of everything that had happened didn’t really hit him until he got back to Salt Lake City and was laying in his bed with his foot elevated. “That’s probably when it really hit me,” he says. “Like, Wow, I’m really hurt. I can’t do nothing. My season’s over.”

But instead of letting the disappointment consume him, Taylor faced the injury head-on. The journey would go on to shape his character—not just as a hooper, but as a person determined to bounce back.

Hendricks knew he didn’t want to let the injury define him, but in those early months, he also realized that he had a ways to go before even thinking about returning to the court. After undergoing surgery, Hendricks focused on getting stronger and “building up the bricks,” as he puts it. Learning how to rely on others for help, though, was one of the biggest learning curves for him throughout the process.

“I’m the type of person that likes to do things, if I can, by myself. I try not to ask for help unless I really, really need it,” Hendricks says. “So to be in a position like that where you can’t really do anything or you can’t do a lot of things yourself, it was really frustrating.”

With the help of his support system, which includes Danielle, who even moved to SLC to support him post-op, teammates like Collin Sexton and the Utah coaching staff, Hendricks has gone from taking things day by day to almost a full recovery going into the summer. From starting to walk without crutches to without a boot and scooter entirely. Throughout the process, he’s even picked up new approaches to taking care of his body, including icing and wearing barefoot shoes, which help with his strength and mobility. “I really felt myself getting better every week, so that was kind of the motivation, the driving point,” Taylor says.

If the healing process sounds quick, it’s because it was. Taylor’s twin brother, Tyler, also shared what it was like watching Taylor go through this process from the outside. “His healing process was pretty quick honestly. I felt like he healed pretty well. He took it very well, and he did all the right things to get better,” Tyler said. “He wasn’t forcing it to get better. He was just taking his time and doing all the stuff he had to do. So we’re happy to see him out there.”

Now on the other side of his setback, Taylor is focused, driven and ready to elevate his game using everything he’s learned during the recovery process.

“The way this season went, I’m going to keep that in mind,” he says. “Anytime it gets hard, just think about where you were a year ago. You weren’t able to play, you weren’t even able to walk. So I feel like things like that will definitely help me push through. Be grateful and have gratitude for where I am—or where I will be.”

Photos courtesy of Taylor Hendricks.

The post After Season-Ending Injury Utah’s Taylor Hendricks Details His Journey to Recovery appeared first on SLAM.

On an overcast day in mid-April, Cloud was welcomed to the New York Liberty with a seafoam carpet roll out. “WELCOME TO BROOKLYN” signage filled nearly every LED screen in and around the arena, from the marquee outside to the video board in the team’s locker room, where her Rebel Edition threads were already set up. Coaches, front office staff, the PR department and the social media team huddled around the organization’s star offseason pick-up, capturing every second of her first day. You couldn’t get Cloud to stop smiling if you tried. And after an offseason filled with uncertainty, there’s a genuine joy behind her grin. She’s back on Cloud 9.

“I just kind of thought that I was coming in and just getting my locker. I’ve never had a big kind of reveal like that. So when I came and everyone was kind of outside, it was a shock for me, especially with the way that I was traded. It has been hard to kind of trust in the next process, but I truly am in the place that I’m meant to be,” Cloud told us when she sat down for her SLAM 256 cover shoot in early May. “So I’m just really thankful to be here, be part of this organization and to be in a position to even compete for championships again. That’s really all I want at this point in my career. I feel like I have a lot left to give the game, and this is the best place for me to try and go win a championship with this group of people, with this coaching staff, with this front office. I’m really excited.”

To fully understand how we got to the corner of Flatbush Ave. and Atlantic Ave., we’ve got to take it back to the winter of 2024, when the future wasn’t so certain. With free agency looming at the end of her eighth season with the Washington Mystics, Cloud says she was never offered an extension from the team she helped lead to six playoff appearances and the 2019 WNBA championship. The lack of commitment bruised her ego. So she leaned into the challenges that arose with a new organization and a new city, locking in with the Phoenix Mercury on a two-year deal. “This was, like, my big kind of leap to see if I can spread my wings and fly and be who I was for DC, be that in Phoenix. And so I did that,” Cloud says. 

The crop top papi poured in 11.5 points, 6.9 dimes and 1.4 steals a night, notching her third All-Defensive team selection and leading the Mercury to the first round of the 2024 WNBA playoffs before they were knocked out in two games by a Finals-bound Lynx squad. 

The past few seasons have been, as Cloud puts it, “a whirlwind,” but the 2022 assist champ was feeling good about riding out the rest of her career in the desert. That was until she started scrolling through her social media feed while at Unrivaled in early February and found out she’d been traded, without warning, to a Connecticut Sun organization in rebuild mode. 

“I very much said my piece after those calls, because for me as a player, you asked me to do a few things: to show up, to change a culture, to bring you back to the playoffs. And I did all three things while also having one of my best statistical years,” Cloud says. “So on paper, it doesn’t really make sense, but from the business aspect, I understand. So that’s all for me as a player, telling my truth of the story is just that, the business side of things fans don’t always see, the media don’t always see, but there is still a healthy way of doing business.

“So not only am I being traded in the middle of an offseason, which was not communicated to me, unexpected, didn’t necessarily make sense, but [I’m] having to do it in front of my co-workers and go in the next day with people that I actually was traded for,” she continues. “So emotionally, that was really hard. But the beauty of this game is, it has always been my oasis. So when things got really chaotic and tough for me emotionally, mentally, spiritually, within that trade, I just really dove back into basketball. And like it always has, it kind of saved me, kept my head above water.”

The gym is where Cloud says she can be both vulnerable and comfortable with herself. The frustration and confusion of the past few months were channeled into every drill, every jumper, every lift. She found comfort in conversations with her therapist, the community in the Phantom BC’s locker room and a newly established backcourt connection with Unrivaled teammate Sabrina Ionescu. 

The drive and hunger to compete for a championship were still as strong as when she was a rookie, but Cloud and the Sun knew their timelines to that goal didn’t align, so she asked the front office to do right by her. “I need y’all to help me at this point in my career to just put me in a place that I deserve to be in,” she explains. A week before she was set to leave Miami, Cloud got a call from New York Liberty general manager Jonathan Kolb. She wasn’t just heading to a contender, she was teaming up with the reigning champs.

“I truly feel saved in a lot of ways,” Cloud says. “I know that sounds dramatic, but where my feet are today is truly a blessing. I’m so grateful to be where I am. I’m really grateful to put this Liberty jersey on and excited. Excited to play for this organization. Excited to play for this community. Excited to be in a city that is just like what I’m used to. Nitty gritty. We get everything out the mud. We appreciate hard workers. We don’t put up with no bulls**t. I like to think that I’m the New York menace. I’m going to change my name to that. I used to say, ***hole. I think New York menace is better.”

A new oasis resides in Brooklyn. One where Cloud can facilitate freely, put the clamps on ballhandlers with confidence and drop buckets at will. She’s already locked in with head coach Sandy Brondello on how to be an extension of her vision on the court. And the overwhelming depth the Liberty have entering this season hasn’t been lost on her either. Cloud’s taking ownership in making sure that everybody eats. Sab. Stewie. Jonquel. Leonie. Marine. Nyara. Izzy. Kennedy. Everyone’s getting touches. 

“And then defensively, I’m our dog. There’s going to be a bunch of dogs on defense, but I like to think that I’m the head of the snake of that. So the pressure that I apply will get us going,” Cloud
says. “We get to play with pace and in transition. And that’s where basketball really gets to become fun—when you get to play positionless. And that’s why I’m so excited to be here.”

The main point guard duties will fall to Cloud 9, allowing Ionescu to find even more success off the ball. We’ve already seen the guard-on-guard screening actions play out perfectly in training camp with Cloud whipping over-the-shoulder passes to Ionescu at the three-point line after drawing her defender away. It’s all just a continuation of the chemistry they developed together this offseason. 

“I’m pretty sure Sab probably didn’t like me when we got to Unrivaled,” Cloud says with a laugh. “Mainly because I’m the one who defends her as the opposing player. And for me, Sab is one of the best guards in our league. So when I played against New York, like, I got to get into her s**t. I got to bully her and push her off her places. So, yeah, in turn, I don’t really think she messed with me that much.”

With lockers right next to each other, the bond we’ve come to see across the Liberty’s social channels formed quickly. “I just remember being around her and just being like, Wow, you’re low-key funny. Like, Sab says lowkey s**t all the time that’s hilarious,” Cloud says. “And it just kind of fit. Like, the vibes were immaculate. We really did get along.”

Instead of using training camp to adapt to each other’s play styles, they built on the foundation that was laid in Miami. Cloud knows how Ionescu moves, where her spots are and how to “set her up, get easier shots for her and really just make her life just a tad bit easier.” The preseason has been proof enough with Cloud already building out cerebral connections across the roster, allowing everyone to tap into a new feeling: an oasis of creativity.

These first few weeks in Brooklyn have been a refreshing yet familiar shift. She’s enjoying the pace of Brooklyn, walking to practice every day, interacting with fans and those who “notice my dogs before me, which is low-key cool,” she says. She’s back on the East Coast and more importantly, back to competing for championships. 

“Overall though, I want to be exactly who I said I am. That was the goal with moving from DC to Phoenix. That’s the same goal here in New York,” Cloud says. “I’m going to prove I’m exactly who I said I am. There is not a selfish bone in my body. I will do whatever this team needs on any given night. If that’s scoring, if that’s not scoring, if that’s defending, if not, whatever it is. I’m just going to be that piece, that role player, whatever, every single night. But yeah, I’m going to get into the people’s s**t, too. I’m gonna be the menace.” 

Portraits by Alex Subers.

The post Back on Cloud 9: New York Liberty Star Natasha Cloud Covers SLAM 256 appeared first on SLAM.

Kelsey Plum has never been one to hold back. Not when she was 10 years old and told her mom that she wanted to play in the WNBA. Not in Washington, where she broke numerous records. Not in San Antonio, where, as the franchise’s first-ever No. 1 pick in 2017, she made it clear in her introductory press conference that critics were “good” because they “make skin tough.” And not in Vegas, where the team relocated in 2018 and where Plum would go on to show just how tough she really was by bouncing back from an Achilles injury to win Sixth Woman of the Year and then back-to-back championships. 

The KP that is talking to us now is in Los Angeles. Having been acquired by the Sparks via a three-team trade in early February, her words are a message to the fans regarding what they can expect from her new squad this year. But really, they echo a truth about her entire career, too. Plum has always been about putting in the work. 

“Kelsey’s just elevated our whole organization because of the hard work she does on and off the floor,” says Cameron Brink, who is sitting with Plum, Dearica Hamby and Rickea Jackson inside a gym at El Camino College, where the Sparks are hosting their preseason content day. “She’s been a huge inspiration for me in that sense. We both have the same trainer—I’ve said that before—but she’s the hardest worker I know, and it inspires me to just put in that much more effort every day. So obviously she’s amazing on the floor. She’s one of the best players in our league, but she’s really taking our organization to the next level.”

Long before they were teammates, Cam got a glimpse of just how competitive KP truly was during a workout they had together. Brink was only in high school at the time. “I was very intimidated. She kicked my ass in every drill, everything,” she says.

The way Plum remembers it, Brink dished it right back, too. “You probably don’t remember, but you blocked the s**t out of me in that workout,” Plum says to her.

“Did I?” Brink says, stunned at the memory, as if she isn’t a 6-4 shot blocking machine. Neither of them could have known all those years ago that one day they’d join forces.

The same goes for Plum and Hamby, who played together in San Antonio at the beginning of their careers and now, years later, are teammates yet again. They go way back, too. “I first met D in the hotel lobby. What was that? The Final Four?” Plum asks her. “You had just had Amaya [in 2017], [she] was cute in the baby stroller. I’ll never forget that. You just said, Hi, you’re going to be my new teammate.” 

“She’s been one of my best friends since she came into the league, and I’m just grateful to have her back,” says Hamby. As for when Plum met Jackson, neither of them had talked to each other until the Aces played the Sparks last season. “I just remember looking at her shoes and being like, OK, she’s got swag,” says Plum. 

It’s crazy how things can change in the course of an offseason, but here they are, together, all wearing the purple and gold. The timing couldn’t be any more perfect for the Sparks, who went 8-32 last year, haven’t made it to the playoffs since 2020 and have had three coaching changes since then. But with new head coach Lynne Roberts, a new floor general in Plum to help set the tone and a roster full of ultimate bucket-getters, which also includes Odyssey Sims and Azurá Stevens, to name a few, the team is ready to get back to what it once was: a winning franchise. 

If this were a movie, then Jackson has the perfect title. 

“Baddies and Buckets,” she says. 

Say less. 

Even though they only played one preseason game against the Golden State Valkyries on May 6, that down-to-the-wire matchup provided a glimpse at what the Sparks can do offensively. Plum was shifty with the ball in her hands and facilitated the offense by dishing off plenty of dimes—5, to be exact—to her new teammates, which included one to Hamby right from the jump. Hamby, a three-time All-Star and 2022 champ who had 4 points, 6 assists and 6 rebounds, plays with power and poise on both ends of the floor.

“I think D is one of the most underrated players in our league. Plays both ends of the court,” says Plum. “I kind of said this earlier in the press conference, [but] the 4 position is the most difficult in our league because you’re matching up with the best of the best in the world. So what she [has done] on a night in and night out basis throughout her career is, to me, one of the most impressive things. She plays both ends. She plays incredibly hard, she moves well without the ball, almost better than anyone I’ve seen, and she’s very instinctive and plays to that strength. And she’s going to have a great year.”

As a two-time Sixth Woman of the Year, Hamby is ready to add All-WNBA honors to her stacked résumé this season. “I think the next step for me would be to be All-WNBA,” she says. “I think I’ve kind of had every role possible throughout my career, but definitely want to be an All-Star again.”

Then there’s Jackson, who was so silky smooth from beyond the arc, going 2-4 and leading the team in scoring with 13 points. She carries herself with the confidence of a seasoned vet despite being drafted just last year by the Sparks as the No. 4 pick. “I just want us to win, whatever that looks like,” she says, when asked about her goals this season. “Whatever my role is, I’m just ready to contribute and continue to sharpen out the tools in my toolbox.”

“She’s being humble,” KP adds. “She’s an All-Star waiting to happen, but that’s OK. I respect that.” Later, Plum also describes Jackson as “one of the most talented players I’ve ever played with.”

“I’ve played with some talented players, but her ability to create her own shot—and because of her length at her position—she’s really a size big but in a guard body and she can shoot the three, which is incredible,” Plum adds. “I think the sky’s the limit for her. She can go as far as she wants to go in her career.” 

The only player we haven’t seen yet is Cam, who is still rehabilitating from an ACL injury suffered last season. “I think it’s just doing everything I can to be back on the floor with these three amazing women, that’ll be a success for me,” Brink says of her goals this year after averaging 7.5 points and 5.3 boards last season. 

It’s that positivity and resilience that will guide her throughout the process, but when she does return, everyone will be tuning in to see her do what she does best. “I think Cam is a Defensive Player of the Year waiting to happen,” Plum says. “Cam has everything she already needs in her toolbox. She really just needs to be empowered and continue to build that confidence. But the skills are there. God gave her some incredible talents. I have never played with someone who has been able to affect people’s shots and really deter entire plays. And I [would] know, I played against her. I would try to go in there and there’s not a lot of room to go in there. I would foul her.” 

Despite the absence of Brink, the Sparks have their sights set on the upcoming season. They’ll meet the Valkyries again in their first regular-season game and have a packed schedule that also includes the jersey retirement of Candace Parker, who helped bring the City of Angels a WNBA title in 2016. It’s been nearly a decade since then, but expectations are high.

“I think that a lot of people can have statistics, but do you affect winning?” KP says of her mentality. “I think that’s why I chose to come here. The individual stuff ends up happening when collectively you work together and you win games, so that’s my mentality.” 

Portraits by Atiba Jefferson.

The post Kelsey Plum, Dearica Hamby, Cameron Brink and Rickea Jackson on how LA is finding their SPARK this Season appeared first on SLAM.

1. Be in the WNBA.

“I was always somebody that was driven by goals and that has always remained the same throughout my life,” the Des Moines native told ESPN in March of 2024. Just two months after that interview, a record-breaking 2.4 million broadcast viewers tuned in to watch as Clark was selected No. 1 overall in the WNBA draft by the Indiana Fever. Dressed in head-to-toe Prada, Clark sat at a table alongside her two brothers, Blake and Colin, and their parents, Brent and Anne, inside the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Right before Clark heard her name called on stage by Commissioner Cathy Engelbert, the 6-0 guard looked down. The moment she’d envisioned for herself as a kid had arrived, except now the whole world was in on it.

Clark, the reigning WNBA Rookie of the Year, didn’t just make it to the League. She’s lifted the game to completely new heights. In her first season, the now 23-year-old became the first rookie in League history to record a triple-double. She also set a new record for assists in a game (19), set a rookie record for threes made (122) and received the most All-Star votes in WNBA history (over 700,000). In 2024, Fever games in Washington, Atlanta and Vegas were moved to NBA and NHL venues to accommodate the unprecedented demand to see Clark in action. Ahead of this season, six teams have already announced venue upgrades, including the Dallas Wings, Chicago Sky and Connecticut Sun, that will allow for audience sizes two to three times larger than normal.

“I think what people love the most is the emotion I play with. I think it’s easy to connect with. I think they can feel that I’m real on the court,” Clark said, when asked to describe the effect she’s had on the game at an event celebrating her selection as TIME’s 2024 Athlete of the Year, an award that only one other basketball player—LeBron James—has ever received. Anyone who has watched Clark on the court can attest to the thrill of seeing her effortlessly launch her signature long-range logo threes. From distances where players typically heave desperate attempts to beat the buzzer, Clark regularly pulls up to shoot with intention and ease. In the milliseconds after her wrist flicks, Clark becomes one with the crowd, watching as the ball spins through the air toward its inevitable destination and erupting alongside them if the moment so calls.

In early May, Clark and the Fever traveled to Iowa to play a sold-out preseason game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, where her transcendent rise began during her final two collegiate seasons. It was Clark’s first time back since her jersey was retired in February. Permanently marked on the court by a sticker that reads “22 Clark” is the spot where she infamously broke Kelsey Plum’s all-time NCAAW scoring record with a shot several feet behind the three-point line. “I told my teammates, It’s going to be louder than any arena you’ve played in. That’s just the type of energy [these fans] bring every single night,” she told Holly Rowe, as they revisited some of the sites of her most memorable buckets before the game.

Perhaps one of the reasons the connection Clark has with her fans is so strong is because she remembers so clearly being in their shoes. “When I step off the court, I try to be very authentic and genuine and make as much time for people as I can. I never want to big time anybody because I was just that young girl screaming for an autograph,” Clark said. As the all-time NCAA scoring leader knows firsthand, and any fan can attest to, the smallest interactions have the ability to create long-lasting ripple effects.

On the prophetic page her mom saved from her childhood, another dream Clark wrote down was “to meet Maya Moore,” which came true the night she attended her first WNBA game as a kid. Clark’s father drove her from their home in Des Moines to Minnesota and purchased tickets last minute. The box office rep asked if they would like to watch the players warm up before the game. Clark said she remembers sitting courtside and taking a picture with some of the players. After the game, she stayed to watch a post-game question-and-answer segment that featured her idol Maya Moore. Because she didn’t have a sharpie or a phone, Clark simply ran up to Moore and gave her a hug. “There’s no documentation of that moment, but in my brain, it was probably one of the most pivotal moments of my entire basketball career,” she said in a pregame presser last season, on the night Moore’s jersey was retired by the Lynx. “As a young girl loving sports, that meant the world to me.”

During Clark’s senior season at Iowa, Moore surprised the rising star on College GameDay. When the four-time WNBA champion and two-time Olympic Gold medalist emerged into view, Clark’s calm and confident demeanor immediately dropped as she let out a squeal and covered her mouth with both her hands.

“I feel like I’m fangirling so hard,” she said with a smile after embracing her idol. “I still feel like when I was this tall and freaking out and I ran across the court and gave you a hug.” When asked how it felt that the best player in the women’s game was inspired by her, Moore said it was a full circle moment because she too remembers being a 10-year-old girl running up to Cynthia Cooper, one of the legends of the game.

According to Clark, her biggest skill is the ability to block out the noise, an imperative one for any athlete to perform at the highest level, let alone one who gets as much attention as she does. However, as much as she’d like it to, the conversation around Clark and her place in the game hasn’t always remained focused on basketball. As a white cis-heteronormative woman in a league of predominantly Black women, Clark has found her name in the center of hot button debates, such as the off-court privileges her identity affords her, and at times weaponized in racist and anti-LGBTQ narratives. When Clark was initially asked last season if she was bothered by this, she mentioned her focus was solely on basketball before expanding further: “I think it’s disappointing, it’s not acceptable…everyone should be treated with the same amount of respect.”

Clark acknowledged the role race plays and her privilege in last year’s Time Magazine cover feature. On stage at the TIME event, Clark said that the only opinions she really cares about are of the people she loves: her teammates, coaches, the people inside their locker room, the people she sees every single day. “I feel like I’m just scratching the surface of what I can accomplish,” she said. In the current unstable and polarized climate of the country and world, maybe the greatest luxury Clark has is this—the privilege of realizing her childhood dreams and continuing to pursue them.

It’s clear that the WNBA and women’s sports are having their long-awaited moment, at a time when the excitement of the game is needed more than ever. Heading into her second season, Clark has her sights set on championship glory and etching her name among the greats, as she inspires the next generation of hoopers alongside the more than 140 women who comprise the League.

Clark said that a lot of people have asked her where she thinks the growing popularity of women’s sports is headed, a question that she doesn’t have an answer for. “If you would’ve told people this is where the WNBA is going to be five years ago, people probably wouldn’t have believed you,” she said. “They never thought they’d buy tickets. They never thought we’d play on ABC or ESPN. They never thought there would be sold-out arenas.” The smartest thing, Clark advised, is to get in now because the price is only going up.

The biggest thing Clark said she’s learned about herself throughout her journey thus far is that dreams can come true. While she admits that her dreams were not at the magnitude of success she’s currently experiencing, Clark said. “I was always somebody who dreamed and wanted to achieve things.” Her parents encouraged her to go after the things she wanted, whether it was to keep up against her older brother and his friends or to follow her goal of making it to the WNBA. “They probably knew at times I would fail and they let me fail, but I think that taught me a lot of lessons about myself and life in general.”

While the increased value and attention the Indiana Fever superstar has brought to the sport has been clear, it may be that her greatest impact will be immeasurable by numbers. Perhaps her lasting legacy won’t be apparent for another decade or two when the next face of basketball shares their encounter with Clark, whose rise will be discussed as one that accelerated the momentum that was already building and brewing long before she ever stepped into the League. It’s hard to project where all this growth is headed but as the world has seen, in the hands of players like Clark, who possess a pure love, joy and competitive fire for the game, the only way for it to go is up.

Portraits by Alex Subers

The post What Noise? Caitlin Clark STAYS DIALED IN | SLAM 256 Cover Story appeared first on SLAM.

With 7:17 left in the first quarter, Young, one of the best scorers in the W, drove right at the 6-0 guard and former UConn star. “[DiJonai] was there to get the jump ball so I could catch my breath for a second, but that was no joke. The slide to contain, stay in front on a closeout, just get checked. Yeah, that was real,” says Bueckers, who had 10 points, 4 rebounds and 1 assist, with a smile. It’s May, and Bueckers is here with us at the University of Texas Arlington gym, where she and her new Wings teammates, Arike Ogunbowale and DiJonai Carrington, are posing for their first SLAM cover together.

Individually, they each have a swagger that’s undeniable. Arike, who was drafted by the Wings in 2019 at No. 5, is their captain and the second-longest tenured player on the team with a game so flashy and clutch it’s earned her All-Star and All-WNBA honors. Then there’s DiJonai, who was last year’s Most Improved Player and is bold and confident in everything she does, from guarding the best player on the floor to scoring over everybody and then hitting ’em with the seatbelt celly. As for the rook, Bueckers exudes an aura so captivating, she’s become beloved—from gracing our cover in high school to winning a national championship at UConn just two months ago to reinvigorating the Wings as the No. 1 pick. There are even hundreds of TikTok edits and fan pages obsessed with her every (dance) move. But like the braid she once wore in college, she’s leaving the hype in the past and embracing her new role as a rookie.

“It’s crazy, I went from being the oldest and I guess the vet on the UConn team to being the youngest here, or one of the youngest,” she says. “I’m [continuing] to stay humble, stay hungry and working to be the best teammate, best leader I can be, [and] working to find my voice. Obviously, I don’t have as much experience, but I still feel like I have a lot of knowledge and wisdom for the game and a lot of love for it.”

It’s here in Dallas that she’ll learn how to compete in the pros. And it’s together as a unit that she, Arike, DiJonai and their squad of standouts will look to show the entire League that the Wings can hold their own, too.

“New” is the theme this year for the Wings, who are now led by first-year head coach and former defensive coordinator Chris Koclanes, who, per the Dallas Hoops Journal, is emphasizing “playing fast…playing smart. Every action has to have purpose.” New is also the word Arike uses when asked about the team so far ahead of the season. “It’s just new, there’s a lot of new, [which is] something that I’ve wanted to happen and something that’s needed to happen for the city,” she says. “I think the front office did a great job bringing in the players they brought in, drafting the players they drafted, the trades that they made happen in free agency. So now I feel like this team is really ready and willing to compete, and we’ll have fun while doing it.”

Last season, the Wings were 9-31 and didn’t make the playoffs. But this year, they’ve got their sights on changing that. For Arike, who averaged 22.2 ppg and has experienced all the ups and downs over the years, including losing in the semis to the Aces in 2023 and three head coaching changes since she first arrived, her goal is to make everyone around her better. “Last year, Year 6, it was tough in the win column,” she says. “[My goal now is] just being better than last year, getting my teammates involved, going higher in every statistical category. But definitely more wins is the main thing for me.”

Her teammates will look for her to guide them. “She’s been a leader for the team, she’s captain of the team and she’s your voice,” Bueckers says. “She’s a bucket, of course. Everybody knows that. Just being around her, she’s super selfless, super welcoming.”

While it’s only been a few weeks since training camp started in late April, it’s obvious that the key to the Wings’ success this season will be their ability to develop chemistry quickly in a short amount of time. It’s all happening before our very eyes—from Carrington helping fix Bueckers’ hair mid-photo shoot to attending the SZA and Kendrick concert as a team (the Wings even got them a suite, says Arike). “We’re still finding our chemistry,” Arike says. “I think it helps that we like each other off the court. We’ve been to a couple dinners together, we’ve been to a concert together, we’ve hung out these last couple of weeks more than I think I have in the past couple of years, which is good. To build that type of chemistry and relationship off the court, it’s gonna transfer to on the court.”

In the Wings’ most recent exhibition game against the Toyota Antelopes at home, fans got a glimpse of just how flashy, energetic and most importantly, connected, their team can be on the floor—from Bueckers dishing a crisp, overhead dime to Ogunbowale that was so on target, you’d think they’d played together for years, to Ogunbowale’s buzzer-beater and Carrington’s ability to finish at the rim. The three of them, along with Myisha Hines-Allen, all finished the game in double digits. 

“We’re all uptempo,” says DiJonai. “We like to play fast and just get out and have fun. It’s never too serious, which I like.”

For the 5-11 guard, the move from Connecticut, where she averaged a career-high 12.7 points and 5.0 rebounds last season, to Dallas serves as an opportunity to be in an entirely new environment that’s unlike anywhere she’s ever been before. “There are no similarities, actually, between here and Connecticut or here and Waco,” she says. Carrington also brings a level of competitiveness, energy and leadership to the team, as well as a fun-loving attitude, which is especially apparent in the way her teammates talk about her.

“Nai/DC/DJ, she doesn’t like DC or DJ [as nicknames], she only likes Nai…she’s great,” says Paige. “She’s like a baby vet because she’s still young. She’s just a fun time to be around. I’m always trolling her, making fun of her, annoying her. That’s been fun. She just has a heart and a passion for the game that you can tell.”

When asked about her first impressions of Arike and PB, Carrington dishes it right back. “Paige is God punishing me for how I bothered my vets when I was a rookie,” Carrington says, lovingly. “Rike, she’s cool. She’s a vibe. I already knew that, though.”

And just like that, the building blocks of a team are already in motion. As for what the Wings will accomplish this season, we’ll all have to wait and see, but as for what we can all expect: a lot of buckets, elite dimes and plenty of LeagueFits-worthy tunnel fits. It’s never been a more exciting time to be a Dallas sports fan.

“I’m sure big money NIL Paige will come correct and DiJonai as well, I know she’ll be fitted,” says Arike.

“I don’t know what they got going on, but I’m coming trim, Game 1,” says DiJonai, hinting at the looks she has planned. “I can’t tell y’all yet. Just know it’s gon’ be tea. I can’t spill it.”

“I do think we’ll have the best dressed team in the League,” adds Bueckers. “I’ll say that.”

Portraits by Atiba Jefferson.

The post With Paige Bueckers, DiJonai Carrington and Arike Ogunbowale, the Dallas Wings are Ready to FLY this season appeared first on SLAM.

DT was the franchise’s first-ever No. 1 pick in ’04, and from the moment she arrived until she retired 20 years later, she was the franchise’s centerpiece, the iron at the core of their offense. Taurasi played a style of basketball tougher than the element itself: the spin moves, the fadeaway pull-up jumpers, the crisp dimes, all that attitudeand fire. Everyone’s got a DT story, a moment they’ll never forget: the trash talk, the kiss, that selfie she took after getting ejected (“Got tossed, lol.”), the door. Early on, the Mercury played a fast-paced, run-and-gun offense under then-head coach Paul Westhead, known as the “The System,” that allowed DT to evolve into a scoring machine. By ’06, she averaged a career-high 25.3 ppg; by ’07, she was a champion. Just two years later in ’09, the Merc’s legendary trio of DT, her now-wife Penny Taylor and Cappie Pondexter won another one.

In 2013, the Mercury drafted a 6-9 anomaly from Baylor named Brittney Griner as the No. 1 pick. BG opened up the team’s spacing, dunked on their competition and helped bring another title back to the Valley of the Sun in 2014. The rest is…

History. No one could have imagined that last season would be the very last time we’d ever see those two in the purple and orange. This past February, the franchise as we know it changed forever: Griner signed with the Atlanta Dream in free agency. Right around the same time, the Mercury made a four-team trade to acquire Alyssa Thomas from Connecticut and Satou Sabally from Dallas, as well as center Kalani Brown and guard Sevgi Uzun (from the Wings). As for Taurasi, it was a matter of if she was going to retire or return for Year 21. On February 25, she announced in TIME that she was retiring from the game. The end of an era.

Now, for the first time in a very, very long time, the Mercury are starting over. Under the helm of head coach Nate Tibbetts, the Mercury have a vision for how their squad, led by the new Big 3, will compete this season. Everyone’s calling it positionless basketball.

The term isn’t one Tibbetts came up with directly, but it is one he’s embracing. “I don’t know who has termed it ‘positionless,’” he said, via Desert Wave Media. “I love the term. We’re just trying to figure it out and play with space.”

For the past decade, the Mercury relied heavily on DT’s scoring ability and BG’s defensive dominance, but Tibbetts has reimagined the Mercury’s system entirely. They’ll still play fast and aggressive defensively, but he’s emphasizing way more versatility. “Us going in and getting [Thomas] and [Sabally] is just going to give us more size. Maybe just not at the center position, but just positionally,” Tibbetts continued. “Like [Mercury general manager Nick U’Ren] said, let’s make this our own path. We’ve got different ideas.”

By utilizing each player’s individual skill set and not limiting them to the confines of their traditional positions, Tibbetts is going to let his stars unleash their creativity while creating opportunities for others. For a player like Sabally, who earned the nickname “Unicorn” because of how dynamic and unique her game is (in Dallas, she averaged 17.9 points, 6.4 rebounds and a career-high 5.0 assists last season in just 15 games due to injury), it’ll allow her to play with the freedom she hasn’t had before. “Positionless basketball is what we’ve all been doing as individual players,” Sabally said to the media on May 8, while sitting alongside Copper, Thomas and Tibbetts. “Now we’re put into a system that will really enhance that and will let us be free.”

As she spoke, Thomas, who is one of the best facilitators in the League and a six-time All-Defensive superstar, nodded her head in agreement. During her time in Connecticut, AT broke the WNBA single-season record for assists (316) and double-doubles (28) in 2023 and remains the franchise’s leader in almost every major category, including games played, rebounds and assists. “[Thomas is] a basketball wizard,” Tibbetts told the media, via TheNext. “I’ve been super happy with how she’s been willing to speak up and use her voice in situations. You can say a lot of things about [Thomas], but the number one thing is, she’s a winner. Her teams win, and they win at a high level. That’s what we want, to win at the highest level here, too.”

With 11 years of veteran experience, Thomas can now tap into all the different layers of her game, from running the point to also playing center and forward. “AT starting the break, imagine a 4 trying to pick her up full court? That’s tough,” said Copper.

As for Kah, who averaged a career-high 21.1 points per game while earning her fourth All-Star appearance last year, she’ll be expected to drop buckets, play aggressive defense and bring that same intensity, grit and Philly-bred attitude she’s always played with (who could forget the in-your-face staredown she gave Sophie Cunningham in Game 2 of the Finals in 2021?). But her impact this season, specifically, will go way beyond just the Xs and Os. Kah is undeniably one of the team’s leaders, and having played with greats like Candace Parker, whom she won a title with in Chicago, as well as Griner and Taurasi last year, this is now her time to lead a squad of her own.

“Playing with great players is a great thing,” Copper said earlier this month, via AZcentral. “You learn different leadership styles. Just going back to my 2020-21 season [in Chicago], winning the championship, that team was full of leaders, but leaders in their own way. And I think you’re able to be your best, most authentic and genuine self when you do it your own way.”

While it’s only been a few weeks since training camp started in late April, it’s Copper who will “set the tone” every single day, according to Tibbetts. “[Copper] is special,” Tibbetts said, via TheNext. “She means a lot to me and what we’re trying to do, and her growth over the course of the year, like, a year ago, she and I, we had just met for the first time, and our conversations, our relationship, our trust, is at the ultimate level…My whole challenge to her this year is lead. And it’s not just with what you say, it’s what you do…And every day she has set the tone.”

Her presence is already being felt by her teammates, too. “We’ve already had a conversation… she was like, I’m gonna demand a lot from you,” says Sabally. “We looked each other in the eyes and we were like, Yeah, good. I want that. I know her drive as a player. That’s where I want to be.”

As for what happens next, all eyes will be on Phoenix to see how exactly they rise to the occasion this season, which officially starts May 16. Still, it’s obvious that the Mercury are not looking to rewrite the past, but pen their own chapter. No one can replicate what Taurasi and Griner brought to the organization, but with a new roster, a new training facility, a new philosophy and a ton of new additions—including sharpshooter Sami Whitcomb from Seattle, overseas standouts Monique Akoa-Makani, Anna Makurat and Shyla Heal, and new signees like Alexis Prince and Kitija Laksa, to name a few—the opportunities are endless. “I anticipate I’ll get some of the most open looks I’ve had probably in my career, because people will leave me to guard them,” Whitcomb says of the Big 3. Adds Kalani Brown: “Nate has given me a green light, and he wants me to evolve. So I’m very happy about that. It’s very uncomfortable at first, but I think once I get it down, it’s gonna be better.”

Without the present, there’s no future, and right now, the Mercury are locked in on just that. Exactly how it’ll all come together, only time will tell.

“In the end, it’s still basketball,” says Satou. “The ball has to fall in the hoop, and we’re pretty good at that.”

Portraits by Erik Isakson.

The post The Phoenix Mercury—and their New Big 3—are ready to RISE to the Occasion This Season appeared first on SLAM.

That’s what Agot Makeer would think to herself wherever she watched South Carolina play. The five-star recruit and the No. 4-ranked player in the class of 2025 recently committed to the Gamecocks in March, but even before that, she’d always felt drawn to the program. “Seeing the crowd, seeing the energy, seeing the joy they all have playing with each other, it’s just like, I want to be part of that,” Makeer tells us over the phone a few weeks after the news became official. 

As the latest signee, along with Cypress Springs forward Ayla McDowell, who committed in November, the Gamecocks now have a top-25 recruiting class (according to ESPN). At 6-1, Makeer is a versatile wing who can knock down shots, cross up opponents and get buckets against anyone who tries to guard her. When it came time for the Montverde senior to make her college decision, she narrowed it down to three very important factors: Who do I want to be surrounded by? What school will give me the best chance to win a national championship? What school will help me become a better woman in every aspect of my life?  

For her, South Carolina was that answer. 

With an undeniable talent and the ability to play multiple positions, Makeer, who is originally from Canada and attended Crestwood Prep before transferring to Montverde for her senior season, has averaged 10 ppg and 5.7 rpg for the program. While she’s been battling a hip injury and most recently tore her PCL in January, Makeer says she’s hoping to bounce back in time so she can still play in the McDonald’s All-American Game and compete in the Chipotle High School Nationals. 

Her faith and her family keep her going. Her two older brothers inspired her to play sports in the first place; as the younger sis, she just wanted to do what they were doing. First it was soccer, and then by second grade, she started playing basketball.

Now the game is about to take her from Florida to South Carolina. When asked how she envisions her game evolving under a visionary like Dawn Staley, Makeer speaks with a sense of confidence that’s sure to get Gamecock fans hyped. 

“I think right now, I’m kind of a two-way player who can have an impact both on offense and defense,” she says. “I can also score the basketball at all three levels. So I think that makes me even harder to guard because you have to respect me at all parts of the court. Towards the end of my senior year at South Carolina, I feel like my body will be a lot different. You might not be able to see it, but I feel like I’ll be stronger, even mentally and emotionally.” 

Portraits by Trenton Junior. Follow him on IG, @mindofjr.

The post Agot Makeer is Ready to Bring Her Versatile Game to South Carolina appeared first on SLAM.

Since 2003, the father of Darius’ uncle Rashad has taken care of that very gym. Known across the community as Coach V, Virgil Phillips serves as the director of youth programs for America’s Community Council Youth Center on Seven Mile. And along with Darius’ father and his uncle, Coach V is one of the main reasons why Darius still calls that particular hardwood home. Even after becoming the nation’s top-ranked point guard, winning EYBL Scholastic Player of the Year with IMG Academy and committing to Arkansas as John Calipari’s next great PG. 

“I was just in there every day working out. Literally since I was around that age up to now, I’ve been working out there. It’s never changed. I’ve been working with my dad, uncle, all types of stuff. Even our AAU team when we were little, that’s where we practiced at. All the memories are definitely in that gym,” Darius says. 

After securing the 2023 MHSAA Division 1 title as a sophomore at Cass Tech in Detroit, Darius set his sights on an even larger challenge: a nationally-ranked schedule of opponents. IMG was a perfect fit, and in his junior year with the Ascenders, he took home the EYBL Scholastic scoring title with 21.4 points per game. By late July 2024, he’d officially declared his allegiance to the Razorbacks. 

The 6-2 guard who plays at an incalculable pace has been itching to test his duffel against the gauntlet of the SEC. Coach Cal has already been pushing the future head honcho of his program to be more active with his voice and on the defensive end before he arrives in Fayetteville later this summer.

“He knows my game. He just wants me to be more of a leader and everything will come with itself,” Darius says. But as the No. 5 player in the class of 2025 (according to 247 Sports) sits down with us in mid-March during IMG’s spring break, he tells us his focus has been poured into the gym in preparation for Chipotle Nationals in April, where IMG received the No. 8 seed. 

Darius entered his senior year with even more confidence than the season prior. The assist output grew from 3.7 to 5.4 a game, ranking second in the EYBL Scholastic. His 24 points a night secured another scoring title. Leading IMG to a 7-4 record in league play helped cement Player of the Year honors. It wasn’t just confidence that fueled his 34-piece against Link Academy or the 26 he posted against Montverde.

It was the thousands of hours spent in the gym just down the road from his home.  

Portraits by Trenton Junior. Follow him on IG, @mindofjr.

The post Top-ranked point guard Darius Acuff Jr Looks Ahead of Arkansas and Cal’s Vision For His Game  appeared first on SLAM.

In high school, Arroyo pushed his family, which had connections through part ownership of the BSN team that used to exist in their hometown of Fajardo, to let him go play in America. Arroyo played one season at Brookwood HS in Thomasville, GA, where he averaged nearly 30 ppg and earned what had eluded him during his time in PR—US college scholarship offers. 

After the one year in Georgia, Arroyo began his semi-professional basketball career at the age of 17, playing with the aforementioned Fajardo team. After graduating from high school back in PR, he spent four years playing almost year-round—during the school year he was a star point guard at DI Florida International in Miami, and during the summer he was playing against grown men in the BSN. In 1998, Arroyo joined the Cangrejeros de Santurce, a team that dominated the storied BSN (recognize: the league has been around since 1929 and produced other NBA players such as Butch Lee, José Ortiz and JJ Barea) during his tenure. With Arroyo as their electrifying lead guard, the Cangrejeros won four straight BSN titles from 1998-2001 and added another championship in 2003. This is when SLAM and I first crossed paths with CA. I happened to attend Game 7 of the 2000 BSN Finals. I’d never heard of Arroyo when I walked into the Roberto Clemente Coliseum that night; by halftime, I knew I’d never forget him. SLAM took my word on how nice he was and let me write an “In Your Face” story on the then-FIU senior. He and I stayed in touch, reconnecting for a full feature in SLAM 84 when he was the starting PG on the Jazz and right through his decade-long career in the League and beyond.

CA’s best season in the L came in ’03–04 with the Jazz, when he started all 71 games he appeared in and averaged a career-high 12.6 points and 5.0 assists per game. He followed up that regular season with an Olympic performance for the ages. In the opening game for both the US and Puerto Rico in the 2004 Athens Games, the global superpower and its small island commonwealth faced off and PR did the impossible, blowing out big brother, 92-73. Arroyo led the way with 24 points, 7 assists, 4 steals and one epic jersey pop. While he never again matched those ’04 heights in the NBA, he played key roles on a number of NBA teams, including the ’05 championship runner-up Pistons and the first LeBron/Bosh/Wade Heat team in ’10-11. He also played for big-time Euro teams such as Maccabi Tel Aviv and Galatasaray and returned to Santurce in 2015.

While dabbling in music (his 2020 track “Baila Reggaeton” with Zion & Lennox is one of several certified hits he’s sung on) and acting (Sgt. Major Perez in The Greatest Beer Run Ever) Arroyo kept his eyes on the basketball leadership prize by becoming general manager of the Puerto Rico Men’s National Team in 2021. “I think I’ve proven myself the last few years with the national team, making so many roster moves and succeeding,” says Arroyo today. “What we did last year with the Olympics, to be able to go back for the first time in 20 years, with me as the GM, and the last first time I was a player.”

The peripatetic Arroyo, who has accomplished so much at the age of 45, is now onto his latest challenge, which is why he’s back in SLAM’s pages. Last November, Arroyo and his partner, majority owner Eric Duars, took over the most storied franchise in the BSN: the 16-time champion Vaqueros de Bayamón (Bayamón Cowboys). “We’d been in conversations about buying the team for about a year,” recalls Arroyo over Zoom after a recent Vaqueros practice. “The previous owner was Yadier Molina—the catcher from the Cardinals! He approached me about finding the right person to take over the team and he wanted someone who was loyal to the sport and the franchise and was business savvy at the same time. So he wanted me to help him find that right person. I had a great relationship with Eric Duars, a good friend of mine for many years, entrepreneur, business savvy, loves the game. But he’s mainly in the music business, he represents a bunch of artists in the industry. We felt like he was the right guy. And the first thing Eric told me was, I’m not doing this without you. At the time I was traveling a lot with the national team, recruiting new guys, had so many qualifiers, the Olympics coming up, and I was extremely busy. I met with the President of the Federation and told him, Look, I might have this opportunity, and he was like, Go ahead and do it. As soon as I got his blessing, I managed to find the time. And it’s been great, man. It’s also been a lot of work. Changing everything. But we’re here now and the season has started and it’s like [exhales] now we can breathe.”

Arroyo quickly extended the contract of long-time Vaquero mainstay Javier Mojica and hired his former teammate on the national team Christian Dalmau to be head coach. But Arroyo was just getting started. Knowing that league rules allowed him to bring in three “refuerzos,” (reinforcements, ie, players with no claims to Puerto Rican residency) he tapped his breadth of connections and aimed high. Behold the Vaqueros’ big three: Danilo Gallinari, JaVale McGee and Chris Duarte. 

Gallinari is, of course, the smooth shooting, 14-year NBA vet out of Italy who was a Knick lottery pick in ’08, a high-teen ppg scorer for much of the 2010s and who was playing playoff minutes for the Bucks as recently as the 2024 playoffs. Yes, the Italian National Team stalwart is now balling in Bayamón. “After we played here in the Olympic qualifying tournament last summer, Carlos and I stayed in touch,” Gallo explains. “We were talking about life in general. He found out I was moving to Miami and I ended up living right near him, almost like neighbors. We hung out a couple times there, and then I was waiting for an NBA call…which didn’t come. He went through a similar phase in his career. So we were just exchanging thoughts about my situation. He brought up this opportunity to me to be part of the Vaqueros…that’s when slowly things started to get real. And now we’re here.”

Through seven games of the 44-game regular season, “here” is 17.7 ppg for the 6-1, first-place Vaqueros, who have their eyes on a title and their rabid fan base buzzing.

“The fans here are very passionate, very intense,” says the 37-year-old McGee, who has played 909 regular-season games in his NBA career (including 46 just last season with the Kings) and won three championships. “I was just staying in shape, waiting for that NBA call. Carlos hit me up and presented me with this opportunity to come to Bayamón and play in front of this great crowd and great people. I just decided to take the deal and come out and have a blast. It feels good to be out there, back on the court, playing some competitive basketball, playing free.”

McGee is getting “free” to the tune of 18.3 points (on 56 percent shooting) and 9.6 rebounds per game, showcasing an offensively effective side of his game the role-centric NBA didn’t encourage the rim-running and protecting McGee to execute.

The last of the three big imports Arroyo signed, Duarte, is perhaps the most unique. Gallinari and McGee may be particularly well accomplished, but they fit the mold of many ex-NBAers who have laced up their kicks in the BSN in that they are at the tail end of their careers. In many ways, Duarte’s should just be starting. A native of the Dominican Republic who transferred to the University of Oregon halfway through his college career and was a 2021 lottery pick by the Pacers, the 6-5 guard was second-team All-Rookie in 2022 and was getting minutes with the Bulls this season. League rosters are a confusing puzzle only a team’s GM will ever fully understand, and when the Bulls let him go in February, Duarte didn’t love the offers he was getting. And he loved the new man in charge of a team he knows well thanks to having a wife from Bayamón. “Every Latino should know who Carlos Arroyo is. He was a great player. So for sure I knew who he was,” explains Duarte, who scored 32 points in a recent dub. “When I got to the League, we exchanged words, sometimes we met up a little bit and talked. That’s how our relationship started. Then when I got waived, he hit me up and offered me a job here. At the moment I was thinking about something else, but our relationship was intact and I told him, If anything changes, I’ll get back to you. And that’s exactly what happened. I’m a four-year vet, I’ve done a lot in the NBA, I feel like I deserve a little bit more than [the two-way offers] I was getting. So I’m glad I’m here to stay active, work on my game, play, see what happens in the summer.”

Gushes Arroyo, “I’m extremely honored to be here and be the one making the decisions as far as the roster, building everything from scratch. New coaching staff, new trainers, new everything. We’ve done a great job that we can feel proud of. Now it’s time for the guys to do it on the court. As you know, names don’t win championships. But they’re building something. The thing I love about JaVale, Gallinari and Duarte…they don’t come over here acting like they don’t need to prove themselves. No I’m an NBA champion or I’m a huge international star. They’re engaging with their teammates, practicing hard, being great leaders. That gives me a sense of peace.”

Arroyo’s journey from star player to influential manager is a testament to his passion for basketball and dedication to Puerto Rico. Whether leading on the court or behind the scenes, Arroyo remains an inspiring figure who embodies excellence and resilience. As he works tirelessly to restore the Vaqueros championship legacy and further elevate Puerto Rico’s national program, his impact on the game will endure on la isla for generations.

But Carlos being Carlos, he’d take another shot at the NBA, too. “I would love too, man,” he says. “I know the NBA, their eyes are not on FIBA, especially national teams, because it’s just different. You don’t deal with budgets, salary caps and all that stuff. But this, this is a real test for me, being an owner, just structuring everything, what a president should do, what a GM should do. I’m doing all that stuff as well. I’m still learning, but I think I’m very savvy when it comes to putting pieces together and making sure they will work. I’m praying everything works out and we can come up with a championship our first year here. Yeah, of course. I would love to [work a big position in an NBA front office].”

Given all Arroyo’s done in life so far, who would doubt him?

The post Carlos Arroyo Has Assembled a Superteam on the Vaqueros de Bayamón led by Danilo Gallinari, JaVale McGee and Chris Duarte appeared first on SLAM.

Whether it’s through playing or coaching, PLYMKRS has a space for all who are looking to push the game forward. 

When Sam Blackmon, Kenny St. George and Jasmine Hill came together in 2023 to found PLYMKRS, it started as a conversation between friends and former collegiate hoopers who missed the game and wanted to bring free, co-ed runs to their community.

After a successful first year, the group wanted to do more than just provide consistent runs—they wanted to have a bigger impact on the community. That’s when they realized that serving the youth through the game of basketball can have the lasting impact.

“We were all once young hoopers trying to figure out the way. Whatever this mission is, we should gear it towards the youth” says St. George. 

Blackmon also emphasized the role basketball played in his life, describing it as an escape which aided in both his mental and physical health.  

“Building something out and giving back to our community the things that we didn’t have at the time.. Just because you might not hit that pinnacle, which is very very hard to hit, that doesn’t mean that you have to stop playing the game or that the game cant provide you with all these other things,” states Sam. 

Hosting youth-focused clinics throughout Brooklyn, the crew noted that the network they’ve been able to build through basketball has helped bring their ideas to life. “A lot of these people played college, pro, or overseas so we actually have them come be a part of our youth clinics where they get to be trainers, help volunteer. These kids are able to have this mentorship integrated,” says Hill. 

PLYMKRS is working to give every player the opportunities, attention, and resources they need, too. That includes holistic style clinics with skill work, stretching, mobility and breath work all encorporated. The goal is to promote a healthier lifestyle.

They also hosted their annual sneaker drive, where over 75 pairs of shoes donated and 55 kids were able to walk away with brand new kicks after the clinic. 

With their sights set on empowering the next generation, paying it forward has been one of their biggest motives. 

“All you gotta do is show up for one day, for four hours and show kids that you care about what they got going on, it leaves a lasting impression,” says Kenny St George. “That’s truly what this is all about.”

The post PLYMKRS is Making Waves in the New York Basketball Community By Empowering the Youth appeared first on SLAM.

We talk about vengeance, vengeance on the men who have tried to dishonor Luka Doncic.

Under the bright lights, through the shadows of doubt, the Don is gearing up to get his get back.

The post SLAM Presents Luka Doncic: Revenge of the Don appeared first on SLAM.

In a world where talking sneakers embark on adventures, SNEAKS follows a pair of high-end sneaker siblings, Ty and Maxine, voiced by Anthony Mackie and Chloe Bailey. When Maxine is stolen before Edson’s (Swae Lee) high school game by the nefarious Collector (Laurence Fishburne), Ty journeys throughout New York City to find her.

Deadstock kicks collectors, hoopers wanting the latest heat and even replica endorsers are all represented. You’ve got original music by Mustard, Ella Mai, Roddy Ricch and more. You’ve got Chris Paul. Keith David plays a pair of Chuck Taylors, Martin Lawrence voices a scuffed-up sneaker named JB and Olympic skateboard phenoms Rayssa Leal and Sky Brown conduct the Borough Board Express as a pair of Nikes.

With a flick that follows sneakers running around the streets of Harlem and playing pick up at the park, writer-director Rob Edwards and the producers behind SNEAKS—including SLAM’s sister studio, RTG Features—brought in Bobbito Garcia, the legendary outdoor hoops historian (and baller), DJ, radio Hall of Famer, filmmaker and sneaker culture icon, to put that authentic stamp on it all.

For decades, Bobbito has contributed and chronicled NYC’s cultural rhythm and heartbeat, even rocking out with us in these pages since our inception in ’94. And with his memoir, Bobbito’s Book of B-Ball Bong Bong!, arriving in July as a historical documentation of NYC’s outdoor hoops scene from the 1960s to now, the multifaceted aficionado sat down with SLAM to discuss how his years of experience in various lanes aligned to serve as the film’s Sneaker Culture Ambassador.

SLAM: Over the years, you’ve had a hand in nearly every cultural avenue that stems from the game. How did you get involved with SNEAKS?

Bobbito Garcia: SNEAKS became, like, this culmination of almost everything that I’ve contributed to the culture in one project. Because they reached out to me basically based on, You’re an icon, sneakers, you’ve done designs for Nike, adidas, Pumas, Pro-Keds. You wrote the book [Where’d You Get Those? New York City’s Sneaker Culture: 1960–1987]. You hosted the first TV series in media history, It’s the Shoes, with ESPN. They knew what I had done. They wanted that authentic name attached to the project. I don’t think they knew how much they were getting when they brought me on board, though.

SLAM: When did you start consulting on the project?

BG: This whole process has been five years in the making. They first hit me up in 2020. I did most of my script consulting in 2021, 2022. I did the voice-overs in 2023. You know, animated features, it’s a big project. But ultimately, I don’t need to be on a basketball court uptown to be able to evoke the electricity that seeps out of the asphalt. Case in point, when I did NBA Street Vol. 2, I was in Vancouver, bro. I was in a studio in Vancouver, 3,000 miles away from Manhattan. But I brought that flavor within the chain link. When I was reading the script and working with Rob, anytime they stepped on the court, it was like, Oh yeah, that’s my life. That city shit is still inside me. It’s a part of all my organs; it’s a part of my brain, a part of my heart, a part of my liver, a part of my blood. I just tried to kind of let my ideas flow, and I’m grateful to their team for [lending the] ear.

SLAM: What kind of notes did you provide on the script?

BG: They kind of did really well with the sneaker stuff. Truth be told, I didn’t have to change too much in that world. But what I did do was, the film is based in New York, up in Harlem, and in certain scenes, [I was like,] This word is not really used. This slang would be better. And then I started tinkering, particularly with the basketball scenes, too. And here I am, this f**king indie filmmaker who’s done docs. I’ve got no representation. I’ve got no agent. I’m not a CAA. I’m not Hollywood. Rob Edwards has done Disney movies, sold millions at the box office. I’m in a Zoom with, like, five producers and yo, they are listening to everything I say! It was trippy. Here’s this Puerto Rican from 97th Street telling these big box office people, like, Nah you should do it like this. And they’re giving me no pushback. They’re like, OK, yeah, OK, cool, cool, cool. And I see the next script revision. And bro, everything I told them to do, they did. So that was empowering. It was like this culmination of, all right, cool, I’m not just a sneaker dude. I’m a ballplayer, first and foremost. And I’m a DJ. And I’m a filmmaker. And I’m a storyteller. And I’m an author. So I’m looking at the script, and I’m not looking at it like, Well, you know, this sneaker didn’t come out until ’77. It’s like, no, I’m looking at it from a storytelling aspect.

SLAM: You also voice yourself in the film. How was your character created?

BG: They were so happy with me during those sessions that they were like, Yo, we want you to be a character in the film, to voice-over one of the characters. I was like, Cool. I don’t think they knew what they were getting themselves into, because I don’t think any of them have played NBA Street Vol. 2 or Vol. 3. But even before that, I did 12 years on the radio in New York, and in 2023 I got inducted into the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Broadcasting Hall of Fame. Not only that, I did like 40 commercials for Nike. So, I’ve got, like,  30 years of voice-over experience that they’re unaware of. They’re just thinking like, Yo, this dude is sneakers. He’s authentic. He’s credible. He’s going to add energy to the cast. So we start recording. It wasn’t an audition. It was like a test. And I remember [producer] Robyn [Klein] hitting me up: I knew you were going to be good. I didn’t know you were going to be that good. I kind of tore that shit up. And then she came back and she was like, We want to make the character you. We want the character to be Bobbito. You’re going to play yourself. And then it was like, the guardrails were off.

SLAM: How did your past voice-over experiences compare to voicing your character in SNEAKS?

BG: When I did NBA Street Vol. 2, it’s not a knock on EA or a knock on the NBA, the League, but there were guardrails. The League represents a lot to a lot of people, and they have checks and balances. So even though I went nuts in the studio and was going off script, the NBA came back and was like, Well, we can’t say this, we can’t say this. But with SNEAKS, because I was already consulting the script, I could handcraft what I was going to say. And because I’m portraying myself, you’re getting full unabashed me straight from the court. That’s me on the court. That’s me at the Goat, aka Rock Steady Park on 99th and Amsterdam. That’s the character that you’re getting with crazy flavor.

SLAM: There’s so much inspiration to pull from with the movie based in NYC. Where does that authenticity shine?

BG: I told [Rob], You’re going to have a smash film. But there’s going to be a small community of people who enjoy this film on another layer that’s going to go over the heads of the mainstream public. And that is what’s going to make this project have longevity. And they clearly understood that. It’s something that I really didn’t have to explain to them. And it wasn’t something that they were apologetic about either. They knew. They were like, Yo, if we’re going to do this, we’ve got to do it right. Let’s get Bob. Let’s get Chris Paul. Let’s get Mustard. Let’s get people who are loved [across] different generations, different subsets and everything.

SLAM: Your memoir chronicling your journey on outdoor courts across the globe comes out this July. How much of an impact have these two recent projects had on you?

BG: In my memoir, I’m talking about [how] I was a scrub, going to the Goat, looking up to Mario Elie, the legend Earl Manigault, and how I’m inspired by these people and trying to work on my game. I’m still that 14-year-old who’s mystified by all of this. I worked so hard for decades and decades, committing myself to become a better ballplayer and helping out others and providing platforms for unknown up-and-coming MCs, players, poets, writers, you name it. I’ve done so much to give back. And then for this to happen. Time will tell, but this could very well be the biggest shit I’ve ever been a part of. And for it to happen at this stage of my career, yo man, that’s crazy. That’s crazy.

SNEAKS hits theaters April 18th. Get your tickets here.

Photos via Briarcliff Entertainment.

The post Behind the Scenes of SNEAKS With the Film’s Sneaker Culture Ambassador Bobbito Garcia appeared first on SLAM.

“It was hard losing so many games. Always seeing myself as a winner growing up, always having won, basically in all sports, to have a streak like last year and to have a year that was as tough as it was, I definitely learned a lot about myself and my mental fortitude,” Cade says. “Also, just staying in the grind, not leaving it. Trusting the work, trusting the path that I always believed I was on. I think that was the biggest thing that helped me get through it.”  

Cunningham didn’t just get through it—he’s evolved in the midst of it. He’s averaging the most points (25.6) by a Piston since the 2000-01 season. He’s averaging a career-high 9.3 dimes a night, which ranks third in the L, on top of pulling down 6.0 boards a game. He’s on pace to become the seventh player in League history to average at least 25/9/6, and his eight triple-doubles this season are the third-most by a Piston since Grant Hill’s 13 in ’96-97 and 10 in ’95-96. Oh yeah, and he’s got the Pistons sitting sixth in the Eastern Conference standings with their sights set on moving up. 

You’re looking at the Motor City’s first All-Star since 2019. The former No. 1 overall pick who built out the foundation that has Detroit back to sitting above .500 for the foreseeable future. At 38-31 as we go to press, the on-court architect of the Pistons’ resurgence has done more than get them back into the mix; they’re turning into the team that the rest of the League doesn’t want to see. And it began with first-year head coach J.B. Bickerstaff asking his star orchestrator what he wanted out of this season. 

A clean slate. 

“I wanted to take the step forward towards playoff basketball, not knowing if that was going to mean we were going to make the playoffs or if we were just going to see growth and be a more competitive team,” Cunningham says. “Team-wise, more than anything, just winning. Competing in games, being in all games that we play. We’ve been there. We’re doing that now. We’ve definitely lived up to everything that we were talking about [doing] for sure.” 

This season’s turnaround wasn’t a leap of faith. In reality, the Arlington, TX, native has been brimming with confidence since spending all of this past offseason training at 100 percent. He knew the phrase “taking things day by day” intimately, from missing training camp as a rookie with an ankle injury to sitting out for a majority of his second season after undergoing surgery to repair a stress fracture in his left leg. He knew the process back to the League’s competitive ranks would be a mirror to his journey thus far—a test of will. But four straight Ls to start the season didn’t shake what the previous four months in the gym had envisioned. If anything, it just made Cade and the Pistons lock in even more. 

If you were to ask No. 2 when he started to feel the vibes of the season shift, he’d point to the Pistons’ first West Coast trip that ignited more than a few win streaks. From Phoenix to L.A. and Sacramento, Cade and the Pistons rattled off several wins in late December. By early January, they had strung together a five-game win streak and won eight of their last nine. Little Caesars Arena has been lit ever since. 

“That West Coast trip, like I said, was a huge trip for us. I think that really helped get our momentum going in the right direction,” Cunningham says. “Beating some really good teams in a row, I think that was a huge confidence booster for us. I think that was one of the big differences where we all saw change. Like, Aight, we’re in the mix now. We’re playing in big games. We’re playing for wins every night. We hadn’t been doing that before.” 

The before times featured shouldering the blame and expectations of an entire organization. Losses used to be tough, demoralizing. They aren’t as much anymore. Instead of blowouts, today’s losses are determined by single digits. The present sees a retooled confidence and deeper connections with teammates and coaches. Cade’s no longer doing it alone. As the head honcho of a squad with equal amounts of youngins and veteran wings, they all look to him as much as he does to them. 

The past two draft classes have brought both Ausar Thompson and Ron Holland II to the squad. And first-year president Trajan Langdon has infused a hunger throughout the front office that resulted in the acquisitions of Tobias Harris, Tim Hardaway Jr and Malik Beasley this offseason. In the background, Cade and third-year center Jalen Duren have constructed the NBA’s latest lob duo threat. And Jaden Ivey’s making his way back from injury for next season. 

All those dimes, dots and assists are just as much a result of Cade snaking around screens and biding his time as they are Beas or Tobias knocking down a corner drift three or Duren trailing
down the lane, anticipating the mid-air connection. Whether he’s looking off defenders with his eyes or hesitating ever so slightly to open up a gap, Cade’s got a counter at all times.

With a newly constructed, bolstered roster that places him squarely as the face of the franchise, Cade is excelling. Everyone is. 

“That made my life so much easier—having guys, one, as professional as they are. The way that they approach every night, coming to play, coming to compete,” he says. “And then having all those guys that we just named come in and bring their own confidence and their own swag to the table has really helped us put a product together with a lot of the right ingredients.” 

His new vets have been committed to pouring their experience back into the roster. They’ve shared with Cade the ins and outs of different coverages. How he can attack them. Beat them. Outsmart them. “Things that you don’t necessarily see on the stat sheet, but make the game a lot easier whenever you understand them,” Cunningham explains. “All three of those guys have a different understanding of those things. They’ve taught me a lot since they’ve been here, along with the fact that they put the ball in the rim, which we all need. I’ve been lucky to have them here. We all have been. It’s been fun playing with them, for sure.” 

As he sits inside the practice facility in mid-March for his second SLAM cover shoot, Cade says there’s a collective chip across the roster, from those who have lived through the franchise’s struggles to those inheriting the responsibility of the change as it unfolds. And like he’s always done dating back to his days at Bowie HS and then Montverde, Cade is analyzing moment by moment what type of leader he needs to be. In games. In the locker room. In practice. During film sessions. Learning what pushes his guys and what makes them fall back. What are those triggers? Is it sounding off vocally or quietly being the first in the gym? On top of methodically breaking down defenses and pulling defenders out to the three-point line with an improved range this season, Cade is constantly searching for ways to empower everyone.  

“And then in that, making sure that the knowledge that I do have, I’m sharing it as much as I can. When I feel like I know something, I put it out there,” Cunningham says. “And then being able to be led as well. I was always told great leaders have to be great followers. And to be able to lead, you have to know how to follow as well. So I think making sure that I’m being as great of a follower as I can for Coach J.B. I think that helps the rest of the team set the tone as far as ways to receive his coaching. And then I try to do the same as far as, like I said, just being forward with what I think I see and what I think I know.” 

The chemistry has been on full display this season. Pull up the team’s socials for an inside look, from Duren and Beas crashing Cade’s postgame interview with All-Star praise to the team’s pre-game handshakes in the tunnel, which reflect the antics and camaraderie of a close-knit group. There’s a scrappiness on defense that hasn’t been felt for decades and the offense hums to the beat of everyone getting touches. Cade’s confidence in himself—and the group—has only grown as he continues to lean on others. 

“Seeing the turnaround from where we’ve come from to where we are now, having the fresh start that we had this year with all the new people coming in, everything like that [brought confidence]. The work that I had put in up to that point had given me all the confidence already, as far as what I can bring to the table individually,” Cunningham says. “But then being able to lean on guys like Tobias, Malik, Tim, Coach. All those guys that have that experience, that brings a lot of confidence as well.” 

The 2024-25 season is just the beginning of Detroit’s new identity. There are more goals to reach. More accomplishments to share. More wins to be had. And yeah, Cade admits that this season has been a great start. Competitive hoops is back in the 313. And as he maps out the next phase of the Pistons’ persistent rise, he can’t help but take in the change in the air. There’s a different level of satisfaction that has come with truly putting in the work. And he’s finding it each time he glances into the home crowd at Little Caesars Arena. 

“I’ve enjoyed watching the fans enjoy watching us play more than anything,” Cunningham says. “I can remember last season so many times, we’d mess up, you look in the crowd and everybody’s shaking their head. It was just sick. Now we have a big play or something, I look around and there’s so much laughter. You can really see people having a good time. And that was one of the main things that I wanted to do coming to Detroit: start us getting back to winning.” 

Portraits by Matthew Coughlin.

The post Cade Cunningham Has His FOOT ON THE GAS: SLAM 255 Cover Story appeared first on SLAM.

SLAM got the chance to attend and photograph the very first session, which was held at Wadleigh Secondary School in Harlem and featured a round-robin scrimmage and the unveiling of DYCD- branded league jerseys.

What’s the purpose of this new league? According to literature provided by the DYCD, which has been around since 1996 and helps a broad cross section of New York City youth with its diverse programming, this initiative creates “the opportunity to participate in structured league play, promoting teamwork, sportsmanship and community engagement…With a continued commitment to equity and inclusivity, DYCD is placing a strong emphasis on expanding structured opportunities for girl-inclusive sports programming. Each sport within the league will feature specific initiatives to engage young female athletes, including the creation of all-girl leagues or co-ed participation with inclusive rules to ensure fair and equitable play.”

Since 2022, the DYCD has been led by Commissioner Keith Howard, a longtime employee of the city who grew up in the Bronx and knows his hoops. To say he’s excited for this latest initiative is an understatement. “Reflecting on growing up in the Bronx, and in a family who loved and played sports, I was lucky to be able to get involved with a community basketball league and play in tournaments all around the five boroughs before playing in college,” the John Jay College product told us over email. “During this time, New York City was ranked high on the list of male and female ballers who went off to make names for themselves in the NBA and WNBA. The phrase ‘I Got Next’ came from the pickup basketball games happening in community courts all around the city. The influence of New York City ball culture mixed with the critical life skills that basketball taught me, such as discipline, teamwork, leadership, health and fitness, had a positive influence on my life.”

Howard and his team now strive to impart those same life skills to a new generation of women, starting with basketball but also, according to Howard, other women’s sports such as “track & field, soccer, volleyball, fencing and more.”

One of the attendees at the February event was Lynne Louis, a 13-year-old from Haiti who now lives in Brooklyn. An excellent student at PS 181, Lynne has also shown a lot of promise on the basketball court as the team captain of the PYE Beacon Lady Thunder (Beacons are community programs throughout the city run by DYCD.) Lynne shared with us her enthusiasm about joining a new league that will expose her to a lot more basketball. “I enjoyed it a lot. It was my first time playing in a basketball league, so I was very excited to experience it,” Lynne said. “I’m used to seeing mostly boys play. It feels great to see other girls like myself coming together to play a very popular and famous sport.”

Hats off to the leaders of the DYCD, hands-on coaches and directors such as Alexandria Haughton and Paul Shorter, and everyone who will be part of this program. Given the positive impact basketball has proven to have on young people, we expect lives to be changed as the DYCD Basketball League grows.

As they say, if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere.

The post New DYCD Basketball League is Bringing the Game and Impactful Programming to Youth Girls in NYC appeared first on SLAM.

“Too small.” 

Just another day in Cleveland. It’s a Saturday afternoon inside the Cavaliers’ practice facility, and Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland are addressing the elephant in the room we’re now sitting in. Moments before, members of the team had been on the practice courts, running through individual skill workouts and shooting sessions as reggae music blasted through the speakers. The only thing that can be heard now is the Cavs’ backcourt keeping it real about the public’s perception of the NBA and what’s been the difference-maker for them this season. Then the question gets brought up.

What is the craziest or most absurd thing that people have said about you?

“The ‘not being able to play together’ I think was definitely the toughest one, because they don’t give it a chance, you know?” Don says. “Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum are another duo in this League, it took them eight years to win a championship. It takes time. Not saying we’re them, not saying they are us…Jamal Murray and Jokic. AD and Bron. It takes time.” 

None of those guys won titles overnight, and they all had to deal with their own fair share of criticism and sky-high expectations to make it there. Since LeBron James led Cleveland to their first-ever title in 2016, the franchise has been on the rebuild. And over the years, there haven’t been many who believed the Cavs could be as good as they are right now. Not when Garland arrived as a first-round pick in 2019, or when they acquired Jarrett Allen from the Nets via a four-team trade in 2021, or when they drafted Evan Mobley that summer with the third overall pick. When Mitchell arrived prior to the start of the 2022-23 season via a trade from the Jazz, there were doubts about whether he and Garland, two ball-dominant guards, could even be successful together. Despite all of this, the Cavs finished with a 51-31 record, the franchise’s highest win total since the 2016-17 season. 

This year, that same core four has managed to lead the Cavs to an even better record, which is 55-10 as we go to press. It takes time to build the type of rhythm they’re playing with. “I think people fail to realize that,” says Mitchell, who is averaging 24.2 ppg. “They think that you’re supposed to just click and vibe, but obviously, we haven’t got a chip yet. We got some work to do, but we’re headed in the right direction, and that’s all you can ask for—just continue to take the proper step forward.” 

And with their same core, the Cavs are now two-stepping their way to the playoffs under new head coach Kenny Atkinson. When Atkinson arrived to replace J.B. Bickerstaff, he reimagined the Cavs’ motion offense with an emphasis on free-flowing movement, quick reads, cutting and creativity. DG and Spida set the tempo in the backcourt. Garland is a shifty point guard who moves, in his own words, “like a dancer,” with fancy footwork, spin moves and speed, while Mitchell is explosive and groovy with the way he weaves down the lane for a bucket. 

“I just like to dance with the ball,” says DG. “I’m a dancer…I just use my shiftiness, my quickness, and then I like to give [Mitchell] the ball, because he’s just so explosive.”

Then there’s the rest of the Cavs’ ensemble, which includes seven-footers Allen and Mobley who cause havoc in the paint. Allen is constantly moving and leaves defenders dizzy and distracted as he sets screens and rolls to the basket, while Mobley is an All-Star who crashes the boards with a fury and, as we’ve seen this year, Euro steps his way to the rim like a guard. With Isaac Okoro, Max Strus and newly-acquired De’Andre Hunter (a trade that happened just the day before our cover shoot) to balance out the scoring, the Cavs have so much range as the No. 1 offense in the NBA. 

For the first time in a long time, what’s being said about them isn’t, well, bad. But don’t think they forgot. 

“We got a lot of hate last year,” Garland says, to which Mitchell adds: “From the same people that’s [saying] really nice things about us. Appreciate it.” It goes without saying that public perception controls the narrative in the NBA. In today’s world, this is all happening online, where people only pay attention to what’s being curated on their feeds, from game highlights to hot takes from media personalities and podcast hosts. The casuals are so lost in the scroll, they only pay attention to who is still standing in June, rather than actually watching a team rise to the occasion throughout an 82-game season. 

“We really look at the NBA game as, like, it’s 2K for real,” Mitchell says. “He’s never played with a ball-dominant guard, and I haven’t either, so that takes time for us to continue doing what [we do]. [Fifty-one] games the first year. That’s success, and people don’t look at us as that, but that’s success in itself. OK, we failed in the playoffs. Cool, next year, boom. Everybody gets hurt, different things, but we finally win a playoff series, first time. That’s another step. Now we’re at the top of the League, but at the end of the day, this really don’t mean nothing until we do something in the playoffs.” 

Seeing is believing, and when the Cavs played the reigning champs on Feb. 28, everyone watched to see what they were about. Despite Boston’s 25-3 lead to start the game, the Cavs went on a 41-22 run and dominated the fourth quarter. They never got flustered, and Mitchell especially turned things up. With two minutes left, he literally soared to the basket past Sam Hauser and above Al Horford to draw a foul. By the time he landed back on the ground, his teammates on the sideline were already making their way toward him to dap him up in excitement. Mitchell finished the game with 41 points in the Cavs’ 123-116 win over the Celtics. According to StatMuse, he tied LeBron James for the most games (12) in Cavaliers history with at least 40 points and 5 threes. 

“When he turns up, starts flexing and starts clapping dumb hard, starts talking to the crowd, I love that Don,” says Garland. “That’s the Spida we all need, for sure.” 

The story of the Cavs’ backcourt duo actually started long before they teamed up in The Land. Mitchell hosted Garland as a recruit at Louisville back in the day (DG ended up going one-and-done at Vanderbilt). Years later, they worked out together during the summer prior to the 2022-23 season; Mitchell happened to be in Miami with his trainer, Ronnie Taylor, who asked if the Cavs’ PG could join them. The meet-up was pure coincidence, as neither of them knew what was going on behind the scenes in the Jazz and Cavs’ front offices. “[Donovan] was just so locked in the entire workout, like, if he missed a shot, he wanted to just do the whole set over again,” Garland says. “If he missed two in a row, he was doing a sprint back and forth and coming right back to the set. So, it was like, just his work ethic, his mindset, he wants to be great, the best version of himself and one of the best players to play this game.” 

Mitchell was impressed by Garland, too. “I’ve never had to go shot for shot with somebody like that in a workout, like really try to beat the person that you’re working out with. That was my first real moment where I was like, He’s like that.” 

Over the years, Garland has emerged as a poised point guard who’s been able to battle through adversity, the loss of his grandmother and injury, including a fractured jaw that forced him to miss 19 games last season and go through a grueling recovery process that included a liquid diet, causing him to lose 12 pounds. DG has since then bounced back and is currently averaging 21 ppg this year. 

“I was away from the guys last year for almost two months, and that’s when I was really at my lowest,” he says of the injury. “I couldn’t talk to them, they’d FaceTime me after a big win, and I’m just sitting there, like, Yay, can’t talk. That was tough for me, but right now, just being around the guys, it’s some real brotherhood over here. It’s like a grown man AAU team. We’re always around each other. We’re always laughing, making jokes, going out to eat with each other. We had sweet potato pie on the plane yesterday. It’s a real family.”

They hype each other up like one, too. When I bring up Garland’s epic buzzer- beater from the Pistons logo on Feb. 5, Mitchell interrupts DG before he can say a word.

“I was trying to [be] PG all interview. Man, that was a f–k you to everybody. That’s what that was. That pose, all that was on—I’m sorry. I know, I know I shouldn’t swear. I’m trying my best, but like, that’s exactly what that was. I felt that, too. That’s why I went nuts [after]. Somebody was talking smack—I won’t curse again—the whole game and I just felt like, [he had] a lot of pent up, [like], This is what I really do, and y’all really playing with me. And I should have ended the game about 10 minutes prior, but we ain’t gonna talk about that. But like, you know what? Since we’re here, I’m gonna go ahead and do this. Forget the play that we drew up, Coach. I got it. So that’s what that was. He ain’t gonna say it like that, but I’m gonna say it.”

“I’ll talk a little bit of shit,” DG, who was named an All-Star this year, says of the game-winner. “It was against our former coach, too, which made it like 1000 times better…That was something that was totally different.” 

“That was basically, like, everybody that was talking noise, just sit here and watch us,” Don chimes in.

The playoffs are just around the corner, too, which means everything they’re doing now is in preparation for their ultimate goal of winning a championship. It was Mitchell who once told me in Utah that “winning takes care of everything in this League,” but it’s clear now that it’s a sentiment he shares with his backcourt mate. 

“Until we have this parade in Cleveland, [and I’m] on the floats and [have] a ring on my finger,” Garland says, “we haven’t done anything.” 

Portraits by Matthew Coughlin.

The post Believe in the Land: Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell on Cavaliers’ Dominance, Doubters and Championship Mindset appeared first on SLAM.

The two have built a big brother, little brother type of bond ever since Simon invited Shai to his nightly dinners with Tristan out in the Philippines. “We immediately connected over laughter,” Simon says. Fast forward nearly 10 years, and Simon and Shai still share that same brotherhood, only now in a more official capacity, as ISLA MANAGEMENT represents the All-Star.

“When Shai got drafted to the NBA, we had already started ISLA on the music side. As both of our careers progressed, we organically found an amazing way for our businesses to intersect,” Simon says. “And the rest is history.”

Alongside his partner EK, Simon founded ISLA MANAGEMENT in 2018. It is one of the few companies that operates in the music and basketball industries simultaneously. ISLA doesn’t recruit its clients. The relationships, both working and personal, materialize naturally, from discovering R&B artist Giveon to representing Boi-1da, OZ, Jahaan Sweet and more. Shai brings yet another multidimensional layer to the company’s roster of hitmakers. And Simon knows this is just the beginning.

“What excites me most is knowing this is the tip of the iceberg for Shai. He is honestly just getting started,” Simon says. “I don’t see a boundary or limit to where Shai can take it. Maybe I’m being biased, but I believe he can be one of the greatest ever, on and off the court.”

Photo credit Jim Poorten.

The post After Managing Music Heavyweights, Founder of ISLA MANAGEMENT Simon Gebrelul is Making Waves in Sports appeared first on SLAM.

Some players rocket to the NBA, fully formed as megastars. Some become valued role players. And some never make it. In his seventh season with the Memphis Grizzlies, Jaren Jackson Jr. has leveled up. 

Drafted fourth overall by the Grizzlies in 2018, Jackson Jr. has patiently and confidently expanded his game. As the team added Ja Morant and Desmond Bane around Jackson Jr., the Grizzlies have become a perennial top-tier team in the Western Conference. 

In the meantime, Jackson Jr. has become a constant. In 2022-23, he was unlocked as a dominant help defender who won the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year award. This season, he’s unleashed a flurry of mid-range and driving moves to complement an already solid perimeter shot. While averaging a career-high 22.7 ppg and making his second All-Star Game, Jackson Jr. appears en route to another DPOY nod, or at least to be named to an All-NBA team. (Should either of those options come through, Jackson Jr. would qualify for a supermax contract extension worth about $345 million over the next five seasons.)

Here in Memphis, we’ve watched the kid everyone calls Trip grow up. He started off alongside Marc Gasol and Mike Conley as the Grit and Grind era transitioned. He’s planted community roots through youth camps and women in sports initiatives. (His mother, Terri, is the Executive Director of the Womens National Basketball Player’s Association; his father, Jaren Sr., played 13 seasons in the NBA, winning a championship with the Spurs in 1999.) Jaren has also displayed his love of fashion and music, and just being creative in general.

While he’s grown into his frame, at seven-feet tall, Trip has become a literal cornerstone for Memphis. As the Grizzlies look to leap into that final tier of contending teams, they’ll need the only player in the NBA with at least 5 steals and 5 blocks in crunch time to continue his consistency. 

Everyone moves on different schedules. It just turns out Jaren Jackson Jr.’s time is now. 

SLAM: When you were drafted by the Grizzlies in 2018 out of Michigan State, what kind of impact did you think you could have in the League? 

JAREN JACKSON JR.: I kind of came into it with a fresh mind, for sure. I knew what I could do defensively, in terms of blocking shots, and stretching the floor with shooting. But I knew that I had a long way to go in terms of shot creation, off the dribble, isolation scoring, something
I do a lot of now.

SLAM: Has defense always been your calling card? 

JJJ: Yeah, I think so in AAU, and I was always playing with really good players in high school, too, so I needed to find a way to be effective, and I was just blocking shots. And guards were not as good back then, so you could really time it up pretty easily. It was just fun making people feel bad. 

SLAM: You don’t strike me as the kind of guy who, like, talks a lot of trash, though. 

JJJ: Not too much. I mean, it just depends on what we’re doing. There’s a lot of subtext in there. I feel like there are some unwritten things, you know. I feel like if you celebrate, it should be organic. I’m not about to celebrate a block until I know we have the ball. Because if you get a block and they lay it in, it ain’t going to work. 

SLAM: In ’22-23, you won Defensive Player of the Year. From your rookie season to that year, how did you evolve defensively?

JJJ: I stopped prioritizing shot blocking as much and just made it about changing shots, making it harder on the offense and making it harder on the top players. And at the time, Dillon Brooks was on our team, and he was taking a lot of attention away just by guarding probably the best wing scorer every night. And then if you’re worrying about him, and I come out of nowhere, I’m getting a lot of blocks. And keeping the ball in bounds, too. That’s something my dad told me: Don’t just block it and try to hit it as hard as you can, because then it’s just their ball. Try to keep it in bounds and start a break.

SLAM: You’re the only guy from your rookie season who is still here in Memphis. What do you think when you look at the way this whole thing’s evolved in the last seven years?

JJJ: I don’t think there was a long low period or developmental period. I mean, outside of my rookie year, we have been making the playoffs—outside of last year when we were all injured. When Ja came here, it just kind of unlocked a lot of things for everybody. Then you just start seeing people’s games evolve. You start seeing Des, you start seeing BC [Brandon Clarke,] then we get Zach [Edey.] So, I mean, it was a lot, man.

SLAM: This season, you’re really putting it on the floor, spinning, converting hook shots, working in the mid-range, all these different things. How did all that kind of get unleashed? 

JJJ: Well, in all my summer workouts, I have live bodies. I never work out with cones or props. I like to have people in front of me. I like to make it challenging. It helps me work on my one-on-one game. A floater, a hook, is really a middie to me, or a layup—I’m very confident in that shot. It’s really just about working on ways to get to your spots. That’s what the greats do. That’s what a lot of my favorite players do that I look at and watch on film. I take a lot of things away from them, add it to my game. Also, it just feels like the court feels a little more open now, you know? When you get the ball, it’s like, just go. There’s space, for sure. I can feel that. Especially with the way we’re coached, that has a lot to do with it, too—the way we’re positioned right now, it gives everybody the ability to make plays and playmake. So now I’m working on my playmaking. That’s the next step. When we really get into it—like passing, those no-look passes—I need to have that. I need to have all that.

SLAM: You just mentioned, and we’ve seen it the last couple weeks, teams are starting to double you and bring guys from the weak side.

JJJ: It’s playmaking and being able to read defenses just at an A-plus level. I think I can read defenses pretty well right now. But I have to be even better for what they’re throwing at me. That’s the next step, along with a bunch of things that I’m just not even going to say. 

SLAM: It looks like you’re going to win another Defensive Player of the Year award, and it looks like you’re going to make All-NBA this season. Has that been a goal?

JJJ: Of course. It comes with the territory when you’re winning games. If your team’s successful, things will come for you. I just wanted to put myself in a position where our team’s in the playoff hunt. Everything else is just falling into place. If you really hunt for awards—I don’t feel like the great players do that. I don’t feel like any of the people who get those types of awards do that. I definitely didn’t the first time I won. I’m out there playing free. Right now, when we’re taping this, we have a month left. I haven’t felt freer up to now.

SLAM: Do you feel like you deserve to be All-NBA? 

JJJ: Of course. I think I played to that level. And I think my team has. I think that’s what it is: All-NBA is an award that goes to the best players on the best teams doing the best stuff. It’s similar to an All-Star bid, but it includes the whole year. I think just being able to be available is a huge thing. That’s what I’m doing.

SLAM: I’m going to push back a little bit because I feel like All-Star goes to the best players on the best teams. All-NBA goes to the best players, period.

JJJ: That’s dope. Hey, look, I think it works either way.

SLAM: Do you ever think about why your fit in Memphis has been so good? 

JJJ: Probably because we just keep it real here. There’s no facade. I don’t even know what you call it—you would only know if you’re here. I’m authentic. I think in the community over the years, we’ve made a huge impact on a lot of people—women in sports, youth hoops. And when I did the speech at the Freedom Awards at the National Civil Rights Museum, it just tied everything together. I couldn’t get a word off without them cheering. My family was there, too. And it just made me feel very warm, very at home.

SLAM: You’ve become a LeagueFits star. When did you get into fashion? 

JJJ: I’ve always been creative, and I always liked clothes. In terms of wearing clothes at this level and telling stories with what I wear, doing that came about when I think I met Toni [Posh.] Toni’s my creative director, and she’s teaching me what it means to really storytell through clothes. We’ve been all around the world because of it. I eventually want to be a creative director myself. The end goal is to always keep pushing the limits of everything. But right now, being the present, yeah, we’re putting that on. We’re putting it on right now. 

SLAM: Making music has also been a big passion of yours over the years, and vlogging has become important. How are those things connected?

JJJ: Yeah, the goal is for everything to be tied together. Nothing should be moving without the other. If you look at a vlog, the music’s on the vlog, the clothes are on the vlog. If you look at the music, the clothes, you know, everything is just kind of balanced off each other. And, yeah, you look up and we’re a season of a vlog series in, we’re six albums in, we’re however many outfits in, like three years going to Fashion Week. But that doesn’t even matter. The point is that we tied it all together every single time.

SLAM: You’ve also been a spokesman for everyone from 2K to Fanatics to Nike. Did you ever see yourself having these sorts of corporate relationships and being a person companies would come to for these things? 

JJJ: I think I did. I mean, I’m a corporate kid. I grew up in this environment, having to speak for myself at events. A lot of people who work in the NBA, I’ve known them for a long time. When I was a younger kid, I used to see them. Now they have the big-time jobs, and I’m seeing them walk around. But everything is relationships. You have to be able to hold your own and have your own voice and be confident. I was just kind of thrown into that as a kid, and now I can swim. 

Portraits by Johnnie Izquierdo.

The post IN THAT MODE: Jaren Jackson Jr is Having a MONSTER Season in Memphis appeared first on SLAM.

I had an infection on my foot that started spreading through my blood due to not paying attention to my diabetes. I ended up having to get my leg amputated. First, they cut off a couple of toes. Then they cut off my foot. Then they said, We gotta go almost knee high for another surgery. Three surgeries. And then there were also the blood transfusions. Not one, not two, not three, four different times.

All those surgeries and blood transfusions, it made me question whether it was worth going through it sometimes. It made me think, Man, just kill me and let me go about my business. It made me think that maybe it’s time for me to shut it down.

But then seeing what my boys are doing out there, they’re like, Dad you’re the toughest dude I know. That made me keep going. Even though I’m a bad man—I don’t need much—it was good to have that backing from my boys. One of the things that makes me go is when they are all together. When they are all together, I feel strong.

When I was in the hospital and “Tweaker” was starting to become a global hit, I had a couple of FaceTime conversations with Gelo, but I was kind of slurring because I was all drugged up with all the medication they were putting in me. It was hard for me to really dial in on what I was trying to say. Even though I was kind of slurring with my speech, Gelo understood what I was trying to say. I remember just telling him, Keep doing your thing. And make sure you take care of your brothers. Just make sure all of y’all are together. Cause the more you guys are together, the better I feel. That’s all I kept thinking about when I was in the hospital—my boys being together. 

What I want people to understand is that anytime you’re dealing with an illness or something serious like that, one thing you better have is family to get you through that stuff.

I’m the Big Baller. I’m hard to kill. But I must admit that my boys kept me rolling. Cause a couple of times, I was like, I can’t do no more blood transfusions. I can’t do no more operations. I’m just ready to shut it down. It’s enough for me. But I’m here for a bigger purpose.

Watching my boys play and watching Gelo perform and do his thing—he’s been singing and rapping all his life, so it’s good to see the success that he’s having now—that made me feel better. So, then I was like, Let me go ahead and just do these other surgeries and blood transfusions.

From my experience the last couple months, I want to get in people’s heads the importance of taking care of your health—especially Black people, because sometimes we’re not trying to go to the hospital, we will try to sleep it off or say, Yeah, we’ll get to it later. And sometimes it’s a little more serious than what you think.

I look at my situation like this: I’ve talked to some of my people that’s my age that’s been calling me that have cancer. And they say, We thought we got it all, but we didn’t, and so the organs are getting tore up in the inside. Now these folks are dying. And these are my friends that are around my age, in the 50s and dying of cancer. Just for me to have my foot cut off, I got another one. I’m good to have my foot cut off as opposed to being dead. But if I don’t go at the end of last year during Christmas to get that infection looked at, [an infection] that’s been around for maybe a month or two on the bottom of my foot, this would be a different type of story. 

The doctors said, Big Baller, you were very close to having to shut it down. But they were quick enough to give me the blood transfusions and keep that poison from going throughout my body. So, now I’m telling folks, if you got diabetes, don’t just be like, Oh, that’s just diabetes. I still eat my sugar, but I pay attention to it and do it in moderation. Get your checkups, do what you’re supposed to do. If you don’t have insurance, go to urgent care. Because I’m going to tell you this, a little amputation and a little of this, it could all have been prevented.

I realized through this process that if you stop trying to waste time feeling sorry for yourself and figure out what the next step is, then you’d be able to better deal with any life challenge. I look at it like this, OK, my foot is gone, but my brain is still here. So, I might not be able to move as fast as I did and do other things like that, but what’s the next step? Do I keep talking about the brand? Still keep talking about shoes? Still go out to meet people?

It makes me feel way better in looking at the outcome to go forward because I still want to be on this journey. And I look at it like this, too: I got a lot of limbs to come off. I’m hard to kill. I got some bigger stuff that the Big Baller still gotta do. And that guy upstairs put me here for a reason. And I’m gonna get it done.

As long as I can smile and see my boys, I’m good. But this whole experience made me realize, [you’re] lucky that you have family to get you through some stuff. But don’t feel sorry for me. You could be missing something, too. You better be careful. But that’s how you gotta respond to that. I still got folks around me that work hard and understand my drive to build a brand, to make shoes and to make other folks have the confidence in what they’re doing. 

Please understand that being successful is in your own mind. It’s not how much money you make. You could be successful if you can stay on your own two feet and got your own money coming in. Or if you come from a different situation that’s a little more dire and you come out of that? That’s success for you. Success doesn’t have to be, Does he have a Rolex? 

I noticed one of the photos SLAM took during this cover shoot. And most of the young guys, they’re not going to get this. Gelo had diamonds on his neck, diamonds on his wrist. Pull up with a diamond chain. This is usually how people show that they got it. Especially young people. They point to the jewelry. But I point to the Triple Bs on my chest. This brand, it’s worth more than your diamonds on your neck. To me, a brand is one of the biggest things you can own. So, I don’t wear any watches and chains. I don’t need to. For me, it’s all about Triple B’s, the brand.

To all the loyal fans, those who have stuck with us through thick and thin, I love all y’all. Keep doing your thing, because it ain’t gonna stop me—it ain’t gonna make me go or stop. But only be true to yourself. If you don’t like us, get to the side. If you do like us, roll with us. It’s all good. But I’m gonna keep smiling and grinning while I’m going, until the day Big Baller shuts it down. But I tell you what, when I do shut it down, you’re gonna remember who I was. I ain’t gonna change nobody, but I’m gonna change this culture. Ownership is everything.

I was telling Gelo over the phone the other day, I always said you was going to be a monster with whatever you did—whether it be basketball, rapping, singing! It’s all the same—it’s entertainment. And my boys can entertain. I also remember the boys feeling so good for Gelo in January. Anything that’s happening that’s good for Gelo, it’s good for them.

The fact that they are all together as a unit, it made me feel great. Everybody’s always saying now, Oh, LaVar went three for three. No—I’ve been three for three since the moment they came out the womb. So, I’m not going to wait until now to say, Finally! I was two for three, but now I’m three for three. I’ve always been three for three! I got three of the coldest monsters in the world. That’s what I’ve told everybody for years. But they used to call me crazy. But my boys are really like that, as the kids say. No matter what they’re doing, they’re going to be successful at it. As long as I’m seeing my boys smiling and doing what they do, then nothing else matters. 

Everybody wants to comment on us now. So, you got people now being, like, LaVar is father of the year—greatest father of all time. There are a lot of people that could be father of the year, but you want to put me on the pedestal because I got the platform now. What other sons are doing all of this right now? I mean, before you had me on another pedestal—Oh, LaVar is crazy like Ja Morant’s dad and all these other folks’ dads, they said. 

Now they changed the narrative—Oh shoot, Gelo is successful. Oh, well, LaVar’s good now. Yeah, because everybody’s worried about that money. That money changes a lot of folks. People that I haven’t heard from in a long time now want to reach out to me. 

With Gelo, whether you like him or don’t like him, it’s fine with us. It doesn’t stop us from doing what we’re doing. See, a lot of people be, like, Oh, Gelo just got his so-called newfound fame. No, he was famous when he came out the womb. Whether it be basketball or singing or rapping, he’s always been good. So, I’m not going to feel a different way about it now and be like, Oh, I’m so happy for Gelo. I’ve been happy for Gelo since he been my son. This is nothing new for me, it was a matter of time. 

The marketability of Gelo is on a whole different level. And I know the people that’s backing him, they see that. That boy got a look, got a sound. He got something you can count on that [can] go further in the business, as far as endorsements and all things that come with this entertainment.

To me, fatherhood, at the end of the day, as a parent, you just want to make sure that when you leave this earth, your kids are well taken care of. Whether you give them some money, or you give them a trade where they can take care of themselves. There’s a lot of people trying to be fathers, but at least from what I do on this platform, is to show people, Hey, stick around for your kids, regardless of what goes on with that woman. Stick around for your kids and do the best you can for something that you brought into this world. If your kid ain’t gonna be 6-5 or 6-8, you better put them in an education. If they’re going to be big, stay with them. If they’re going to be in sports, get them the right way. Fatherhood to me is something that’s mine, and I’m going to care about it ’til I die. And seeing all my boys’ success is what keeps me going. 

I just hate that they put all the numbers of what the boys are making in the paper. Everybody now is like, Gelo made it! What’s $13 million compared to what Lonzo made? $80-something million. And what’s $80-something million compared to what Melo is making? $200-something million. Then they wanna add it all up and be like, They made it—they don’t have to do nothing else in life!

So, we’re just going to sit around with a bunch of money and don’t do nothing impactful and help people with it? At the end of the day, you have to help somebody do something. Whether it be one person, two people, 10 people, a thousand people—you have to help somebody do something. That’s the bottom line. Because after you done bought everything—what’s really left?

The post LaVar Ball Talks Near-Death Health Scare in First Interview Since Amputation appeared first on SLAM.

Over the past few years, many brands have tried their hand at collaborations with the HBCU community, but oftentimes, these partnerships fall flat, feeling forced and opportunistic at a time where HBCUs have begun to garner more recognition. While AND1 isn’t Black-owned, they’ve maintained their stake as an integral player in hoop culture and Black culture since first taking the world by storm in 1993. That’s what separates AND1 from the pack and has led to this “passion partnership” with Wilberforce, as AND1 brand director Dexter Gordon likes to call it.

“Wilberforce is an NAIA school, but we wanted them to feel like a DI,” says Gordon, referring to the abundance of apparel and product they supplied the teams with, in addition to a high-major-
esque preseason media day. And this is only the beginning of AND1’s commitment to their expanding HBCU footprint. 

“We’re looking at other schools [to partner with],” Gordon says. “If opportunities from bigger schools come, then cool. But our mindset is that we want to start with the smaller HBCUs and shine a light on them.”

The post Wilberforce University and AND1 Partnership is History in the Making appeared first on SLAM.

The 6-7, 235-pound forward knows about top-10 national rankings—Peat has been a fixture in that spot in the 2025 class for years now. At press time, he was arguably the top remaining undecided senior in the country, with Baylor, Houston and Texas vying with in-state rivals Arizona and Arizona State on his list of finalists. “I’m still figuring it out, so I don’t have a timeline,” he said. “I’m just taking it day by day.”

It’s a healthy approach, and it speaks to the confidence with which Peat operates on and off the court. Growing up surrounded by high-level athletes probably has something to do with it. The son of former NFL lineman Todd Peat, he came up the youngest of seven and watched his older brothers star in football—among them Andrus, a 10-year NFL vet who spent last season with the Las Vegas Raiders, and Keona, currently at Arizona State—while his sisters Leilani and Maya both hooped in college. All of that had an effect.

“Obviously my parents supported me in whatever I did,” Koa says, “but as a competitor, watching my brothers and sisters since I was little inspired me.”

Football’s in his blood, of course—he played with Keona and their cousins, and his size made him a promising tight end prospect—but hoops became his focus in middle school, and the timing of the pandemic coincided with his decision to fully dial in. “Over Covid, I started training really hard, getting a lot better, and I could see those strides,” he says. 

“I just fell in love with the work—that’s all it takes, hard work. That’s when I knew I could go far with this.” A growth spurt got him to 6-6 by the end of ninth grade, further solidifying his path on the court.

He pairs size and athleticism with a skill set that is looking increasingly complete. Asked about his strengths, Peat says, “I’d say I’m a winner first.” And then? “I’m versatile—I feel like I can play 1 through 5, I can guard 1 through 5. I’m a leader—I’m gonna make sure my team’s locked in. I’m unselfish, and I’m a team player.” His college choice will come down to the right fit of coaching staff and style of play, a program that can appreciate all he brings and hone those strengths. 

“I’m definitely looking for coaches who are going to play me in a position where I can do everything on the court, let me play free, develop me as a player that has no flaws,” he says.

If that sounds overconfident, Peat’s résumé backs it up. In addition to those three state titles and the last two Arizona Gatorade POY awards, Peat also owns three USA Basketball gold medals, winning multiple U17 FIBA World Cups and the FIBA Americas U16 Championship in 2023. For his efforts in that tournament—he averaged a team-high 17.2 points and 8.3 boards en route to gold—Peat was named the 2023 USA Basketball Male Player of the Year.

“You dream of stuff like that,” he says now. “The numbers I had, winning the tournament, being a leader on that team, I didn’t feel like I didn’t deserve it. To have your name by all those greats that won the award just shows that if you work hard and keep focusing on your craft and work, you can do anything.” 

Portrait by Thomas Ingersoll

The post Koa Peat is Writing His Own Legacy as a Top-Ranked Star at Perry HS appeared first on SLAM.

“My mom just signed me up in kindergarten,” she tells us after practice in January. “She was like, You’re tall. Let’s try this. So, she signed me up for rec basketball in kindergarten and I met some of my best friends through basketball.” 

It’s a good thing Jazzy stuck with it, because she’s transcending high school hoops right now as the No. 3 ranked player in the nation. The three-time Gatorade Oregon Player of the Year averaged 26.4 points, 7.7 rebounds, 3.8 steals and 2.6 assists per game through 25 games last season at Clackamas, and she knows that what truly separates her from the competition is her versatility on both ends of the floor. That’s exactly the word she uses when describing her game. “I play really well off my teammates without the ball in my hands, so that’s something that I feel kind of separates me a little bit from other top players,” she says. “Also just playing both sides of the ball. Defense is a huge thing for me, and I feel like I get a lot of my offense off of defensive rebounds and pushing it in transition.”

The USC commit will look to refine her game once she gets out to Cali and suits up for head coach Lindsay Gottlieb. What stood out to her most during the recruitment process was how close-knit and “family-oriented” the Trojans, currently ranked fourth in the AP poll, are. She has her sights set on elevating her game in college and winning “a few national championships” at USC, but she knows that in order to get there, she has to put in the work first. And her main focus will be on consistency.

“I know I have a lot of work to do to get there,” she says. “Personally, I feel like I kind of do a little bit of everything, but I can always be more consistent and get better at all the little things that I already do. So, just consistency offensively. And then defensively, just making sure I’m locked in every possession, whether I’m on the ball or off the ball. [I just need to keep] fine tuning things and getting them to be more consistent.”  

Portraits by NASHCO Photography

The post Jazzy Davidson, the No. 3-Ranked Player in the Class of 2025, is Ready to Ascend Her Game at USC appeared first on SLAM.

It’s in everything he’s done so far in his career: from being the Celtics’ No. 26 pick in the 2020 draft to, in just five seasons in Boston, inking his name in the record books by hitting multiple buzzer beaters in the Finals, winning a championship and now leading the Sixth Man of the Year race. Whenever the guard has the ball in his hands, he’s like a magician in his bag of tricks. The court vision and dazzling dimes. His ability to create plays off the dribble. The efficiency at which he shoots the ball, unafraid to let it fly whenever, over whomever, from wherever. Doesn’t matter if it’s 50 feet. 

Pritchard’s impact on the Celtics is evident in his ability to perform and deliver, especially when they need it most. But to do all of that while coming off the bench? That takes sheer confidence. 

“I definitely wanted to be considered in the conversation for one of the best players off the bench,” he tells us after shootaround one day. “I mean, obviously, with our team [and] the way we’re built, we are very talented. And our starting five, obviously it’s a lot of big names. So I felt like for myself to make a jump and be considered one of the best bench players in the League, that would only help our team. And I thought I was very capable of that.”

As of mid-January, Pritchard is leading the NBA in total points off the bench (895), which puts him above last year’s Sixth Man of the Year, Minnesota’s Naz Reid. Look up and down the stat sheet and you’ll see career-high numbers in almost every category: minutes played (28.2), field-goal attempts (10.6), an ability to shoot at a more efficient clip than in years’ past. He’s averaging 14.4 ppg—double what he averaged as a rookie (7.7)—on a career-high 47.9 percent shooting from the field and 42.4 percent from behind the arc. 

During the offseason, Pritchard dialed in on refining those very aspects of his game. What we’re all witnessing now is everything coming into motion. “Just being able to shoot off the move and shoot off the dribble from three more, that’s definitely added levels to my game,” he describes. “I thought my mid-range and finishing was always really good and just continued to be good, but [I try to] just continue to be a complete ballplayer. Defensively, being more active.” 

At just 6-1, Pritchard is crashing the boards and averaging 3.8 trb and 1.4 offensive boards.

“It really just comes down to confidence, honestly,” Pritchard says, when asked what’s been the difference maker for him this season. “I’ve just been confident every time I step on the floor. That’s what I’m capable of doing, and I’m capable of helping [us] win at the highest of levels.” 

You know it’s real when you are who you think you are, and no one can deny Pritchard’s innate ability to be a spark for the Cs whenever he’s out there. In a win against the Pistons, Pritchard’s impact was everywhere en-route to a 27-point, 10-assist performance, from 27-foot pullup threes to assists to Queta to easy layups and big rebounds. “I thought he made big-time plays whether it was the offensive rebound, whether it was the play at the end of the game or just pushing the pace. You know, he kinda just has the ability to impact the game in different ways,” said head coach Joe Mazzulla after the game. 

Just last night against Portland, he dropped a career-high 43 points and knocked down a best 10 threes. Alongside teammate Derrick White’s 41-point performance, they’re the first Celtics duo ever to score 40 or more points in the same game.

The type of energy that he brings is what White called the “Payton Effect” on The Young Man and the Three podcast.

“I think it has something to do with the energy that it gives people,” Pritchard tells us, when asked about White’s comments. “The excitement, just the momentum swings and just me coming off the bench to come in with a spark and this new life of energy and the pace of play. The crowd gets behind it, too.”

In other words: he is just on a different wavelength. It’s when he’s playing freely and creatively that Pritchard does things that leave the crowd in total awe. Take for instance what happened in the fourth quarter against the Orlando Magic. With the Cs already up 112-89 in the fourth, Pritchard didn’t hold back when matched up against Wendell Carter Jr, who played solid defense but was no match for P’s artistic dribbling combos and elite footwork. Plus the step-back jumper he drained immediately after. 

“It’s definitely an art form,” he says about his approach to shooting. “I feel like there’s such a rhythm piece to it. It’s just allowing your body to be all in one motion when you shoot. That definitely helps.” 

His mindset is simple: Don’t think, just shoot. Whatever happens on the floor—including some of the craziest half-court buzzer beaters we’ve ever seen, which, might we add, he doesn’t practice but has obviously perfected—is all the result of just how much time and dedication he’s put into every aspect of his craft. What we’re witnessing now is someone just straight up hoopin’. “I’ve practiced and I’ve worked so many hours at it that I feel like when I shoot, the worst is when I start to think about my form, start to think about certain things, rather than just letting all the work I put in just come naturally,” he adds. “I try to harp on, Just let it fly. Don’t think. Be in the flow of shooting.”

Keep in mind, he’s doing all of this while on a championship squad that’s currently leading the NBA in threes. Not only is Payton shooting the lights out, but the Celtics are leading a three-point resurgence across the League, one that’s drawn a bit of criticism. But, in his opinion, if this is just one of the many things that makes them so lethal, why switch up now? “We have eight dudes on our team that could go off and hit five threes in the game very easily,” P explains. “We have eight dudes that are high-level shooters that make us very difficult, so you have to worry about every one of us. Now, a lot of teams don’t have that, and I think that’s what makes us different from most teams. You just have to worry about all of us when we’re on the court.” 

As a reigning champion, Pritchard knows there’s something bigger they’re all playing for, too: going back-to-back in the Finals and raising Banner 19. But when he looks back at how he’s gotten here and solidified himself as a key piece in their rotation, it all comes down to his ability to find balance. In the good and the bad. In the clutch performances and big-time plays. This is what he would tell a young Payton just coming into the League:

“[Don’t] ride the waves of the lows and the highs. Try to be balanced through it all,” he says. “I’ve learned that now, and I’m still learning that at times, but I’ve definitely gotten a lot better at it. But I feel like the thing that’s hardest for young players, especially in the League, is just the ups and downs. There could be a lot of nights where things just don’t go your way, or a lot of things are out of your control, but not letting it mentally affect you. But then obviously you’re gonna have a lot of good nights, but not riding that high too high either. Just maintaining that balance.”

To have his name be part of the Sixth Man conversation is an “honor,” he says. While it might come as a surprise to many, what it means to him is that all of those hours are paying off. Now it’s about keeping that same energy and more, every night.

“It means I’ve elevated to another level, which is from the work and stuff like that,” he says. “But we’re almost halfway through the year, so I got another halfway to go and show what I’m capable of. I’m just worried about game by game now [and] showing [that] every day.” 

The post The Payton Pritchard Effect appeared first on SLAM.

Trae Young knows how to deliver a perfect assist. In fact, for all Chris Paul’s razzle and Nikola Jokic’s dazzle, it’s Young who’s having an exceptional season in this regard, so definitively topping the NBA’s assist chart he should probably have his own page. He’s crossed the 20-assist mark multiple times and spent most of the year hovering around 12 per game. For reference, Magic Johnson spent his career averaging around 11. John Stockton averaged 10-and-a-half.

Not many expected this from Young, not now. Things had been getting more and more sticky in Atlanta over each of the past three years, the Hawks finishing lower and lower in the Eastern Conference standings.

But the truth is, Young started prepping for this nearly two decades ago. 

“When I was a kid, I would wrap a ball in a garbage bag, walk into the garage and turn the lights off,” he says, describing how he’d try to hit targets he couldn’t see, with a basketball he could barely feel. He knew then the odds of becoming an NBA player were long, but he also never really doubted he would, not when right from the beginning it all felt so…real. Young grew up just 30 miles north of Oklahoma City. His family had Thunder season tickets and connections to some of the coaches and players through his dad, a former college player himself.

You’ve likely seen the famous photo of Young and Kevin Durant together—Young was 13 years old but doesn’t look a day over 10. But you might not have realized that Young would go on to play for the AAU team Durant sponsored. Or that as Young got older, he was occasionally invited to Durant’s house to watch college basketball games with KD and his friends. Young also became friendly with Russell Westbrook’s little brother Ray, and then in turn with Russ.

And then there were the DVDs of Steve Nash that Young watched relentlessly before running to the local YMCA to copy the moves. The truth is that even though Young would become more known for his three-point shot by the time he got to college—“the next Stephen Curry,” bleated game broadcast after game broadcast—it was Nash whom he always wanted to be, and still thinks he can become.

“I still have a lot of room to go. I’m going to be one of the best point guards to ever play, and imagine if I do it in Atlanta,” he says, noting it’s been a long time since the Hawks won anything. (Their lone championship came 67 years ago, in 1958.) “That’s my focus. I know we’re not in a position to be doing that right now, but I’ll do whatever it takes to get there.”

As Young talks, he is standing outside the visitor’s locker room in downtown Los Angeles, and it is not lost on anyone that at several points over the past couple seasons, it seemed Young might be headed to this hallway but on the home team side. Those were seasons when the words “faith” and “trust” or even “teammates” were not always associated with Young and the rest of the Hawks roster. Instead, NBA circles were chock full of Young-to-the-Lakers trade rumors, hitting overdrive this past June when Young tweeted an hourglass emoji right after JJ Redick was officially named L.A.’s new coach.

It was no secret at the time that Young was frustrated that the two-year experiment pairing him with Dejounte Murray hadn’t worked. All parties involved have been clear: Young never asked the team for a trade. But it also seems clear he wouldn’t have argued with a deal either, especially one sending him to Southern California, where he already has an off-season home.

Except it didn’t happen. Eight days after Young’s tweet, the Hawks sent Murray to New Orleans in exchange for two first-rounders, Larry Nance Jr, 21-year-old Australian Dyson Daniels and more.

The trade has only aged better and better for Atlanta in the time since. Nance has become a key stabilizing vet presence, and Daniels has more than lived up to his “Great Barrier Thief” nickname, giving the Hawks a much-needed defensive menace while doubling his scoring output from last season.

But most of all, the deal created clarity for and around Young.

“Trae and Dejounte really were both trying to make it work, but it was more of, like, Should I do this or should you do this? and then, You do it and I will stay out of it, which meant neither could really be their full best self,” says Kyle Korver, one of the most prolific three-point shooters in NBA history and now the assistant general manager in Atlanta. “I think they were both trying to sacrifice and, ultimately, well, I was once given great marriage advice from my father-in-law. He said, If both of you are only compromising, you’re going to have a compromised marriage. There’s something to that with basketball, too.”

So trading Murray helped. But it would take more, with effort on both sides. During Summer League, Young flew to Las Vegas to spend time with the Hawks’ newest players. Afterward, the team brass took Young out to dinner, making sure it was a two-way conversation, asking Young about his frustrations and promising to improve communication with their franchise star. 

Young’s relationship with Hawks head coach Quin Snyder also made a difference. Young has had some, um, head coach issues before (see: McMillan, Nate), but he and Snyder have long been kindred spirits and will often text deep into the early morning hours about small moments of a particular game or something Snyder has noticed on film.

This summer, Snyder asked Young to buy in to what would be yet another fresh start for the organization he’s played for since 2018. Young said yes.

“We use the word evolution a lot, and I think sometimes people are just at the right time in their lives to take a step,” Snyder says, noting how Young is still, well, young despite having been an NBA fixture for so long. At just 26, he’s at an age where a number of the kids he went to college with are still living with their parents. Yet Young himself is now a married father of two, playing in his eighth season and he is plainly now trying to do things a different way.

He’s let his scoring numbers dip so his teammates’ could rise. He’s elevated forward Jalen Johnson, empowered sixth man De’Andre Hunter (editor’s note: this story was published prior to the trade to Cleveland). Plus, as one Hawks exec put it, he’s now “looking to compete on defense, which was not always the case.” 

This does not, of course, mean Young has shifted radically. He still knows how to draw a foul, is still one of the craftiest players on the perimeter, still has nights where he tosses off deep bombs like he’s swatting flies. But this year, those moments feel less like a main course and more like a garnish. The flash hasn’t disappeared; it’s just been tempered by purpose. And while the Hawks are still a young team just trying to stay in playoff contention in the East, the changes have paid off in all sorts of small ways.

Making the NBA Cup semifinals in December was a particularly nice moment for the franchise, and it didn’t hurt that they got there by beating the Knicks in Madison Square Garden. It also didn’t go unnoticed that after Young ended the night pretending to roll dice at center court, his teammates crowded around him. “He’s earned the trust of his players,” Bucks head coach Doc Rivers said a few days later. “This team likes playing with him; that’s obvious. I couldn’t say that in the past, but now they love playing with him.”

Milwaukee would go on to beat Atlanta, but Young saw tremendous value in the whole experience. “It showed us we’re a good team, and all it takes is getting on a run,” he says. “I’ve been on a run before—when you’re on one, and you play well, that’s all that matters.”

Since then, the Hawks have been both up and down, but Young has maintained his grip on the League’s assist mark. The truth is, of all the statistics that clutter a box score, it’s the assist number that tells you the most about what is really going on with a player. It’s an intentional choice, night after night, to create the web of connective tissue at the core of any winning team.

Trae Young can deliver a perfect assist. And this season, it’s not just a pass. It’s a promise. 

The post Trae Young Talks the Art of the Assist and Future in Atlanta appeared first on SLAM.

The breakout forward touting a 7-5 wingspan has taken over the A-10 with a quickness. As of this writing, he’s the only DI player this season to record 20 dunks and 20 threes, netting more than 40 percent of his shots from downtown. He collected back-to-back 26-pieces in December and posted 16 points, 20 rebounds and 3 steals in a single-digit loss to the Texas Longhorns. On any given night, he’s putting up 16.1 points, 9.1 boards, 1.8 steals and 1.5 blocks. 

The development has been on full display since Rasheer was battling for playing time on a stacked Camden roster and with the New Jersey Scholars on the EYBL circuit, where he picked up his Saint Joe’s offer during warm-ups for a Philly Live tournament. He’s been churning out double-doubles ever since.

“They always saw the potential in me, so they’ve always talked about developing me into the greatest player that I could be,” Rasheer says. “The vision for the team as well, winning a national championship for sure. That was the main vision going into the program, and they’ve always talked about that with me. And I can see it now.”

Photos via Getty Images.

The post The Emergence of Rasheer Fleming into a Double-Double Standout at St. Joseph’s appeared first on SLAM.

Miles McBride has lived a lot of lives.

From starring under the Friday night lights in Cincinnati, OH, as a high school quarterback to walking the runway at Paris Fashion Week, his journey at only 24 years old has taken him around the world and landed him here: on the court at Madison Square Garden for the New York Knicks.

“Coming from Ohio and West V, they’re big-time sports places. If you’re an athlete and if you’re good, people are going to know who you are. New York is like a whole different spotlight,” McBride says. “When you’re good, everybody loves you. When you’re not playing as well, people are throwing shade. The way I grew up, I always wanted to rise to the top, so I feel like I was made for it.”

And that seems to be true. He dropped 22 points in just 26 minutes off the bench in the Knicks’ season opener. After being drafted by the team in 2021, McBride, otherwise known as “Deuce,” has consistently proven his dedication to the game—and the lifestyle. This year, he is putting up his biggest numbers yet. 

“He’s evolved so much since moving to New York. The city and his team have really helped elevate him as a person,” explains Chantelle Thach, his stylist of two years. “ I’ve been trying to grow his style where it reflects the way he plays on the court, too.  He’s more serious now.”

“I feel like as I get a little older, I might have to tap more into suits,” McBride says with a laugh, as he sifts through piles of embellished jackets and collared shirts strewn across the cream sofa in his living room. “More of an official look. A tailored look.”

But for now? He’s in experimentation mode. 

There are a few things to know about McBride: his favorite brand is Chrome Hearts. His pregame hype artist is Lil Durk. His doorman still ties his tie (something McBride admittedly has never been good at). Perhaps most notably, he has an abnormal collection of hats. And by abnormal, we mean extensive. So it seems like a natural occurrence for him to be standing here in front of his full-length mirror, tucking his braids beneath a maroon Aimé Leon Dore and a vintage Cincinnati Reds hat in deep contemplation. He switches between the two, asking Thach for her opinion before nodding in satisfaction at the latter (declaring that either way, his face card “never declines”) and taking the elevator down to the Chelsea streets below to shoot his third and final look of the night. 

“Being expressive is really important. I want to try things. For me, it shows that I’m more than a basketball player,” McBride says about his style. 

For Deuce, whose shy smile and deep laugh give way to a much more playful personality than seen on camera, being serious about his game has never held him back from a life of ventures. It’s no surprise he’s one of the few NBA players who can say they walked an international runway. 

“Right before the show, I could see the models getting into a different mindset, and I was kind of comparing it to going out before a game,” he says, reflecting on his experience modeling for NAMESAKE at Paris Fashion Week in July 2023. “ Obviously their job is serious, but I didn’t see how prepared they really got. It was interesting seeing that and talking to them and relating to it.”

As for the NBA, McBride credits Dwyane Wade with being his fashion mentor in the League, referencing their many conversations about individual expression. He also rocks with Tre Mann’s style (“He’s definitely bringing back an early 2000s look”) and even hyped up Jericho Sims for gifting him a blue Avirex jacket during the team’s Secret Santa. “Asking my teammates what they’re wearing [before games] is a whole other conversation starter,” he says. “It’s cool to see how fashion has evolved so much in the League.”

Now, with the Cavaliers/Thunder game as background noise next to a large window perfectly framing the Empire State Building, McBride grabs the handle of a monogrammed Louis Vuitton roller bag before heading out the door for a look that he describes as his “private jet style,” a last-minute decision that proves his affinity for both experimentation and refinement.  

“I have a mindset of, if I like it, I’m gonna rock it. If I’m doing my thing, it gives me more confidence,” he says. “And I bring that to the court.” 

Portraits by The Hapa Blonde

The post From MSG to the Tunnel, Miles McBride is Bringing Creativity to His Fashion Game appeared first on SLAM.

Their answers might surprise you. For Nyanin, it’s a soulful jam: “Rise Up” by Andra Day. “It’s a spiritual experience when I hear that song,” she says. “I think there’s something to be said about embracing the unknown and just rising. We talk about the Valkyries ascending, and I think a synonym of ascending is rising. So, I think that the Valkyries will rise to the occasion and I can’t wait for everybody else to see what we’ve got going on.” 

Nakase’s pick is just as soulful, but with a little more swagger.

“My number one go-to when I walk into the gym, what I want to hear is Rihanna. I need to hear…I’m going to say it [and] y’all can bleep it: ‘B-tch Better Have My Money.’ Let me emphasize: ‘B-tch Better Have My Money.’ Let’s get paid, ladies.”

You can sense the energy and excitement in their eyes, knowing that they have the chance to form an entirely new identity and a team that will only continue to grow the WNBA and women’s sports. But we had a couple more questions for them, too, specifically about what we can expect from the Valkyries now that they’ve selected 11 players for their roster (the team did not select anyone from Seattle), as well as the women who will be leading a franchise for the very first time in their careers (Nyanin was an assistant GM on the Liberty prior to joining Golden State). 

It’s a bit of unchartered territory for everyone; the last time the W expanded was in ’08 with the Atlanta Dream. When the League announced on October 5, 2023, that it was expanding to Golden State (since then, it also unveiled plans to expand to Toronto, welcoming the Tempo as its 14th franchise), it came with the chance to set a precedent and to build an entire organization from the ground up. From hiring Nakase, who spent three seasons as an assistant coach on the Las Vegas Aces and 10 seasons with the L.A. Clippers prior to that, to the entire front office, which has worked endlessly to create an entire identity, culture, logo and—finally—a roster that includes seven international players, four former champions and a handful of exciting names, Golden State has placed itself in a prime position to enter the W ready to go on Day 1. And keep in mind, there’s still free agency and the 2025 WNBA Draft, where the Valkyries have the fifth, 17th and 30th picks. 

But how exactly do Nakase and Co. plan on leading this team and making it a competitive championship contender? After all, that’s always the goal, isn’t it?

It starts with the three non-negotiables Nakase has for each player, as she tells us: “Ultra-competitive, high character and have a never-satisfied mindset. By that I mean, when you play, you gotta play like your life depends on it. Win or die, basically. That’s what we’re looking for.” 

Immediately after her introductory press conference in October, Nakase got to work assembling the team’s roster. As a former video coordinator and a mentee of Becky Hammon (whom she says has the biggest heart) and Tyronn Lue (a “savant of basketball” with an “IQ [that] is off the roof”), Nakase loves diving into film and breaking the game down. That’s exactly what she, Nyanin and Vanja Cernivec, the team’s Vice President, Basketball Operations, did when deciding who to draft.

“My starting point with building this team really was to go back and reflect on all the players
I had a feeling we’re going to be possibly on the list for expansion,” says Nakase. “Right after my
press conference, we got together and I’m like, OK, show me the list. I want your list, my list, I want Ohemaa’s and Vanja’s. We collaborated, we discussed and got down to one or two players that we actually agreed on [and then] it was like, OK, go watch more film. And we just kept doing that over and over, and then from there it was like, Let’s settle in. But then, I might throw in a wrench and be like, I like this idea, I like this player. There were a lot of, we like to say ‘passionate conversations’ that went on during this draft process, but also honest collaboration is how we’d word it. It was really great…and at the end of the day, we have 11 competitive players that fit our culture.”

Nakase emphasizes that she’s looking for a team that can hold its own defensively, play fast and “space the floor, play the right way, work on execution and focus on the little details of the game.” And as a coach, she wants to bring a sense of honesty and openness to her players, too.  “I’m a truth teller…My dad was a straight shooter. If I was messing up, he would let me know, but he also coached with love and passion, too. If I struggled, he was there, and I got to lean on him. It’s a combination of both. I’m a truth teller, and I’m also going to open my heart and let my players pour into me, but at the end of the day, I’m going to get the best out of them every single day.” 

When we sat down with Ohemaa, we learned that the vision for the franchise is centered around player empowerment. “We want to make sure we continue to elevate them and their platforms of just being who they are. They love being a part of different communities,” she says. “They’ve had the opportunity to play in all these different countries, play in the United States or maybe not. The diverse nature of their experiences will make for a really impactful experience for Valkyries fans and for each other.”

And, as Nakase explains below, each player is special in their own way, too. Golden State fans, allow us to introduce your Valkyries. 

Iliana Rupert (via the Atlanta Dream): She’s a positive light, she has a great spirit about her. What’s great about Ili is she wants to learn as much as she can. My first year with her, she was like, Coach, whatever it takes, whatever you need from me I’ll do. I’m like, Can you space the floor and shoot threes and then just lock up defensively whether it’s a 2, 3, 4, 5?And she’s like, Coach, I got you.

Maria Conde (via the Chicago Sky): Ooh, this girl! Watching her on film was a pleasure because she plays with so much energy and so much passion. She’s going to play hard on both ends of the court. She can space the floor, and what’s really great about Maria, too, is she knows how to play with the ball and she knows how to play without the ball.

Veronica Burton (from the Connecticut Sun): We know she’s a hard worker, she seems to play the game with joy and wants to be good at it. Those are the things we want in our players. —Ohemaa via Swish Appeal 

Carla Leite (via the Dallas Wings): Twenty years old but does not play like a 20-year-old. She’s a point guard, she’s poised, she can space the floor with that three and she can shoot off the dribble and off the catch. With all that already, she’s only 20 but she has so much potential to grow and become a really dominant player in the W.

Temi Fagbenle (via the Indiana Fever): Temi killed us when I was with the Las Vegas Aces. Down the floor, she’s one of the most electrifying athletes that I’ve ever seen before. I had to have a special defense for Temi. Defensively, she’s a rim protector, she’s a rebounder and I would not want to go against her in the paint. 

Kate Martin (via the Las Vegas Aces): Kate “Money” Martin is a culture-changer. When she walks into the building, you can feel her energy, you can hear her energy because she’s going to be talking; [she’s] just a great human being. She can defend, she can space and shoot the three. But people are always going to feel Kate every day when they walk into the building. I just can’t wait to reunite with Kate.

Stephanie Talbot (via the Los Angeles Sparks): She is a veteran that just knows how to play basketball. She has a high IQ, and she’s a player that’s [like], I’m willing to do anything, Coach. She can post and make decisions…her competitive fierceness is something I’m really looking forward to.

Cecilia Zandalasini (via the Minnesota Lynx): I can’t wait. She’s a sharpshooter. What’s special about Cecilia is she can sprint to run routes. We’re looking for her to catch and shoot threes, off the dribble, her length, defense and versatility is going to be unbelievable and more importantly, she has playoff experience.

Kayla Thornton (from the New York Liberty): “My champion. I can’t wait to coach her, she stepped up in big minutes—those are vital minutes that you can’t replace, so I can’t wait for her to defend, lock up, offensively she can space the floor, she can handle it and make quick decisions. She’s going to be such a crucial part of the Golden State Valkyries and I can’t wait to see it.”

Monique Billings (via the Phoenix Mercury): High, high energy. Fierce competitor. She boards like crazy, but more importantly, with the skill I saw she was able to rebound, push it, run and finish with either hand. I’m excited. I talk about pushing pace, she’s going to make us even faster and faster and her personality is contagious. She’s funny, hilarious. 

Julie Vanloo (via the Washington Mystics): Competitor. Ultra, ultra competitor. She fits the three non-negotiables: ultra-competitor, high character and she definitely has a never-satisfied mindset. She said, I can’t wait to come and more importantly, you’re not going to be disappointed. That’s a player that I can’t wait to see.

The post Meet the Golden State Valkyries: Natalie Nakase and Ohemaa Nyanin Talk Roster and Mentality appeared first on SLAM.

The one-of-a-kind operation is the NBA’s first and only music record label and entertainment division, producing music, films and cultural activations with a focus on local artistry. Teaming up with the region’s most creative minds, they’ve made everything from in-game arena anthems to entire documentaries.

Now, Golden State Entertainment is in position to make a splash as this year’s All-Star Weekend takes place right in their backyard.

“We want to maximize the integration between music, culture, sports and film. It’s natural here
[in the Bay Area] and easier than trying to do it someplace else,” says Kelly, who grew up in Chicago. “That’s why you get the innovation. The Bay moves different.”

In November, the team announced its partnership with P-Lo, a Filipino-American rapper and lifelong Warriors fan, to launch For The Soil. The six-track collaborative album and series of live performances aims to highlight the Bay Area’s wealth of cultural output leading up to the NBA’s 74th All-Star Weekend festivities.

The project’s debut single, “Players Holiday ’25,” dropped to heavy fanfare in December. The video features a cast of Bay Area All-Stars like Larry June, G-Eazy, Kamaiyah and LaRussell gathered at San Francisco’s most iconic basketball court in Chinatown, showcasing the region’s ethnic diversity and intergenerational unity. Other tracks include established artists like Symba, Too $hort and the Bay Area’s de facto ambassador and Dubs superfan himself, E-40. Rising talents like Seiji Oda, 24kGoldn and Michael Sneed also get their shine on.

“It’s important to put on Bay Area artists,” Kelly says. “It’s great for the Bay and people coming for All-Star Weekend who have never traveled here. Maybe they have some sights they want to
see but don’t really understand Bay Area culture. This is an entry point.” 

Photos courtesy of Golden State Entertainment.

The post Golden State Entertainment Captures the Culture and Artistry of the Bay appeared first on SLAM.

Nika Mühl doesn’t follow the rules. 

With a stack of awards, hundreds of thousands of followers on social media and a personality just as fiery as her game, the 23-year-old Seattle Storm guard is in her own zone. After claiming GQ’s title of Most Stylish WNBA Player back in October—narrowly beating out fellow rookie and fan favorite Cameron Brink—the former UConn point guard, who was also on the LeagueFits First Team and named LeagueFits Rookie of the Year, has perfected her pre-game style just as much as her warm-up routine.

“ I like to think of fashion as a set of rules that I don’t like to follow,” Mühl tells LeagueFits. 

And it’s true. On the court, she’s a powerhouse; in the tunnel, she’s a trendsetter. A seamless blend of subtle glam and bold femininity define Mühl’s distinct look. Characterized by sharp tailoring, rich hues and plenty of accessories, Mühl carries her best-dressed title well, embracing experimentation while remaining steadfastly herself. The one thing you’ll never find her without? A pair of statement sunnies. “If I could wear sunglasses at my wedding, I would,” Mühl says with a laugh. The air was cool and the sky grey as Mühl pulled up to her shoot on a Friday in early January in her hometown of Zagreb, Croatia. Born to Roberta and Darko Mühl, two former hoopers, Nika credits her parents with inspiring all avenues of her career, from fueling her athletic ambitions to ideating and designing some of her most iconic looks. 

After missing the first four games of the 2024 season due to a delayed work visa, Mühl popped out in the tunnel for her pro debut at Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena sporting a graphic tee complete with a photo of her paperwork with a giant “approved” stamped across the front, a bold statement created by her father. “I knew I wanted something that would turn heads for the first time I was going to play,” Mühl explains. “He helped me design the whole thing in one day. It’s one of my favorite looks.” She styled the tee atop an acid-washed denim mini skirt, deep green knee-high boots and an oversized black handbag, a pairing that is quintessentially Nika.

Aside from the stylistic talents of her father, Mühl credits her mother with instilling in her the confidence necessary to embody such bold choices with ease. “It has always been about confidence for me,” Mühl says as she reflects on her style evolution. “Whether I had to fake it or not, I just knew I wanted to look different. I don’t like to blend in.”

Blending in has never been an issue for Mühl, who was named Big East Defensive Player of the Year twice and broke UConn’s all-time career assist record before becoming the 14th pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft. That June night not only jumpstarted her professional basketball career, but a career in fashion, too.  

“ I wasn’t expecting to be invited to the draft. Never in a million years,” Mühl recalls. “The invite came five days before, and I had nothing in my closet that was worthy of being worn.” That’s when she took to Instagram and DM’d her now-stylist Brittany Hampton to help curate a look that quickly became one of the most buzzy fits in the League: a tailored cropped suit jacket, midi slit skirt, Gentle Monster x Mugler sunglasses and an icy grill with the letters ZG, an homage to her hometown. “ I trust [Hampton] with my life. Every vision that I have, she puts a little bit of her magic onto it and it turns out better than I even thought,” Mühl says.

A visionary herself, Mühl takes a similar collaborative approach to the way she pieces together her Insta-worthy tunnel fits. “ I love to mix styles and eras to make them cohesive,” she says, describing her personal taste as multi-dimensional and slightly androgynous. “I don’t like being in my comfort zone.” And although she has solidified her place as one of the WNBA’s leading faces of fashion, it will never come in between her love of ball. ​”​ I don’t think what I’m wearing that day influences how I’m approaching the game at all. I keep those two things very separate,” she says. “Fashion takes up a little bit of my day, basketball takes up 80 percent of my day. It’s really just a bonus for me to feel good.” 

As for what’s next in her career, Mühl says it’s only just begun. As fans eagerly await her return to the court after a torn ACL and meniscus in early October, her undeniable grit has led her past recovery efforts and into a multi-faceted career, one that is unmistakably authentic and rapidly growing. 

“I’m really embracing this journey,” she says. “ I don’t think I’ve even touched the surface of where I can be when it comes to fashion.” 

Portraits Karla Jurić & Ive Trojanović, 925STUDIO

The post Nika Mühl is in Her Own Zone appeared first on SLAM.

If you know LeagueFits, you know that Jordan Clarkson has been doing this for a minute. The Utah Jazz point guard has influenced players in the NBA and WNBA, college and high school, and plain old casual fans of the game worldwide. 

We sat down with the perennial LeagueFits All-Star to get his thoughts on how NBA fashion has evolved, where he gets his unique pieces and what’s next.

LEAGUEFITS: When you joined the League, fit pics as we know them were just becoming a thing for the first time. You had the kilt, which was one of the first-ever internet viral looks from the basketball world. The LeagueFits Era [of NBA fashion] is really just the internet era, right? How has the NBA fashion scene evolved in your eyes since you were drafted? 

JORDAN CLARKSON: I think it’s just a lot more attention paid to it. Guys have been, you know, putting on different stuff, different looks and illustrating their own vibe when they come to the arena. Like you said, with the internet and these outlets that are covering the NBA, it’s like…I’ll never say I’m the first one to do something, because I think guys have been legendary through this whole period. You look at guys like Allen Iverson, Tim Duncan—who’s, like, iconic to me—I say that a lot of times when I speak on lifestyle because that was him. Dennis Rodman, like, all down the line, but [the internet] was the turning point for us because I feel like everybody is paying attention to what they’re wearing and how they come to the game now. 

LF: In that early era of LeagueFits, there were, like, 25 guys who dressed. When we did our end of season awards, only, like, 10 cool guys were getting left off. Now, everyone is dressing up and it’s impossible to pick these awards. You have 12th men on rosters who are LeagueFits regulars knowing they will get attention. In your early days with the Lakers and Cavaliers, the attention and media wasn’t quite there yet. Why were you dressing up? 

JC: My thing was, I just always wanted to be fresh. I’ve been this way since I was a kid, just always trying to be the first to wear something different, finding a way to express myself in my love for fashion and clothes. That’s been there forever. So I think I came into this organically…I’m really what I’m about, and that’s looking fresh, looking clean. That’s why people, I think, sh-t, I think that’s why a lot of people are f-cking with me, because it’s organic, honestly. 

LF: So it started from a point that’s lowkey kinda wholesome, but now, it’s grown so much, right? You have endorsement deals. You’re going to Fashion Week. Brands are paying you to wear pieces. Was there a moment when you realized that not only did you care about what you were wearing, but a lot of other people did, too? 

JC: I would say after Paris Fashion Week. For me, that was super eye opening. 

LF: Your first? 

JC: It was right after Covid had ended [2022] and I went to [Paris] Fashion Week. I had done Milan before, but yeah, the first time I went to Paris, I was just, like, “This is crazy.” I didn’t personally think that people f-cked with what I was doing to that point of everybody just f-cking with me. So I thought it was cool. That was my first time seeing it. People cared about what I had on. Now I know people are paying attention. So, you know, I’ll never be trying to get caught slipping on my fits, that’s for sure. 

LF: That wasn’t that long ago. You had been going viral for years. What was it specifically in Paris that made you realize fashion wasn’t just a hobby but something bigger? 

JC: It was being with designers. I sat down after the John Elliott show—[I’ve] been cool with John Elliott for a long time, but just getting a chance to talk to him was next level, and seeing his process, how he did his runway show. It was a love of the art, seeing how deep it goes and [it] made me have better insight and gave me more reason to love it and go out there and do my stuff. 

LF: I’ve always wanted to ask about this. The first viral moment in LeagueFits history was when y’all pulled up in the Thom Browne suits [the 2018 NBA postseason]. I feel like it was the moment that introduced a lot of casual fans to NBA fashion. Everyone had the same suit, but a lot of you put your own twists on them. How did that happen? 

JC: So we have Bron and K-Love and got everybody together and they were doing the suit thing, got the custom suits from Thom Browne. We would all have a set we wore to each game, and when we got to The Finals, we were wearing the same suit. I was like, “Man, let’s switch it up. We are on the West Coast. Like, I’mma just cut my pants, is that cool?” But I’m still going to wear the suit because I didn’t want to make it too different from the team. Next thing you know, Bron cuts his [shorts], everyone starts cutting theirs. 

LF: So you were the first one to cut [the suit pants into shorts] then?

JC: [Laughs] Yeah, yeah. 

I’m really what I’m about, and that’s looking fresh, looking clean. That’s why people, I think, sh-t, I think that’s why a lot of people are f-cking with me, because it’s organic, honestly. 

LF: Did you realize it was a big moment as it was happening? 

JC: Nah, I feel like, when you’re in it, you don’t really know what’s really going on, especially during the playoffs. But after it all, I saw the media coverage and everything that was going on, it was pretty dope for sure. 

LF: You’ve been doing this for basically the entirety of the LeagueFits and internet era. I won’t say names, but there are a lot of guys who have been in your position, and they’ve flamed out of the fashion stuff a bit. They’ve hit a wall. Planning 82+ outfits a year at minimum plus Fashion Weeks and other events created burnout. That hasn’t been the case for you. 

JC: I can’t stop myself from doing it. I’m organically doing this. Like you said, on an NBA team, you now have 15 guys coming in fresh. But me, I’ve been doing it a long time. This is just me. This is who I am. I don’t care if I’m going to the grocery store, I’m putting something on like if I were getting photographed. If I went to CVS or Walgreens to get a bag of chips, or a corner store, I’m in something. Even when I’m wearing sweats, majority of the time, they might be different than what your normal sweats are. I’ll cut them in a different way, just trying to make something out of nothing.

LF: You realize that’s unique, right? Like, even guys with stylists who are dressing up all the time, they take the occasional day off to wear team-issued gear or whatever. 

JC: Yeah, yeah. That’s just me. I just do it because it’s me going somewhere. I change three, four times a day and forget. “Oh man, baby, let me try this. I’m going to throw this jacket on.” My boys know I keep clothes everywhere. There’s clothes in my trunk, my whole house is a closet. I don’t have a little area sectioned out, clothes is everywhere. 

LF: Your collection has got to be in the hundreds or thousands. How are you getting all this stuff?

JC: I’m always looking for different brands, designers, seeing how they make pieces different than others. This is art at the end of the day. I don’t scroll on Instagram…I’m scrolling through people’s sites and seeing what they have. 

LF: So you’re saying the way people casually scroll social media on their phone, it’s the same for you, except you’re scrolling, like, retail sites? 

JC: Yeah, I’m for sure on Grailed, just seeing what people are seeing or what people are reselling stuff for. Like, seeing if somebody’s selling something for the low, just trying to get off of it, I’m like, “Oh man, that’s kind of fresh.”

LF: Do sellers on Grailed know they’re interacting with Jordan Clarkson?

JC: Yeah, they do. Sometimes they hit me up, like “Yo, we about to send you some more stuff,” and I’m like, “Alright, that’s cool.” 

LF: Do you have any pieces that you had to take a tough route to get, something that was tougher than liking a mannequin’s look at H Lorenzo?

JC: It’s my [Marithé + François] Girbaud jeans. I found those on Grailed, for, like, $20. I was trying to find Girbaud jeans for the longest, and I was waiting because people were selling them for crazy prices on Grailed. Then I saw one that was right there, and I was like, “Nah, no way you’re selling them for this cheap,” and just snagged them. Snagged ’em. Got two pairs now. 

LF: I’ve seen your closet in San Antonio, and it was insane, and I know that was just a sneak peek. I haven’t seen Utah, the trunks of your cars, etc. Some guys wear things once and that’s it, but you’re not afraid to wear pieces you love. Like, I know exactly which Girbaud jeans you’re talking about. So you have pieces you get attached to and aren’t afraid to wear over and over?

JC: Yeah, for real. I’m the king of recycling. I’m gonna get a cool 100 different looks off this one jacket, pants, whatever it is. I’m able to piece different things together. People go, like, full designer, and I throw in vintage pieces with it, switch it up. And like you said, I do get attached to pieces. Right now, I’m super attached to my Balenciaga bomber with the hoodie stitched in. I’ve worn that for like two years still, and I switch it up with so much different stuff, I don’t even think people notice it. 

LF: I’ve noticed it, but I guess that’s my job to notice it. 

JC: [Laughs] Right! 

LF: You’ve done Paris, Milan and New York Fashion Weeks. You have hundreds of tunnel pictures, millions of likes, big endorsement deals. Have you beaten the game? Or is something up next? 

JC: My own brand. It’s called Seventy-Eight Studios. Seventy-eight is the address of the street I grew up on. As the owner and creative director, I’m super hands-on with [the brand], we’ve been working on it for three years now, you know, finding the factories, putting my foot in that door, understanding what it is to make a brand and have these clothes. It’s a lot tougher than people think. I’m on phone calls, random texts late at night with people that are going to the factory the next day. I’m all the way locked into it. I’m always changing something, looking for something new to put in. Like, we ain’t only just doing clothes. We’re getting into furniture stuff, different every-day stuff. There’s pottery, different creative stuff that’ll fall under Seventy-Eight Studios. 

We took pictures with some of the stuff we’re gonna have coming out soon, so that’s probably my biggest focus in terms of clothes: giving people a product that’s for me and a brand that’s for me…I love who I work with, but being able to curate my own brand, design, that’s the next step. 

Portraits Jalin “Hype” Morgan

Assisted by Bryan Chow 

Creative by Jordan Clarkson and SeventyEightKen 

The post Jordan Clarkson Talks NBA Fashion, Wearing Thom Browne Suit Shorts (First) and Starting Seventy-Eight Studios appeared first on SLAM.

Their SLAM 254 cover story details how they’ve ascended in the West, first impressions of each other, becoming a defensive powerhouse and more.

The post Houston Rockets Cover SLAM 254 appeared first on SLAM.

But the Good Book also says God’s plans are to give you hope and a future. And safe to say, the future is looking brighter than ever for the perennial All-Star, who has taken his game to an otherworldly level and is in the middle of arguably his best season as a professional.

As we go to press, the sharpshooting big man is averaging a 25.4 points and 13.9 rebounds a game, with exceptional shooting splits of 55%/45%/84%. And just in case you’re wondering, the Knicks are sitting comfortably as a top-3 seed in the East. And what’s even more noteworthy than these gaudy numbers is the humility and gratitude that KAT continues to walk with on his path to basketball immortality. The Knicks gained much more than a franchise cornerstone when he came to town.

The gentle killer pulled up to SLAM HQ on a blistering cold winter evening to chop it up about how he’s managed the transition back home, representing for his fellow Dominicans in the city and abroad, celebrating his 10th year in the League, what it’s gonna take for these Knicks to make a deep postseason run, what he expects of himself when he puts on that blue and orange and much more.   

SLAM: You grew up not too far from here, right across the river in New Jersey. It’s now been a few months since the trade, and you’ve had some time to process this move. How’s the transition been?

Karl-Anthony Towns: It’s crazy you say it’s been a few months; it feels like yesterday. It’s awesome to be back home, to be with my family, see my grandmother and my aunts—a lot of my Dominican family still resides here in New York, so it’s really cool to be able to see them more often than I was able to when I was in Minnesota.

SLAM: You’ve always been vocal about how much your Dominican background means to you. New York has a large Dominican population; how has that full-circle moment been, being able to represent for your culture front and center in a place where the Dominican population is so concentrated?

KAT: It means a lot. My mother immigrated from the Dominican Republic to New York. And like you said, it’s a full-circle moment to go from playing basketball with my cousins in the backyard in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, and just hoping to be an NBA player one day, to now being here in Madison Square Garden. Playing for and representing my heritage means a lot to my family, especially my Dominican side, and I’m just proud that I get to go out there every night and represent for them.

SLAM: I read that you had been working on building a youth facility down in the Dominican Republic. 

KAT: Oh yeah, I was able to work with Go! Sports, GO Ministries and World Youth Clubs, and we will be making a whole sports facility out in Santiago, in the Dominican Republic. It’ll have four basketball courts, a full soccer turf field, three baseball fields—about to be a fourth—we’re building a track and field and we also have two volleyball courts. Being able to give this to the kids in the Dominican Republic has been an awesome opportunity.

SLAM: Another full-circle moment you experienced coming back to New York is reuniting with Coach Tom Thibodeau. Can you speak to how it’s been getting back together with him and your relationship with Thibs in general?

KAT: Like you said, me and Thibs are at different points in our lives, especially as men. I have more years of life under my belt and more experience in this game and business. I have a different outlook on life and a different outlook on my profession. I’ve always had tremendous respect for Thibs, even back in Minnesota, and my respect for him has only grown more as I got older and played more games in the NBA. You see the determination he has to win and the sacrifice he makes every single day to prepare his team with the best opportunity to win. That’s something that you don’t take lightly in my position. And for him to be that kind of guy to really sacrifice so much of his life so that we can have the best opportunity to take care of our families—I got nothing but respect for that.

SLAM: Not to say you weren’t already proving your greatness in Minnesota, but as an observer, it seems there’s just a different spark you’ve been playing with since the trade. What about playing for New York has allowed you to shine the way you have?

KAT: I mean, it’s just a different role. And I always talk about being a superstar in my role, and my role here is different than it was in Minnesota. I just wanted to be the best I could be for my teammates, and New York presented a new role for me to fulfill.

SLAM: What about this year’s Knicks squad is different from other teams you’ve been a part of?

KAT: I’ve been very fortunate to be part of some amazingly talented teams, and this team is just…different. I think we’re as talented a team I’ve ever played for, but it’s just a different team. We’re not the tallest team, and I’m used to being around a bunch of 7-footers. That’s probably the biggest physical difference. But the talent is here, and it’s abundant. I love the professionalism the team brings every day. I love the humor Josh Hart and Jalen Brunson bring fasho’, and especially when you add Mikal Bridges, too. I still think OG [Anunoby] is the funniest on the team, though. I love our grit—that New York grit. The culture is about leaving it all on the floor for the fans and respecting their time. And I just love that.

SLAM: From an aerial perspective, how would you assess the season so far as we head to the midway mark?

KAT: I think we’ve done a great job putting ourselves in position to win, even the games we’ve lost—to be in position to win is the most important thing, and we’ve done a great job of finding different ways to win. I see ourselves growing every single day as a team. I also think it’s great that we’re learning hard lessons early on in the season rather than later when you can’t afford them. I’m really proud of our team. The way we came together, the way that we find ways to win and the way we continue to fight regardless of the outcome speaks volumes to the characters in our locker room.

SLAM: What do you think it’s gonna take to make a deep run this postseason?

KAT: When I think of my Minnesota team last year, God was good to us with health. So it’s gonna come down to just staying healthy and playing our best basketball at the right time, and just executing. From my experience, we just have to be the best versions of ourselves when we need to be the best version of ourselves. We’re gonna use this time to continue to learn, continue to build our team and continuity and continue to find ways to impact the game in many different aspects.

I always talk about being a superstar in my role, and my role here is different than it was in Minnesota.

SLAM: Speaking of experience, you’re celebrating your 10th year in the League. How do you reflect on this when you’re thinking about the ups and downs and lessons you’ve learned on this journey?

KAT: I look back at the 19-year-old boy I was coming into the NBA, and how life has made me a man. It grew me up, whether that was the losses on the court or the losses off the court. It’s changed me, and it’s made me a stronger, more resilient, better version of myself. And some of those hardest lessons came with the steepest price, and I’ve paid them. I’m 10 years in, still standing strong, still got a great support system, still blessed to have my father, my sister and have my mother’s [presence] still with me every day. I’ve been blessed to still be inspiring the next generation of basketball players, to continue to find success in this League and, more importantly, to continue to impact change and positivity into my communities. I’m very happy with my first 10 years in the NBA, and I know my next 10 are going to be some of the most impactful years of my life, and I’m excited. I’m blessed with whatever I get. I’m happy to be in this situation, because not a lot of people can say they are. 

SLAM: You speak of inspiring the next generation, but what’s inspiring you to keep chasing greatness?

KAT: Again, it starts with my support system and family…It really does mean a lot to me when I see little kids—and I’m not just talking about them being fans of me—respecting the game at a higher level just by watching me play. That drives me to be a positive reinforcement of why the game of basketball is so great. Those little things in life wake me up in the morning and put a smile on my face. And I really appreciate the fans and my family for making this experience so enjoyable, so rewarding and, most importantly, so humbling.

SLAM: You’re already in the conversation as one of the most talented big men to ever play the game. But building on that, what are your expectations for yourself, especially coming back east to New York?

KAT: Take nine years of amazing experience I had in Minnesota, take the year in college and all those years I had in high school here in Jersey and cash in all that experience and that time and work put into the gym, and just hope to bring wins here to New York. That’s all I’m thinking about every single day. I just want to utilize all that experience and find ways to bring wins to Madison Square Garden and to the fans here. That’s what keeps me up at night—finding different ways to help this team, help my teammates be the best version of themselves and working on myself so I can be the best version of myself for my team. 

THE SLAM 254 KAT COVER COLLECTION

Portraits by Marcus Stevens.

The post Karl-Anthony Towns Opens Up About His Dominican Roots, Expectations and What It’ll Take for the Knicks to Make a Postseason Run appeared first on SLAM.

He asked that the current players at Simeon, his alma mater, be included in the shoot. And
not just the varsity squad—freshman and JV, too. And, so, after we finished solo shots with Rose, about 40-ish teenagers arrived to join the Bulls legend in a media day-type set up that included photo and video stations. Except, when they first arrived, they had no idea what they were about to partake in. 

Looking to surprise the kids, Rose’s team and Simeon varsity head coach Tim Flowers, who was Rose’s teammate and starting center when both played for the Wolverines in the mid 2000s, decided not to tell the players in advance why they were being asked to come down to the school on a Saturday afternoon. After Rose was done with his solo shots, he walked up to a classroom where the players had been asked to gather and surprised them with a visit. Rose made sure to go around the room and individually dap up every single player before stopping at the center of the classroom and delivering an impromptu, off-the-dome speech. A raw and candid talk with them about life, mistakes, obstacles and the challenges that they’re facing in the South Side of Chicago, all of which he could relate to.    

All of this to say, Rose’s post-playing career is primed to make an even bigger impact in the world than the one wearing a basketball jersey ever did. Or at least that’s definitely the goal,
as you’ll read below. This chapter of Rose’s life is about stepping out of the comfort zone and entering industries and sectors that once didn’t even seem likely or a match for him. And, so, we thought it was only right that we delivered our interview with the superstar to the world unfiltered, in Q&A format, for everyone to take in directly from Rose, as he looked back at his historic career while also looking ahead into the future.

SLAM: Aside from your social media post, your retirement announcement involved a letter to the game of basketball that ran in newspapers in all the markets you played in. Can you walk us through the thought process behind deciding to announce your retirement in that unique manner? 

Derrick Rose: I feel like it was a team effort. You know, when I first made the decision, of course, I told my two friends, Randall [Hampton] and Maddie [Ornstil] about it and they’re [now] working on my team with me. And Maddie mentioned, What about the newspaper? I didn’t answer right away. That’s something we kept ideating on, and it came together great. But we wanted to give something that was tangible for the fans to actually go out and purchase. Something to have, like a time stamp. I’m a collector now, but I know people that’ve been following my career for numerous years. I know they would’ve loved the opportunity to be a part of that moment. So, putting something out like that into the world, [that’s] tangible and giving you the old-school feel of how things used to be—like the fabric of things back in the day. 

SLAM: Your IG caption for the announcement read: “The psychological assumption automatically provides the means to fulfill the dream desire.” Why did you decide to go with that line for your announcement caption and how would you say that statement relates to your own personal journey?

DR: That’s something that I wrote on my mirror [and] I look at every day. It’s whatever you think you are or whatever you think of, you can actually become it or manifest it. So, it’s just a reminder. I got like five to eight quotes on my mirror that remind me every day. But that one is number one because in order for me to fulfill my dream and desire, it has to be on [my] mind constantly. It has to be an obsession. It has to be intrusive. You can’t just love it, you have to be obsessed with it. And I feel like this process right now is not only me, but my team being obsessed with the journey, the challenge, and just pushing each other to be great. So, we have a goal, [but] I don’t want to say the goal right now, but we have a goal and we have a vision that we’re going to complete. But there’s no point of my stating it right now when we still got a lot of work to do. 

SLAM: Where is that mirror located?

DR: It’s my personal mirror, my bathroom mirror. And I just started that like a few months ago…Like two months ago, recently…Just something that I heard through somebody. It was through a lecture or something like that. And I just tried it just to see how it would work. My wife was looking at me crazy, my kids were looking at me crazy, but, yeah, just pushing myself to be uncomfortable and living in the unknown. 

SLAM: You signed off your retirement letter by saying that the game will always be a part of you, no matter where life takes you. How do you anticipate the game will continue to be a part of you in your post-playing days? 

DR: I feel like being from Chicago is already ingrained in me. I gave my all to the game. That’s one of the reasons I could step away and be happy with stepping away and not feel any resentment or feel down about it. My son plays, my youngest son plays and it’s really me tailor-making their schedule, however I see it’s fit for them. Like, both of my kids play, but I don’t push them to actually go out there. I give them the opportunity to voice their opinion on certain things. So, we’re on the court, You don’t like this drill, what you want to do? And that relationship, it helps a lot with me and PJ, and with my youngest, him seeing PJ work out, too. So, basketball is always going to be a part of my life in general. But my goal, when these years pass, and I keep telling Maddie and Randall this, I want to remove myself from that imagery—where 20, 30 years down the line, I want young guys that play here or when I go visit places, I want them to not know that I played basketball at all because I want to keep completing my goals, and that’s to become a businessman and really to boss up in every area.

SLAM: Are there hobbies or personal interests that you’ve now been able to dedicate time to post-retirement that you maybe didn’t have time to do during your playing days? 

DR: It’s a lot to do with that camera right there. Figuring out if I want to be a director or producer, figuring out the difference between the two, because I always thought that they were the same. But I feel like I’m heading toward the director side, really catching the eye. I feel like I’ve put in the work, I’ve put in tens of thousands of hours in watching documentaries and films, weird docs and great docs. And now it’s all about taking the courage to actually be behind the camera and to voice my opinion. I feel like that’d be the hardest challenge. I’ve also been playing a lot of chess and hopefully somewhere down the line within the next couple of weeks, I’ll ink a chess deal [and] you’ll be hearing about it pretty soon.

SLAM: Where and when did that passion for storytelling originate? 

DR: I will say toward the end of my career, like five or six years ago, knowing that, first, I was into history. I then went from history to me questioning myself, Would you ever think about putting out a doc or putting out stories that are in books that people really don’t tell? And it went from that to me actually getting a camera, me being behind a camera, me being so uncomfortable being behind the camera, talking, multitasking, while I’m behind the camera, and trying to put it all together and being uncomfortable. That’s what I love about just holding a camera. How cool would it have been if it was Michael Jordan or Magic or Michael Jackson behind the camera and it was them shooting everything? It would make the doc a little bit more special, I feel like, instead of them having a crew to shoot it. You hear their voice, the little mess-ups, the errors, everything. I just love raw footage. 

SLAM: You mentioned you enjoy history. Is that something that developed while studying at Simeon or later in life? 

DR: As I got older, it came from my mom. The love of history came from my mom because my mom is big into history, not knowing that I would love it somewhere down the line. But with me figuring out who I was through self- knowledge, self-revelation and self-identity—figuring those three keys out—I started to realize, like, Hey, I’m obsessed with this. I just don’t love it, I’m obsessed with it. I started to cry about certain things that I read. I started to look up or daydream about certain things that I read. And at that moment, that’s how I knew that I was really passionate for it. So, it’s about now translating that over to what that looks like with me finding my eye for certain films or certain things that I want to shoot. And the next step is having the courage to put that out there to present it to the world.

SLAM: I’m sure you’ve had some time to reflect on your playing career over the past couple of months. Looking back, what would you say were your top three on-court moments? 

DR: I would say [winning] MVP. My first game as a rookie. And the third one would be the 50-point game in Minnesota. In that order. 

SLAM: Similarly, having had some time to reflect, what would you say is the biggest life lesson you took away from your playing days that you can now pass on and teach the kids at Simeon? 

DR: I would say to cherish the moment. When you look up the definition of cherish, it means to protect, too. Not only to remember, but to protect. All my best friends that went here, we still talk about Simeon to this day. And now that I’m thinking about it, that’s something that we protected in a way, where, for one, you’re not going to say anything crazy about Simeon when we are around. But also knowing that we now have people in powerful spots here, so that’s our way of being on the ground, always having somebody nearby to protect it. And just knowing that these days, you can’t get them back.

If I could tell the kids, I wish that I could have held on to the memories a little bit more because it was a blur. You win the first [MVP award], that’s already out the window. You want to get to the second [MVP]. I wish I would’ve cherished that first one a little bit more. I wish I would’ve took more pictures, I wish I would’ve had videos. I wish I would have just held on to it. 

SLAM: A big portion of your retirement ceremony weekend will be dedicated to community initiatives around Chicago and local kids. Can you tell us more about some of the initiatives you’d like to do on the community front moving forward? 

DR: For one, coming back here [to Simeon], we’re doing an all-star game event here. This came from—when we were in high school, on this random day, Cam’ron and Dipset had a game here, and it was unexpected. We were about to go home. We didn’t have practice [that day] and to see them pull up in Range Rovers—pink Range Rovers—back there and just had everybody come back to the school, pack out the gym and watch them hoop. I didn’t think of the idea, but Randall ended up asking me, Man, what do you think if we did something like that? And it was a no brainer, we for sure have to do that, but [this time] we’re going to play in it. 

It’s about activations, collaborating with the Bulls and Sloomoo, the slime company, and other partners, to move around the city and make it a real all-star weekend experience.  

SLAM: If 36-year-old Derrick Rose could have a conversation with 22-year-old Derrick Rose, what would you say to him? 

DR: Be patient. When I was younger, I always kept the mindset of like, keep it moving. I call it KIM: keep it moving. And once again, I didn’t cherish those moments because I’m thinking, like, Ah, I won one MVP, next year I’m about to win another one. I’m about to win three or four more. I’m about to win the championship. So, I don’t got time to really celebrate because you hear all the time, once you achieve something, you can’t really bask in it that long. If you do, you’re going to miss out on the next opportunity. I always kept the mindset of, like, keep it moving. But at the same time, looking back at it [now], [I would suggest] just enjoying it. Going to dinner, going to concerts more, events. Really, throwing myself into the matrix. But at that time, I wasn’t ready for that…It was the little things that I overlooked. My third or fourth year—I think it was my fourth year—that’s when I saw Kobe kind of relax. Once I saw that, that’s when I started to relax, because I knew that he wasn’t living the life that he portrayed. Not in a bad way—he wasn’t that intense, I would say.

SLAM: If you had to identify a couple of mentors who helped you stay mentally level-headed through all the ups and downs of your career, who would you say they were and how did they help you? 

DR: For one, my man, Harvey Hampton, that’s my best friend’s dad. He kind of took me in as his third child, [his] family took me in as like their third child. I used to spend the night over at their house almost the entire summer. When I first met him, he threw me for a loop because everybody in my neighborhood that was doing well or had families that were doing well, they were doing nefarious things. I remember being at his house and I asked him straight up, like, Do you sell drugs or something? He started laughing in my face and took me to his office, which is a part of the living room, and was just showing me, like, Nah, I work at a chemical company. I clean the water that you drink, that you bathe in. So, to assume that he was doing nefarious things and for me going there to hear the complete opposite, it kind of blew me away. 

Another guy Dre—Driller—lived in my neighborhood, another guy that was into nefarious things, but changed his life at the right time to help not only in the neighborhood but at Simeon and was one of the coaches at Simeon while we were here. I had another guy that coached along with Harvey, with us in AAU; his name is Lou Tops. And Lou was kind of like the wild card on the team, but taught us heart, bravery and just passion for the game. Coming here, Bob Henry, that was the varsity coach here before I got here. When I came here, I played JV and our coach was Robert Smith. But the varsity coach here, the same guy who coached Benji Wilson, he taught everybody a little bit of something as far as becoming a man, making sure you didn’t mess up in school, making sure that you did think things through, critically thinking and teaching you discipline. That’s the biggest thing I got from here and from all the people that I’ve been around—how disciplined they were.

SLAM: Your retirement weekend will have lots of activations that are meant to celebrate with fans in different capacities. What do you hope people take out of the weekend from an experience standpoint? 

DR: Peace and love, some type of peace and some type of love, or just a vibration. We never thought that we would have an all-star weekend here or host two days here. If we did think that, it was probably a thought that [it’d happen] while I was playing. But to do all of this after the fact, and to conflate everything together and come up with something that’s going to be special and that we could probably turn into an annual thing—you never know. We’re pushing ourselves and we’re getting the most out of every day. It’s a perfect place to be. I call it a great problem. Most people just got problems, but we got great problems. 

SLAM: Twenty, 30 years from now, when people talk to the next generation of kids about your career, what do you hope they remember most about it and the impact you made on the game and on the city of Chicago?

DR: I’d want the question to be, He hooped? I want that one question. I want them to be amazed that I hooped. That’s how far away removed I want to be from it.

The post EXCLUSIVE Derrick Rose Interview 🌹 Former MVP on his Past, Present & Future appeared first on SLAM.

My 40-year-old knees are worn out. Worn out like the lawn behind my childhood home, and for the same reason. It’s the reason I bought a rim and backboard set with the cash I saved on my 12th birthday. It’s why I had my dad lower the rim after the first week. It’s why I replaced it with a spring-loaded rim a year later. Before that, it was the reason that my Spalding Micro-Mini hoop snapped within an hour of purchasing. The reason the old lady next door complained. The reason why Shawn Kemp was (and still is) my hero. It’s the reason why, even all these years later, the skin on my palms at the base of my fingers is rough. It’s why my 1994 NBA All-Star Weekend VHS tape went fuzzy.

It’s because all I ever wanted to do was dunk.

The problem was that I did most of my growing early so, by the age of 16, my height was just about scraping 5-10 and my fingers just about scraping the rim. Hope, as usual, would be found within the hallowed pages of SLAM. It wasn’t in a frame-by-frame SLAMADAMONTH spread, either (although those were insanely dope). No. It was the ads that provided a solution to my problem with gravity. The range of Jump Higher programs on offer in our first two decades was wild, and within our magazines were scattered a medley of options. It wasn’t just me who wanted more bounce. We all did.

The ad that initially stood out to me was from the late ’90s. What’s crazy is that the program didn’t even have a name; it was just a lot of writing (we had larger attention spans back then…) and a black and white pic. The text implied that someone was giving away some top secret, Area 51 type of info. This, combined with a mysterious photo that was giving “Loch Ness Monster” style vibes had me completely locked in. The pic featured a young-looking kid jumping freakishly high (a trampoline?! definitely not…) with a defender helplessly waiting to have a basketball smashed into his unathletic face. It was significant that the kid featured was white. I was (and still am) also white and, until YouTube and Mac McClung (shout out to Rex Chapman, too) proved otherwise, our destiny was to replicate Larry Bird’s dunk package, if we were lucky. If this program could get a white kid dunking, then there was hope for us all. Surely.

I never did meet anyone who got their hands on that report—it claimed to be free—but the brand name, “Why Almost Everyone is Wrong About How They Train to Increase Their Vertical” was possibly a little long and not too catchy. Others, though, really stayed in the memory bank and, despite being pricey, saw a lot of success.

Jumpsoles and Strength Shoes were the early big hitters. For a long stretch, it would be common to find both brands battling it out in an issue, fighting for our pockets and their share of a bunny-hungry market. While basically the same product, Strength Shoes provided an entire shoe, along with Bob Knight and Bobby Hurley Sr’s approval. Jumpsoles, on the other hand, were strapped onto your existing shoe. This flexibility, as well as an athlete endorsement from the greatest short dunker (at the time) ever witnessed in Spud Webb, made sense. Although he was winning dunk contests almost 10 years before this product hit the market, we didn’t ask questions.

For a short period, we saw ads from imitation products such as Gainers and Skyflex, who apparently didn’t get off the ground (pun intended, always). Jumpsoles and Strength Shoes would hold their solid grip on the market and remain in our pages for a long time. My skeptical assumption, combined with the fact that I didn’t want to risk spending more money than I ever had in my bank account, was that they probably didn’t work. I’d heard reports of Yeah, right moments where a dude who couldn’t touch the rim wore them for five minutes and went on to throw down a windmill, all in an effort to sell units to kids at a camp. Others reported that the shoes would blow out your knees or that just working the calves would never be enough. Still, there have been countless others who claim them to be totally legit, and the fact that both of these brands exist today is perhaps proof of this.

Other equipment-based products available included ankle weights, vests, even a board with bungee straps that promoted itself with the tagline, “INCREASE YOUR VERTICAL BY ACTUALLY JUMPING!” Still, other programs boasted “No special shoes or weights necessary” and products like the Air Alert series began to push plyometrics over physical products. The fact that these brands required no actual equipment (other than books or DVDs) to be shipped, combined with the rise of the internet, meant that this section of the market was even more competitive. Names such as AIRBORNE!, JUMP ON, Mad Bounce and Vertical Leap Beyond Belief would fight for the attention of SLAM readers, all following a similar format. Some would refer to their information being “top secret…until now!” Quotes would be included from happy customers whose lives had been drastically altered by jumping higher. An ad by Leapfrog attempted to hook us in by sending customers a “dunk montage of 75 slams including a 6-1 LEAPFROGGIN’ jam over a 6-3 person.” I would’ve loved to have seen that whole thing. Oh, and they all, of course, guaranteed a specific gain of inches, a claim that was awkwardly comparable to a completely different industry that was spamming our in-boxes at the time. Fulfilling the desire to perform and/or impress is big business.

In the end, I never did invest in a “jump higher” type of program (three-pointers are cooler these days anyway, right?) but I remain fascinated by how synonymous they are with SLAM and, in turn, basketball culture. If I could go back to when I was a teen, I don’t think I’d opt for Strength Shoes or Jump Soles, not even Air Alert (which is still going btw!) for that matter. Too much effort. Instead, I’d give the Vertical Growth supplement pills a go. What could go wrong? If not then the Vertical Blast 2000 would have done the job. They worked for Todd from Phoenix, AZ, (pictured with a female companion no less) so why not Sammy from Erdington? If I wasn’t too late (this particular ad states that it’s only available to the first 125 “athletes” who respond) then a bottle of Adenotrex looked like a safe bet.

If all else failed, then there’s one product that couldn’t. Genuinely. The Slam Station springboard—”a stable but portable ‘mad ups’ producing dunking machine that gets you where you want to be…ABOVE THE RIM.” Incredible.

I barely ever dunked on a regulation rim ( a couple of times, maybe), but my dunking fantasy remains. And sometimes, after bending down to rub my aching 40-year-old knees, I still think to myself, “Why didn’t I send for that top-secret jumping info in SLAM…” 

The post These OLD SLAM ADS Promised to Help You Dunk and Improve Your Vertical—Guaranteed appeared first on SLAM.

The last 12 months have been a flurry of camps, tournaments, events and enacting his own clinics on defenders and offensive threats alike. And the wide-spread recognition has rightfully poured in. “It’s just kind of recent, like my freshman, sophomore year. I realized that I loved basketball once I shot out my sophomore year and I just kept wanting to play,” Chris says. “Because most people, they’ll just stop and quit, but I kept going and worked harder, and it motivated me.”

The 6-10 center with the bag of a guard has always been one of the tallest among his peers. But it wasn’t until his freshman season at Riverside Academy that he began building toward his future. Alongside his trainer, coach James Parlow, Chris crafted the foundation of the skill set that we see today. One dribble, with a shoulder into the chest, straight into a two-hand flush. Face up fadeaways from the same spot. Pull-up middies off the pick-and-roll. The handles to create coast-to-coast in transition and for others. 

“I feel like every year I got two times better than where I was the year before, which is the goal. Just development. A lot of skill work, working on having a lot of skills,” Chris says. “The goal was to be a versatile big that can guard all positions, handle the ball, shoot the ball, take a guy off the dribble, all those types of things. That was our plan, and I worked and got better and it came to life.” 

Despite the pieces falling into place, Chris was forced to sit out the entirety of his sophomore season after transferring to Isidore Newman School in New Orleans. Transfer rules ruled him ineligible. While the team went on to capture its second straight state championship, Chris was holed up in the lab trying to close the gap between himself and the top-ranked prospects who had been grinding for their keep since middle school. “I was just thinking, Be in the gym and catch up to everyone,” Chris says.

He entered the summer with a Big Easy-sized chip on his shoulder and led the school to its third consecutive state title the following season, averaging 13.9 points and 10.2 boards a game. Now, he’s taking his double-double game to the acclaimed Link Academy in Missouri. 

At the program that’s produced the likes of Ja’Kobe Walter, Jordan Walsh and current Texas freshman Tre Johnson, Cenac Jr is taking advantage of every glimmer of opportunity that presents itself. He’s assumed the role of the squad’s head honcho, electing to lead through actions and let his voice follow as he builds out the habits for his future. “The main thing right now for me is winning the national championship with these guys that I’m at Link with,” Chris says. 

The journey has been rewarding, ranking as high as the No. 7 player in the class of 2025. But that feeling of catching up still hasn’t faded. There are more levels to climb before reaching the ultimate goal. 

“It feels good, but at the same time, it’s not the only place that I want to be at. The rankings now, it’s cool. But the NBA, and lasting in the NBA for a long time, is the main goal. I can’t be complacent.”

Photos via Getty Images. Portrait by Marcus Stevens.

The post Chris Cenac Jr Has a New Home at Link Academy and His Sights Set on a National Championship appeared first on SLAM.

Just as Page, who had always loved hoops as much as music (even if he’d never worked in the sport), started to get anxious about what magazine he might launch next, a friend of his from the music business, Alan Grunblatt, suggested he start, effectively, “a hip-hop basketball magazine.” 

Sports media would never be the same.

Professional athletes have been “cool” for almost as long as sports have existed as a vocation. Page’s first favorite players were guys he saw in person growing up in Trenton, NJ—local legend Tal Brody, and New York City’s Lew Alcindor, whose Power Memorial team had visited Page’s hometown to take on Trenton Catholic. As Page’s hoops exposure grew with sports media’s gradual growth, he fell in love with players like Earl “The Pearl” Monroe and Julius “Dr. J” Erving. Then there was Isiah Thomas. And by the early 90s, of course, there was Michael Jordan. But the way these superheroes were covered by the press stayed pretty static. Newspapers focused on games and stats. TV focused on broadcasting games. Street & Smith’s magazine took the time to care about spotlighting young players and Sport and Sports Illustrated raised the level of writing in the field, and Page devoured all of them. There wasn’t much flavor, though.

As Page writes in the intro to the recently released book, 30 Years of SLAM: The Definition of Basketball Culture, “The idea crystallized as a basketball-only magazine from a hip-hop point of view. I could see it in my head clear as day; the design would look like those Nike/Mars Blackmon/Michael Jordan print ads, the photography would be as good as VIBE, and the writing would be irreverent like Rolling Stone.”

There were some hiccups over the early years—Michael Jordan retired just as Issue 1 was being planned, Reggie Miller didn’t appreciate some of the jokes made at his expense, some long-time NBA execs and old-school reporters did not enjoy SLAM’s tone—but more or less, Page’s vision played out beautifully. SLAM’s covers showed the players like the “rock stars” they were. SLAM introduced fashion shoots to sports magazines and has covered the look of basketball players in some manner ever since (most famously in the 2020s with its must-follow Instagram account, @leaguefits). SLAM introduced a KICKS section about sneakers that for many years was the first place players and fans would turn when they opened an issue. The KICKS section begat a KICKS Magazine that has come out annually since 1998 and in many ways set the tone for the now-countless numbers of sneaker mags, blogs, and social media accounts (including @slamkicks, natch) that have popped up since.

The mag’s almost non-stop ascension as a business lasted from launch in 1994 to early 2004, when the 10th anniversary issue dropped at a whopping, lucrative and Vogue-like 260(!!) pages, stuffed with ads from every sneaker brand and hip-hop label you could think of and it was the best-selling sports magazine on American newsstands.

Then the internet took over. SLAM—and in particular, Harris Publications, the old-school family publisher that operated it—was pretty slow to figure out how to monetize online. Issues shrank in terms of revenue and page count. There were some terribly hard times from a business perspective, but the staff—Page always had a gift for hiring and empowering talented folks who were on the rise in the profession, the best of whom had a gift for hiring and empowering an even newer generation of on-the-rise future stars—never stopped caring about the sport, the lifestyle, or the “#slamfam” that stayed loyal through it all. 

While SLAM had been slow to convert to the world wide web, it was lightning-quick as social media became the new place to reach fans, surpassing one million followers on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook very quickly on each of those platforms without ever spending a dime to “buy” or “boost” its reach. SLAM was, and is, an organic media outlet fueled by the love of the game.

In the most-recent stage of SLAM’s life, from about 2017, when SLAM was acquired by JDS Sports and Page became an actual part owner of the magazine he’d started, to today, you’ll occasionally “hear” Page say—either literally, in his classic South Jersey accent, or virtually, via an Instagram post or comment—“this shit ain’t easy.” 

It wasn’t. And isn’t. But with Page’s dedication to the game and the brand, and the many great folks who learned from him matching that devotion, SLAM has made it to 30 years and transformed the sport every step of the way.

Reprinted from the Basketball Hall of Fame Enshrinement 2024 Yearbook courtesy of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Ben Osborne is a longtime sports writer and editor who served as SLAM’s Editor-in-Chief from 2007-2016.

The post How Dennis Page Founded SLAM and Transformed Sports Media appeared first on SLAM.

Those were the exact words that Corey “Homicide” Williams said the day he called me in 2015 to let me know that he had just landed a TV broadcasting job in Australia’s National Basketball League.  

The New York playground legend hadn’t even finished his playing career (played in Australia, Sweden, China, Germany, France, Lebanon and Iraq, among many other countries) when the NBL approached him to be a commentator for the league. Despite not having any previous experience as a broadcaster, Homicide’s larger-than-life personality was suited to be in front of a camera, an infectious energy that then General Manager of the NBL Jeremy Loeliger understood was missing from Aussie television screens. 

I was working for ESPN Australia based in New York when Homicide rang me at my Queens apartment from Melbourne to tell me he’d just been made an offer by the NBL. In typical Homicide fashion, he’d already mapped out his 5-year plan for making the transition from the court to television and leaving his mark on the NBL. 

He officially became a full-time media personality with the NBL prior to the 2017-18 season and it came as natural to him as Steph Curry pulling up from the logo. His opinions on topics, infused with a touch of his New York braggadocio, endeared him to the Australian public from the very jump. 

He figured that to get the people going, you needed to be provocative. 

Homicide interacted with fans—and haters—on social media. His weekly power rankings, which he posted on his Instagram page, became a motivational tool for players wanting to prove him wrong, or, in some cases, correct. 

Once the league started gaining traction globally, he coined the now famous phrase, “this ain’t no cupcake league.” It let import players know that the NBL was to be taken seriously, and if you didn’t, you’d would be out of a job real quick. 

As his career flourished, Homicide decided he wanted to do his own podcast, giving listeners an insight into his world beyond basketball and the NBL. He wanted a platform to voice his opinion on his life, basketball, music and culture. I was back in Australia by this time, and he reached out to me to co-host with him. 

“There’s nobody else I wanna do this with, b,” he said. 

When it came time for us to record the first episode of “UPFRONT with Corey Williams,” he hammered home the point that this was a joint venture. He didn’t want me to take a back seat, even to him. 

“I want the people to know your story, too. This [show] won’t work if it’s just me,” he emphasized. Homicide never wanted the spotlight to himself. If he shined, you shined, too. 

He wasn’t afraid to tell it like he saw it, and no player or coach was safe if they were underperforming. Even as he battled cancer, he was still unafraid to speak his mind on our podcast, calling out Melbourne United head coach Dean Vickerman during the 2024 NBL Grand Final series. 

He connected with Australians because he was unashamedly himself. His love for the game, and desire to see the NBL grow, shone through. Attending NBL games with him meant at least a thirty-minute detour before you could get to your seat, as fans stopped and asked him for selfies. 

He galvanized NBL fans, and in the end, even the ones who may have hated from a far can’t deny that the NBL was better for having had him champion it. 

A legend of the game, on and off the court, and across opposite ends of the hemispheres.

Photos courtesy of Nick Metallinos and Getty Images.

The post From NBL MVP to Becoming a Renowned Broadcaster: the Legacy of Corey “Homicide” Williams appeared first on SLAM.

That’s because the 6-8 guard is the youngest player in American hoops to have gone pro—ever. 

Last spring, just after turning 17, the wiry, athletic phenom bypassed his senior year at LG Pinkston High School in Texas to join the G League Ignite. He etched himself into the record books by signing a two-year deal with the NBA’s premier developmental unit, edging out former Ignite star Scoot Henderson—who, up to that point, had been the youngest American to participate in a professional basketball league—by five weeks.

But beyond Pate’s historically young age marker—which, to be clear, has become more normalized in the modern world of basketball—he’s simply a baller. Throw on his highlight tape and you’ll quickly understand why this Southern blue chipper has been wildly sought after. Ranked as a five-star prospect, he garnered recruitment from the nation’s premier college programs (Kansas, Kentucky, Georgetown and the like) as one of the most coveted additions of his class.

Instead, he took the LaMelo Ball route by going pro early. He played with the Ignite for a season, and in his limited but stellar outings, cemented his potential as a hybrid 1 guard who can do it all. He concluded his debut campaign with an average of 24 minutes, 8 points, 2.9 rebounds and 3.6 assists per contest. His length, smoothness, creativity and tempered decision making are reminiscent of Penny Hardaway (one of Pate’s idols) mixed with Shaun Livingston—another of Pate’s exemplaries—and a dash of (yes, I’m gonna say it) LeBron James, who is Pate’s all-time favorite.

“I watch the big guards. I key into what they’re doing,” he tells me over a Zoom call from his porch in Dallas. “But basketball wasn’t even my first love. I was a football player, bruh. I wanted to go to the NFL like Julio Jones, Dez Bryant. I only started playing basketball because I was in a program where you had to play both.”

It explains Pate’s propensity for action and his ability to shift gears and hit the lane with relentless bursts of speed. Large and point-guard minded, Pate knows where his spots are and will surgically get there to create for himself and his teammates. A panther in transition, he pounces, glides and Euro-steps around, through and over any defenders clogging the lane. Impressively, the former NFL hopeful plays with more finesse than force on the hardwood. In fact, it’s his cerebral grasp of in-game rhythm and flow that most seems to define his potential contributions at the NBA level.

But his plans to reach the Association became complicated by Ignite’s recent disbandment; only halfway into his contract with the team, the Las Vegas-based squad folded. Their unexpected dissolution means Pate and his cohort were the last to ever suit up in the experimental NBA organization’s black, purple and white threads. Like always, he had to figure out the best play to make next.

First, he attempted to enter the 2024 NBA Draft with his teammates Matas Buzelis and Ron Holland (lottery picks for the Chicago Bulls and Detroit Pistons, respectively) via a waiver exemption, but was denied due to being under the League’s age limit. That hasn’t deterred the bucket-getting protégé from pursuing his telos, though. Pate made a historic pivot by signing with the NBA-affiliated Mexico City Capitanes.

“I found out [about Ignite’s ending] 45 minutes before the world found out. I didn’t think an NBA program would shut down,” he admits. “But I don’t regret it. That’s adversity. That’s where I get my confidence from. I have to be fully prepared. You never know what’s gonna happen next. What’s next is I went to the gym and I had a job to do, the season wasn’t over yet. And it means I’m the last one in history, as the youngest to ever play with the Ignite.

“I’ve always kept the main thing the main thing,” he adds, without hesitation. “Basketball is the main thing.”

Basketball is why Dink Pate—a Black, Gen Z teenager from Pleasant Grove—is living in Mexico’s capital. Currently, he’s projected to be a star on the Capitanes.

The outfit is the only Mexican-owned sporting franchise to ever compete as a full-fledged member of any pro US league. Having officially joined the G in 2021, Mexico City has since become a top destination for NBA veterans like Jahlil Okafor, Kenneth Faried, Michael Carter-Williams and Juan Toscano-Anderson, who enjoy the chance to shine in North America’s largest city (Mexico City is bigger than New York, L.A, Chicago, Toronto or any other city you can name on this continental expanse). The metropolitan scale and commercial offerings, along with its passionate, international fan base, is something that other G League teams located in places like Southaven, Mississippi and Oshkosh, WI, simply cannot match. And unless they’re on a two-way contract, Capitanes players are available to be called up by any of the NBA’s 30 troupes, which makes it an ideal proving ground for a rising star like Pate. 

And yet, the Capitanes are also Latin America’s home base for its growing ranks of hoop talent aiming to reach the NBA from Mexico, Puerto Rico, Brazil the Dominican Republic and elsewhere. The coaching staff is bilingual. The players and personnel vary in age, experience and career paths. It’s no ordinary circumstance for anyone to enter, let alone an American teenager who nearly ended up playing at the University of Alabama before deciding to go pro.

To his credit, Pate isn’t overthinking any of it. He’s taking Spanish classes once a week. Growing up in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, where the Capitanes coincidentally played their home games during the COVID-impacted 2021 season (and which boasts over 2 million Mexican-heritage residents), has prepared him for this moment. He feels eager if not proud to put a spotlight on Mexico’s culture and its affinity for basketball.

“I be wearing my sombrero, bruh. I got Mexican homeboys. I stay representing,” he tells me, a Mexican American, with a genuine smile. “I feel like I got a country on my back now. I went down for two weeks and was showered with nothing but love. I love Mexico. That’s family.”

Mexico City will provide more than enough opportunities for what Pate is ready to deliver. Unlike his US-born contemporaries who will be mostly playing in front of college students and alumni at prestigious, ivory-towered campuses, Pate will be electrifying thousands of Spanish-chanting fans at Arena CDMX in the Azcapotzalco neighborhood of Mexico City as a member of the Capitanes.

When we linked up down south, he had just finished practice at Mexico’s national Olympic facility. We met at the bustling Monumento a la Revolución in the Aztec capital’s Plaza de la República. The triumphal arch—think the Arc de Triomphe on Champs-Élysées—symbolizes Mexico’s revolution, in which myth-like heroes such as Emiliano Zapata and Pancho Villa were crowned liberators of the country’s working classes, effectively rewriting Mexican history over a century ago. 

Besides standing for the nation’s rebellion, the memorial is also the primary logo for the Capitanes. And what better identifier is there for Pate—a player who has already broken history as the youngest pro US baller, and who signed to Reebok—than an ode to revolution?

The NBA’s current age eligibility rules were implemented in 2006, just three years after LeBron James entered the League straight out of St. Vincent-St. Mary High School like an otherworldly meteor of fiery athleticism and professional maturity. But what King James has accomplished since going pro as a teen has been, well, kingly and unprecedented. In 2005, the NBA’s CBA determined that the League simply needed more time in assessing its ultra-young pool of talent, so mandated that all future players must be at least one year removed from their high school graduation and must turn 19 years old within the same calendar year of being drafted.

Unfortunately for Pate, being born in March means he won’t hit 19 until 2025, when he can finally become eligible for the NBA alongside fellow lottery prospects like Cooper Flagg, Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper. At this stage, he’s embracing each step with a precocious mindfulness.

“You can do everything with poetry,” Pate says. “Poetry is real calm. It’s not loud. Stay low and move slow.”

When asked where he developed that mindset, he cites the apodictic rap revolutionary, Tupac Shakur. Pate flashes his Makaveli tattoo and tells me that all 713 of Pac’s tracks are worth listening to. 

On the court, Pate carries a Shakurian blend of maturity and freeness of spirit. You can see it in his off-the-dribble shooting. His calculated step backs. His rhythmic spins. And you can see it in the way he carries a joyful confidence, too.

“I’m not worried about my game,” he says. “I’m focused on my leadership, my communication. I’m gonna be that guy on the team. I’m ready to take the blame. I’ve always been a leader to high school kids but I’m about to be thrown to the fire. I’m ready for it.”

Portraits by Sandra Blow.

The post Dink Pate is Ready to Make History and Become the First Pro Hooper Drafted Out of Mexico appeared first on SLAM.

The state of his English was apparent over the course of an hour-long conversation in New York City in October: Risacher showed off a solid grasp of the language, much of it picked up from teammates in the LNB Elite, the top French pro league, where he made his senior team debut as a 16-year-old in 2021 and spent the next three seasons. “It’s locker room English, not what you expect to learn in a classroom,” he says. There were also movies, especially hoop flicks like He Got Game and Coach Carter, which he’s recently been able to watch without French overdubs. “They were actually better in English, for sure.”

Based on initial impressions from the NBA preseason, Risacher’s time in France’s pro league was no less beneficial to the development of his game. The 6-8, 200-pound wing, chosen No. 1 overall by Atlanta in the 2024 NBA Draft, made a dream first impression in his NBA debut, going for 18 points (on 7-9 shooting) in just 23 minutes in a win over the Pacers. Those numbers, and that result, might not count toward the Hawks’ hopes for a bounce-back season, but the value of Risacher’s outing is no less real.

Just ask the two guys whose appraisals matter as much as anyone’s in the ATL.

“It looked like he was enjoying himself,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder told reporters after the game. “He’s going to have good games, he’s going to have some bad games, but seeing him really have fun playing with his teammates, and those guys making each other better, was what I enjoyed.”

Trae Young, the Hawks’ franchise player, was similarly pleased with what he saw from his new running mate. “That was a hell of a performance,” Young said. “I want him to feel like he felt tonight, like there’s no pressure on him. He can go out there and be himself. He’s gonna have a hell of a career.”

None of this should come as a surprise—by definition, we expect big things from No. 1 picks—but the buzz on Risacher wasn’t quite on the level that his countryman, Victor Wembanyama, generated before and after the Spurs made him the top pick a year earlier. So, no, he hasn’t been anointed a generational game-changer like Wemby—nor, in the opinions of the 30 general managers who participated in the annual NBA GM survey, is he even a leading candidate for Rookie of the Year. (Five players got at least one vote in the poll, and Risacher somehow wasn’t one of them.) None of which seems to faze him in the least. Risacher knows his value, and he’s confident the glimpses he showed in preseason are just the start.

“I’m the type of player who can do a lot of things on the court—the term would be ‘versatile,’ I think, in English?” he says. “The exciting part of having me in your team…I will take pleasure to do whatever it takes to win. I’m that type of player. And I want to win.”

On-court versatility comes easily to a player for whom the game is birthright.

“Basketball is a habit for me and my family,” he says. “Basketball was already there before I was born.” That’s what happens when you’re born in the midst of your father’s 23-year pro career, as Zaccharie was. Risacher was born born in Malaga, Spain, in 2005, where his dad, Stéphane, was hooping for Baloncesto Malaga in the Spanish top division. That was one of 10 stops on Stéphane’s professional résumé in a career that lasted from 1987 to 2010 and also included stints in Greece and his native France. A six-time All-Star in France and a member of the country’s Basketball Hall of Fame, Stéphane was also a fixture for years on the French national team, winning a Silver medal with the 2000 Olympic squad—and, as it happened, being one of the 10 men on the court when Vince Carter created the nastiest poster of all time over his French teammate, Frederic Weis.

Le dunk de la mort happened five years before Zaccharie was born, so he knows it only through the YouTube clips. But of his own earliest memories, naturally, so many connect to basketball. “I cannot even remember the first time I played,” he says. “It was just there. Going to my dad’s practices and games, coming to the gym with him at a really young age—I just did it, and I never stopped doing basketball. It was a way of life that I liked. I never felt like I had to do it. I just wanted to be in the gym with my father. I started getting better, and I wanted to be the best version of myself and accomplish what my dad did—and even better.”

Risacher emphasizes that his father never pushed too hard, but simply gave his son the guidance he asked for. (Clearly, the approach is working in the family: Not only has Stéphane been instrumental in helping Zaccharie reach the NBA, but his daughter, Zaccharie’s younger sister Ainhoa, is one of the top young prospects in Europe; she was recently named one of the best players at the FIBA U17 World Cup. Says Zaccharie, “I’m proud of her, excited for her. I can shoot better than her, but she can handle the ball better than me. She’s tall, she loves to play the point, make crazy passes. She’s special. I can’t wait to see her grow.”)

Zaccharie’s own breakthrough came when he made his French league debut for the senior team at ASVEL Basket in 2021. No matter how helpful his father was, the kid had to learn for himself what it was like to play for, with and against grown men who had salaries and careers on the line. Looking back, he says, “Being pro at 16, that definitely was the biggest challenge of my life. In our league, a coach can get fired super quick. They don’t have time to be nice. It’s a lot of things to handle for a 16-year-old young man. You gotta learn fast, because you play with grown men. You gotta just learn how to deal with it. How I handled it? Just the fact that I never stopped working.”

Risacher thrived, earning LNB All-Star status in 2023 and being named EuroCup Rising Star earlier this year; more important, the experience toughened him, giving him the confidence that when he made the jump to the NBA, he would be better prepared than most rookies to appreciate the stakes. It made it that much easier to settle in after his move to the States. He says he “felt at home pretty quick” in Atlanta, which he credits to the vibe of the city and the Hawks organization. Good vibes aside, he’s taken that transition seriously, working out hard between the draft and training camp. “I wanted to be better than I was in June,” he insists.

He also had a chance to bond with the All-Star teammate with whom a successful partnership is essential for the Hawks’ hopes of improving from last season’s disappointment. A recent highlight: Traveling out to Oklahoma to visit Young on his home turf, catch an OU football game and appear on Young’s podcast. “I really appreciate him for that,” Risacher says of the trip. “That really meant something for me.”

The rookie doesn’t need a podcast of his own to return the favor. He just needs to simply continue balling out, working to develop his potential and the versatile skill set that convinced Atlanta to use a No. 1 pick on him. The results will no doubt mean something to Trae, to his new franchise and to long-suffering Hawks fans ready to root for a contender.

Portraits by Christian Quezada.

Photo via Getty Images.

The post From France to ATL, No. 1 Pick Zaccharie Risacher is Primed to Make a Big Impact with the Hawks appeared first on SLAM.

There’s his team, the Sacramento Kings. He’s their clutch architect, entrusted with the responsibility of winning close games. He’s so nice with that part. So nice that he was fifth in total clutch points scored last season and third in most clutch field goals made, too. 

He’s the Kings’ offensive foundation in all the other moments of the game. He breaks defensive walls with speed that scares. Got defenders looking like the Popeyes lady. They can’t catch him or their breath. He makes dudes in their mid-20s look like grey beards at the barber shop, the ones talking about how nice they used to be. But he’s really that nice. 

He’s got five straight seasons of 20-plus points per game to his name. And with how he’s stacked the improvement of his career, the numbers don’t illustrate the way he’s pieced everything together. 

Bop, bop–quick cross. He’s found space. Lots of it. Could be a faster-than-light pull from the midrange. Defender won’t even get their hand up. That kind of speed. Could be a left-handed smash at the rim over a skyscraper. One of those dunks where his legs kick back behind him. Something to see the Flow outsole real good. Could be a dish to one of the many shooters that now call Sacramento home. Could be a drop-off to the big. But it will be a bucket. And it will be rapid. 

Alright, offense orchestrated. Time for defense. The kind of defense that some coach in the middle of the country is gonna show their star player. “See, see, this is that desire,” he’s gonna say. “You play like this? You play like this? You’re gonna make it.” He’s gonna almost plead with the kid. He’s gonna show Fox picking up three-quarter court, sitting on the point guard’s strong hand. When that point guard does a lazy spin move to try and get back to his dominant side, Fox will pick him on the turn. Boom. Bye bye. Another bucket. 

That’s the way Fox has been upping his game. He’s got the Kings in prime position to scare the daylights out of the West. 

But it’s the night lights that are coming to define this All-Star. There’s the beam. It gets lit every time the Kings win a game. It rises high through the Sacramento sky, a vertical line of purple, built as a warning shot.

Not night lights of the city, though. Nah, not those kinds that are made for social outings. He intimately knows the night lights of weight rooms, of empty gyms, of phone screens. After the workouts that nobody sees, Fox has been building something else. He’s been working on the Fox 1 by Curry Brand. 

Now all those texts messages, emails and FaceTimes back and forth with Ed Wallace, Senior Designer at Curry Brand and Under Armour, have been realized in a physical product. 

The Fox 1 by Curry Brand is here.

A Friday under the daylight of Rancho Cordova, CA, is where all the time under the night lights pays off. Fox, along with his wife Recee and their daughter Poppy, saunters into the athletic facility where we’ve set up our cameras. Fox gets his hair cut by Kevin McClain of Skills Barbershop. Recee eats some lunch. And three colorways of the Fox 1 are waiting for all of us. 

The “Happy Fox Day” is a blue/orange joint inspired by one of Fox’s favorite Christmas movies, Jingle Jangle. The purple/green “Light the Beam” is an homage to the aforementioned winning signal that shines over Sac-Town. 

No. 5’s favorite edition of the trio we have here on set is the “Happy Fox Day Alt.” It’s a green option, also inspired by that same movie. Green is the lefty’s favorite color and it induces a vocal reaction from him when he sees it. 

Slowly, without even realizing it, Fox has been working on a database of colorway ideas. He loves video games, he loves anime and he loves his kids. Those are just the foundations for what we’ll see on the Fox 1. 

“Ed would come to me and ask, you know, five, six, seven different questions and then you give him an answer and I’m thinking, I don’t know what the hell he’s gonna do with that answer,” Fox says. “Then he comes back with, like, 75 different concepts of the 10 things that you might have told him. So just how the creative people are behind the scenes, just having him take those words, come back, you know, a week or two later and putting them on a paper and then asking, you know, Which ones do you like? That process was crazy.”

Wallace heard a lot about Dragon Ball Z and Avatar in his early conversations with Fox. They started to make him PEs of the Curry 1, Curry 2 and the Curry 4 that were callouts to some of his interests, including one for his son, Reign. But as Wallace got to work on the signature, things took an unexpected turn. 

“I started looking at more animals, like foxes,” he says. “Normally I wouldn’t have a reason to do that. It’s just something I thought about. Like, This can be cool to put a little fur up there [on the tongue] and having a strap as I was thinking about speed and brought that to a point [where] I was like, I can make this look like a little fox tail. So those were the things I never explored before.” 

The Fox 1’s defining design piece is the midfoot strap. Each of these different colorways has a different visual across the strap. It’s something De’Aaron had always wanted, ever since he was playing in Under Armour silhouettes as a middle schooler. 

“A big thing for me was having a strap,” Fox says. “One of my favorite shoes to play in growing up was the Bloodlines with Brandon Jennings. That and the Black Ices. The Black Ices also had a strap, too. Those were kind of the concepts that I thought about. I didn’t know what the strap would look like exactly, but when going through the process, I’m like, That’s a big thing for me.” 

Wallace, who is also the lead designer on the Curry line, said that he initially sat down with Fox at a photo shoot for the Curry 11. Fox mentioned then that he wanted a strap. Wallace ended up with a fixed strap and a two-mesh upper, along with no-sew wrapping near the toe area and a heel overlay that provides support under the heel. The traction is powered by Flow, the mainstay cushioning for No. 30 since the Curry 8. Curry Brand’s innovators found out how to remove rubber from their products, resulting in premium grip on the outsole. The Brand’s namesake is always heavily involved in the sneaker creation process. But he wasn’t for this one and it resulted in an amazing memory. 

“When we were in China actually, he hadn’t seen the shoe yet,” Fox says about the trip that he accompanied Stephen Curry on in September. “So when we were in China, we were about to lift in the hotel and he was like, Yo, you got your shoe? I’m like, No, I don’t got them on me. He was like, Damn, I wanna see them.”

When he finally did see them, it was a wrap. 

“He didn’t let them go,” Fox continues. “We went through a whole workout actually, he was, like, holding them, putting them down, doing his thing and then, like, [he’d] be looking at them… Like, Steph’s 10 years older than me, right? I think he’s played eight more years than me. But I watched—I was in high school when Steph won his first MVP, when he won his first championship. Since I’ve gotten to a certain level, I’ve never really, like, necessarily idolized guys. But then when we went on that trip, I’m, like, Steph is on a different level. The way that people react when they get around Steph is, like… But then when you actually see it, we can’t even walk through an airport. Just being around someone of that stature and then seeing him love the product that has my name and my logo on it is just, like, that’s a different feeling, too.”

It won’t be the last time that Fox sees someone wearing his sneaker. He’s already heard from teammates and opponents about the silhouette, although it was just preseason by the time we went to print. He wants to see them on teammates, on his opponents and on fans in the streets. 

“We knew we had to bring a lot of energy and make the shoe fun,” Wallace says. “He also talked about wanting to make the shoe look fast. We know his playing style, so we knew that we needed the shoe to look fast, and he also mentioned that he wanted it to look runner-esque.”

Fox and his close friend Reno have also been mentioning that they’re trying to usher in a bygone era with the Fox 1’s aesthetics. 

“Reno definitely was the most excited,” Fox says. “We kind of knew how we wanted it to look a little bit. He was like, I’m wearing them with jeans, [with] sweats. I’m bringing back the wearing basketball shoes with jeans.

“I’m like, yeah, I want a shoe that you don’t only wear on the basketball court because especially, like I said, this day and age, people aren’t going to buy basketball shoes to not play in them. So we wanna kinda have that. We wanna try to have the best of both worlds.”

So Fox is building with the Kings and with his signature sneaker. And Curry Brand is building out their larger family. 

That’s the key word—family. 

Type of family that goes all the way to China and then comes back for a barbecue on a Sunday afternoon. Where Canon Curry plays around with Reign Fox. Where No. 30 and No. 5 go head-to-head in postseason matchups and then hug it out afterward. Curry Brand is a family, where athletic gifts take a backseat to morals. 

“I couldn’t think of a better athlete and person to join the Curry Brand team,” the best shooter ever says of Fox. “To have somebody that believes in what you’re doing, believes in what the brand stands for, and believes in not just being a Curry Brand athlete, but taking that and building that into your identity as a player is special. And that’s exactly why we chose De’Aaron—he believes in Curry Brand and our mission as much as he believes in himself on the court. I’m grateful to have a partner that is so dedicated to our brand and invested in what our collective future holds.” 

What does that future hold? Lots and lots more clutch shots. Lots and lots more speed that scares. Lots and lots more steals. And lots and lots more Fox 1 colorways. Because brick by brick, step by step, De’Aaron Fox is building. 

Portraits by Atiba Jefferson.

The post De’Aaron Fox on the Fox 1 by Curry Brand, Family and His Love of Christmas appeared first on SLAM.

Back when FILA was a major player in the basketball space and Grant Hill was at the forefront of its marketing efforts, SLAM featured bold, wild and hella fun ads throughout the magazine. Over the past 30 years, we’ve had everything from a Jordan perfume ad to brands that marketed products that allegedly helped increase your vertical jump or even helped you grow taller.

In honor of all those timeless classics, we’re hyped to announce SLAM Presents OLD SLAM ADS.

In this exclusive special collector’s issue, you’ll get to peek behind the curtain and hear from those members of the brand partnerships team who were tasked with selling ad space at SLAM throughout the years, as they offer up some behind-the-scenes gems of how many of these ads ended up in the pages of the publication.

You’ll also find a couple of other features that dive deep into the phenomenon of the aforementioned jump higher/strength category of ads that ran in SLAM throughout the decades, as well as a look back at the legendary D-Band headband product of the early 2000s and more.

The post The Best, Boldest and Wildest Ads Ever Published in SLAM appeared first on SLAM.

Now that we’re back, it’s only right that we predict what this insane rookie class will achieve. Some of the most versatile players of the new generation have arrived and we suggest you buckle up for the ride.

So check out our official Rookies Most Likely To list, which appears in SLAM 252. Get your copy and cover tees here.

Houston, we solved your problem. After averaging 20 points in Summer League, Reed definitely proved he’s got that shooter’s touch. He’s our pick to take home ROTY honors.

Greatness flows through his veins. Since he was young, Bronny’s always had some of the best feets on the court, and nothing changes now.

That massive poster dunk Matas Buzelis had against the Warriors in Summer League was just a preview of what he’ll do to opposing players this season. If anyone’s going to end the 36 year dunk contest win drought for the Bulls, it’ll be this guy. The last winner in Chicago, who we all know, went on to have a pretty good career…

The 7-foot Duke product is underrated and we don’t really know why. When he wakes y’all up and starts balling with the Jazz, we told you so.

The shiftiest rookie in the class will be a walking highlight reel. Scary hours coming soon from the Timberwolves…

There aren’t many players with a smoother shot than Risacher. The number 1 pick will put the League on notice as he and Trae light it up from downtown.

Zach Edey is a walking double-double and he’s our lock to average 10 boards a game. Being one of the tallest players in the league will undoubtedly help.

Jared McCain is a man of many talents. The social media star is always turning heads with the latest trends and he’ll be turning heads on the court this year as well.

Already one of the best dressed players in the League, Cody Williams is always going to put that ish on. Don’t be surprised when you see that same swag on the court…

Arguably the hottest shooter in the class, Reed Sheppard is a certified scoring machine and he’s going to prove that this season.

Photos via Getty Images.

The post SLAM’s Official 2024-25 NBA Rookies Most Likely To List: Rookie Superlatives and MORE appeared first on SLAM.

Following a four-year career at Dayton, where he led the nation in three-point percentage last season, Washington Heights native Koby Brea is heading south to the school of his dreams, the University of Kentucky.

It all started at those courts on Nagle Ave. In the heart of Washington Heights, a neighborhood north of Harlem, tucked behind the hallowed main court of Dyckman Park, lies a smaller half-court lined with a singular black fence. It’s there that a young Koby Brea fostered his love for the game. Just a few blocks away from his parent’s apartment, Koby would go to the court and meet up with his friends and other local kids to draft their own teams and hoop throughout
the day.

When he was 6, he would lace up his kicks, grab his ball and head down the street with his dad, Stephan, to meet up with his pop’s friends. They’d travel from park to park, hooping to their hearts’ content. “They still play to this day. I don’t know how, but they do,” Koby says. And there was Koby, witnessing that love for the game in real time.

“Being around it, all you can do is really watch and enjoy the ride,” he says. “Any time they ran down one way, I’d be on the other half trying to shoot, trying to get my ball and be quick before they came back down.”

A few years later, he was waking up at 5 a.m. to work out at those same courts. Everyone sleeping while he was working? That was the best motivation.

Dyckman set the standard for who Koby Brea wanted to be. In 2024, that would be the best shooter in college basketball and the latest addition for Mark Pope and the Kentucky Wildcats.

Fifteen years after first being introduced to the concrete courts, Koby is back at Dyckman. It’s a piping hot mid-August afternoon and the sun is unrelenting. Pay it no mind, Koby’s suited in a full Eric Emanuel baby blue tracksuit with matching “Industrial Blue” Air Jordan 4s on-foot. After watching him learn to play and eventually compete in the summer Dyckman tournaments, his father, mother and youngest brother Tyler now stand off to the side as we snap photos. It’s a family affair. For the Breas and Washington Heights, that’s always been the case.

“Growing up in Washington Heights, it’s like having a really big family around you,” Brea explains. “You’re just around a whole bunch of people that are just like you, that come from the same culture, the same background. We have a lot of Dominicans, a lot of Latin people, and any time you’re walking down the street, you see somebody that’s just like you, that looks just like you, talks just like you. It just feels like family.”

The endless hours spent surrounded by his community, on and off the court, set the stage for his commitment to those who have poured into him. As he stands at center court with Tyler dribbling around his legs, he sees his own childhood mirrored back at him. It’s an eerily familiar feeling, one he experienced just a few weeks prior to our shoot when he first stepped foot inside the Joe Craft Center in Lexington. For years, Koby envisioned himself suiting up in the Big Blue. Now it’s a reality.

“You see all the blood, sweat and tears that was put into that gym that I just walked into,” he says of that visit.

When Koby wasn’t dicing it up at Dyckman, he was watching Karl-Anthony Towns, Devin Booker and the rest of the mid-2010s Wildcats. He longed to get shots up underneath the weight of the eight banners that hung above. That level of prestige was captivating. So he aimed for it. 

Koby remembers the first time his coach at Monsignor Scanlan High School brought him to the campus in the Bronx. As they made small talk about the team and the school, the coach asked Koby where he wanted to play at the next level.

“I remember I was a kid with big dreams and I told him, I want to go to the University of Kentucky,” Koby says. “And he looked at my dad and he was like, You’ve got a wild one. I don’t know if I can get you to Kentucky, but I’ll make sure I get you somewhere. That just goes to show that when you have people around you that are confident in you, want to push you the most you can, you also have that confidence in yourself that this is what I want to be and that’s how I’m going to make it. It sets it off for yourself.”

Heading into the 2024-25 season, Koby Brea’s not only suiting up for Kentucky, he’s expected to help the program capture national prominence once again.

But the Washington Heights native didn’t just get to the blue blood of his dreams. He grinded his way toward the opportunity. Coming out of Scanlan as a second team All-New York selection, Koby set his sights on a career as a Dayton Flyer. He took home A-10 Sixth Man of the Year in his redshirt freshman season, but suffered a pair of stress fractures in each of his legs the following year that prevented him from taking that next leap he was ready for.

Instead, he spent the summer getting form shooting in while sitting in his wheelchair. It took the entirety of the offseason and a portion of the preseason to fully recover. With just two weeks of practices and conditioning under his belt, Koby proceeded to light nearly every net in the nation on fire, leading the Flyers into the second round of March Madness.

On 201 attempts, Koby led the nation in three-point percentage, nailing 49.8 percent of his shots from beyond the arc. Sorry, not sure if you caught that. Koby Brea hit damn near half of his shots from downtown. Throw in 11.1 points and nearly 4 boards a game and the accolades started to flow. A second A-10 Sixth Man of the Year honor was appropriately bestowed and just like that, Koby was instantly on the radar of every major powerhouse in the country. At the end of the day, Kentucky always had the upper hand.

“This year I just really wanted to take the opportunity to take a step back so I could take a couple steps forward. I came back to college with the expectation that all I was going to do this summer was work,” Brea says. “Work as hard as I could, work the hardest that I ever had, just to ensure that I had a great year at a great new place.”

The wait, the work, it was all worth it. He made his stamp at Dyckman. He found himself at Dayton and inscribed himself into the college basketball record books. Now he’s putting up shots in the same gym Booker did nearly a decade ago, as visions of the 2025 NBA Draft grow closer and closer to reality. But in the here and now, Koby Brea is letting those years worth of lessons guide him as he takes it day by day. He’s stronger, healthier and more lethal than ever with the ball in his hands. And as he turns the chapter to his collegiate epilogue, there’s a looming goal that Koby’s longed for ever since he took those walks to Dyckman with his dad.

“The expectation is simply to hang the ninth banner. Me, I’m a true competitor, and I pride myself on winning. I definitely want to leave my stamp everywhere I go. Being at Kentucky, the standard is so high and everybody expects success,” Koby says. “I just want to have the opportunity, day by day, to keep growing and be the best version of myself.”

Portraits by Alexander Zhang and UK Athletics.

The post Washington Heights Native Koby Brea Talks Realizing His Dream at Kentucky and Overcoming Obstacles as Best Shooter in College Basketball appeared first on SLAM.

Twin, where have you been? The Pauldo twins are breaking new ground as they become everyone’s favorite duo on and off the court. New Jersey’s very own Mia and Mya Pauldo have made a name for themselves nationwide, holding two spots in the top-50 rankings for the Class of 2025 and both committing to carry on the Lady Vols’ legacy starting next year.

As one of the toughest backcourts in the country, Mia’s playmaking skills and Mya’s command of the floor showcase their grit and determination. Together, they’ve etched their names in New Jersey hoop history.

Playing together is like “having two killers with you, because we’re both tough,” Mia says.

“She’s my best friend,” says Mya. “We do everything together, tell each other everything. Our bond is so close, and that translates to the court.”

Winning has always been a top priority for the twins, whether it’s state championships, Player of the Year awards or any game they compete in. While All-Star Games might split them up, their focus remains clear: to play hard for the name on the back of their jerseys.

“We want to see each other shine,” Mia says. “That’s my mindset. I’m cheering for her even if she’s on the other team.”

Minutes before the SLAM Summer Classic Vol. 6, the twins were asked to send messages to each other. Almost in unison, they encouraged each other to “handle business and get the dub.”

The SLAM Summer Classic was a key goal for their senior year, with the hopes of also being invited to the McDonald’s All-American Game and Jordan Brand Classic next spring.

Their sisterhood will extend to Tennessee next season, and hopefully the WNBA beyond that. What truly stood out during our time with the twins was their composure and affection for each other, but also their commitment to giving back to their family and community.

“We have to keep going,” Mya says. “Keep hustling, because we’re doing something right. We need to continue because people are watching us and looking up to us.”

“You always have to hold yourself to a higher standard and be respectful, knowing everyone is watching,” Mya adds.

With eyes on the sisters, how will they continue to build on their legacy? Young Mia and Mya initially set their sights on playing overseas, but now, with the WNBA closer than ever, their goal has evolved to make history as the first twins to play in the League simultaneously.

“We want to grow the game in this country,” Mya says. “We want more teams, better pay and more eyes set on women’s basketball.”

Being the first wouldn’t come as a shock. “That’s our life; we’re trendsetters,” Mia says. “We want to be the first to do it in our era.”

When asked what message they’d give their future selves as they look back on SLAM 252, Mia replies, “Always be inspired by something.” Mya adds, “Take a moment to learn something new every day.”

What more could one ask for than having your twin by your side to inspire and learn from every day?

Portraits by Marcus Stevens.

The post Two Good: Twins Mya and Mia Pauldo Are Ready to Make History as the Next Generation of Tennessee’s Backcourt appeared first on SLAM.

What would you do if you could bring a star down to eye level? What if you were just an arm’s length away? Would you try to recreate its shine? Or would you stare into its beauty, both incomprehensibly bright and painstakingly supernatural?

Being that close to greatness would make the average person’s eyes pop out of their head, like a scary gimmick in the windowsill of a Halloween store. However, for recent BYU freshman Kanon Catchings, he’s been holding onto stars since the time he was born.

The legacy begins in the fall of 1974 with Harvey Catchings, who made his NBA debut with the Philadelphia 76ers. In the middle of what would be an 11-year career in the L, Catchings became the basketball equivalent of Serena and Venus Williams’ father, Richard Williams Jr. Harvey’s daughters, Tamika and Tauja set the stage for a family-wide takeover on the hardwood.

If you were wondering what it would be like to touch a star, you’d have to either ask someone on the 2002-2016 Indiana Fever, or her own nephew to truly understand how bright of a star Tamika Catchings is.

“I looked up to her a lot,” Kanon reminisces. “She was one of the first basketball players I really knew.”

Tamika Catchings, despite an under-the-radar hearing disability, kick started her legacy winning three high school state championships in two different states (Illinois and Texas). Stepping into her college career, she made her presence known on the court, helping the Tennessee Lady Vols to an undefeated season and NCAA championship in 1998 under legendary coach Pat Summitt, paving the way for recent college stars like Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark.

Spending her entire career with the Fever, Catchings led the team to a championship in 2012 and racked up a long, decorated list of accomplishments, including WNBA MVP (2011), 10 All-Star selections and five Defensive Player of the Year awards. Not to mention, four consecutive Olympic Gold medals (2004-2016) and holding the all-time WNBA record for steals (1,074).

A unique star, Catchings transcended familial expectations, and set the precedent for what greatness moved like. “I wanted to be just like her,” Kanon explains. 

The next closest star in Kanon’s orbit was Tamika’s sister and Kanon’s mother, Tauja, who led her high school team to two state championships (’95-96), and was named Illinois’ Ms. Basketball in 1996. At the University of Illinois, Tauja became the first player in Illini history with more than 1,400 points, 700 rebounds, 300 assists and 200 steals, earning her All-Big Ten honors and the status of one of the best players in Illinois history.  

Almost a decade later, another branch of the Catchings family tree has emerged with Kanon. Standing at 6-9 and known for his athleticism, the youngest Catchings has stepped into new beginnings at Brigham Young University (BYU) where he’s quickly made a name for himself.

“An aspect I’d like to show a lot of people is that I can guard every position on the court,” he explains. Being able to be anywhere on the court is where Kanon feels like he has a leg up on other recruits.

Dating back to his junior season in high school, Kanon averaged 17.5 points and 4.8 rebounds before joining Overtime Elite (OTE). There, he maintained his collegiate eligibility, playing at a high level and averaging 14.4 points and 5.7 rebounds per game.

Kanon’s decision to suit up for the Cougars had a lot to do with a lot to do with his former OTE coach Tim Fanning.

“That was a big drawing point for me when I came to BYU,” he explains. “It means a lot to have somebody that knows you and has coached you before on the staff.”

At BYU, Catchings hopes to refine his shooting and physicality, notably looking forward to improving on his skill set in a way that transcends the expectation that comes with his family name. His defensive instinct—a hallmark of the Catchings family—is something that he wants to showcase, and with his Hall of Fame aunt as a mentor, he’s looking forward to growing all parts of his game.

“I feel like I’ve improved a lot,” he says. “In ballhandling, passing the ball, [and] defense especially, but also, just ripping out shots—[I’m] just trying to be as consistent as I can in everything that I do on the court.”

In the wake of what could potentially be a breakout freshman season, the four-star recruit has every bit of pressure on his shoulders come November. But, with that transcendent familial stardom looming in the background, Catchings has all the guidance and tools he needs to add to the legacy—perhaps not only reaching for the stars, but becoming one himself. 

Portraits via BYU Athletics.

The post Family Ties: The Beginning of Kanon Catchings’ Journey and The Continuation of the Catchings Legacy  appeared first on SLAM.

Growing up the youngest of four siblings, Nate Ament did everything his brothers did. It’s why when it comes to sports, soccer was the first thing he gravitated to. His older brothers played it, so he did, too. And when his third oldest brother Frederick started to pick up basketball, Nate was more than game.

By the time he was 10, the rapidly growing Manassas, VA, native realized that he was going to be too tall to stay on the pitch. So hoops it was. It started out as 1s and 2s at the local elementary school. After a two-minute walk, Nate and his brothers were on the blacktop, meeting up with Nate’s classmates and Frederick’s friends from high school. The battles were fun, but it was pride that Nate was seeking, even in middle school.

“The part that I fell in love with was being able to play a sport where you can take someone 1-on-1 and you can try to beat them, not just offensively but defensively,” Nate says. “Being able to have a matchup is being able to say, I’m gonna guard you the whole game. I’m gonna stop you from scoring on me. I’m gonna make sure my team wins. So, I really fell in love with the competitiveness of it.”

Seven years later, that will, love and determination serves as the foundation of Nate’s game, a game that has seen him blossom into a consensus top-5 player in the Class of 2025 and the No. 1 player in the state of Virginia. Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, UConn, Virginia and many, many others have stamped the five-star do-it-all wing as a future difference-maker for their squads.

Between the 3SSB circuit and his tape out at Highland High School, it’s easy to classify Ament as the modern NBA archetype. He’s a lengthy 6-9 forward who’s continuously fine-tuning the framework of his three-level scoring. The locks on defense are there, too. Mind you, with a handle and quickness to break down defenders in transition and off the wing. Size-ups, step-back treys and low-post fades, it’s all his game.

“From when I first started playing basketball to now, I knew that you just have to be consistent, always getting in the gym. In anything I did, I just knew that I wanted to be the best,” Nate says. “I just kept it consistent. I knew that I had the capabilities to be one of the best in the country. But for me, it was just important not to rush things and to stay patient with my journey, because my journey’s different than anyone else’s.”

As of late, the game has taken him from the gleaming lights of Times Square to the gold medal podium at the FIBA AmeriCup with the U18 USA Team. And to cap off a summer driven by years of commitment to his craft, he took home the Terrence Clarke Spalding MVP Award and the dub at the SLAM Summer Classic Vol. 6. While he netted contested jumpers and rose up to meet the rim more than a few times while playing at the Rucker Park, memories from his days on the blacktop resurfaced. He wanted to get the best of his matchup, just like his brothers.

“They try to be the best at everything they can do, whether that’s sports, whether that’s school, life or anything. I try to do that with basketball as well,” he says. “They’re kind of my motivation. I play hard for them. Not just for my brothers, but for my whole family, just to make sure that I’m representing the name on the back of my jersey in the best way possible.”

Portraits by Marcus Stevens.

The post Smooth Operator: Class of 2025 Highland Park Star Nate Ament Details How Family and Competitiveness Shaped His Journey appeared first on SLAM.

The pair of six-story structures are wrapped in abstract silver paneling with crystal clear glass composing the full face of the main wing’s entrance. Ten white beams sit at an angle supporting the L-shaped walkway above. Black adirondack chairs and tables are sprawled out underneath the shade that the canopy above provides. It’s a sick scene. Flick worthy for sure. 

SLAM 253 featuring Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper is available now.

As we wipe away rain that fell on the chairs just 15 minutes before, the doors of the building swing open. Class is out. Students wearing sweatpants, backpacks, slides and with iPhones in hands pour out of the automatic double doors. 

Initially, the kids don’t pay any mind to the 6-10 and 6-6 freshmen who will be leading the Scarlet Knights into the 2024-25 season as one of the most talked-about teams in the country. And then Dylan starts messing with his boy.

“Free pictures with Ace Bailey! Ace Bailey’s here!” Dylan, who’s wearing a black Rick Owens jacket and black PRPS jeans, calls out to the crowd of students trying to make it to their next class. Ace isn’t having it. 

“THE Dylan Harper. Five dollars for a photo with Dylan Harper!”

The two go back and forth for 30 seconds, until a group of students starts to gather. This wasn’t the intention. They were just trying to mess with each other. A healthy balance of embarrassment, if you will. But before we know it, a line has formed and the two have created a routine that’s down pat. 

Dylan holds the adidas basketball stamped with the Rutgers R and stands to the right. Ace, who’s wearing a black sweatsuit with red accents from the Lifestyle Sports Agency, which was founded by Sharife Cooper’s dad, Omar, and currently reps the Tennessee native, stands to the left with room in between them. They wave someone over and Dylan asks if they want to hold the ball. They smile while a friend takes the photo. A few dap-ups follow and encouragement for the season, then it’s off to class, the dining hall or the dorm. After about five minutes, the line disperses, and Ace and Dylan go right back to posing for their SLAM cover shoot.

This has never been the norm for Rutgers basketball. Impromptu meet and greets. Sold-out season tickets months out from the season. Thirty-plus journalists showing up for media day. It all represents just a bit of the hype that this pair of freshmen have injected into the program. 

As the No. 2 and No. 4 players in the Class of 2024 (per ESPN), Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper are the highest-ranked recruits to ever suit up in the Scarlet red. And that’s no shade to the likes of Phil Sellers, James Bailey and other Rutgers legends, but the energy around campus this year is different. These kids don’t just walk with the gusto of rock stars, they play like it, too. NBA scouts, head coach Steve Pikiell and the students who just got out of class all know it. And to think it all started with a Big Ten win nearly two years ago.

It’s January 15, 2023, and Ace Bailey is on his official visit to Rutgers. He’s with now-sophomore Jamichael Davis, sitting behind the bench waiting for Ohio State vs. Rutgers to tip.

“And then Coach Pike’s coming down talking to me and J-Mike [Jamichael Davis] like, Come on, put your stuff on. Y’all ready? That just showed us right there that he’s excited for us to come down,” Ace says. “And I’m still a junior, I wasn’t even a senior yet. So, him saying that, it meant a lot to let us know he’s ready. He’s ready to pour into us and give it his all. So we’re ready to give our all for him.” 

Amid the hype and excitement in the locker room after watching the team rally together for a thrilling overtime win, Ace knew that this was where he was supposed to be. He leaned over to Coach Pikiell and verbally committed to the program on the spot. 

“I didn’t have any idea that I was going to commit that day, but what I felt in the locker room was something that I wanted to be a part of. So I committed, and from there we went out to eat,” Ace says. “B. Knight [associate head coach Brandin Knight] called Dylan and was like, Talk to Dylan. And I was like, I just did it, it’s your turn now. He was like, I got you.”

In truth, Ace had no idea who was on the other end of the line when Brandin Knight handed him the phone. It took a second for the two to figure out who they were talking to. But once they did, they fell right back into the brotherhood that’s been fostered since they first met at Sharife Cooper’s camp a few years ago. 

“Off the court, it was never about basketball for us. It was about building a friendship and a bond,” Dylan says. “I think from day one, we connected and clicked right away. And it would be little stuff. [I’d] call him, FaceTime him like, Yo, how was class? How was school? We got practice later. Stuff like that. So it was never about the basketball part, it was about being a brotherhood and coming together as one.”

It took around 11 months, but Dylan came through. Surrounded by his immediate and extended family, the No. 1 point guard in the country announced his commitment live from the Fanatics HQ in New York City. After going back and forth with his brother, Ron Harper Jr, about their battles growing up and passing the torch of the program, Dylan decided to return the favor to Ace. 

“I was in school when he called me, too,” Ace says. 

“Yeah, he was laying on the couch,” Dylan says while Ace laughs. “I think it was before practice. It was just, like, a brother thing. After you do something good, you want to call your family, your people, and tell them what happened. So that’s what I did right there.” 

Dylan’s connection to Rutgers runs deep. Between middle school and high school, he was running around the RAC (now referred to as Jersey Mike’s Arena), getting shots up while his older brother led the program’s resurgence with back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances. 

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“His four years here, just seeing how the coaching staff really worked with him, I was just like, Why can’t that be me? So that was probably the biggest thing. The family lineage, I want to be myself and [know] I can come here and be myself,” Dylan says.

While Dylan was building out the framework of his game, he was equally immersed in the program’s cultural fabric. He watched Rutgers basketball climb from winning less than five games in Big Ten play to flirting with AP rankings. He witnessed his brother rise from being a four-star recruit (per Rivals) to making the League under the guidance of Coach Pikiell. Now it was his turn to build off of the foundation his brother constructed. 

For the past few months, Ace and Dylan have been building chemistry and rapport with their teammates and coaching staff. Workouts preceded and followed their daily practices from June to August. They’ve been putting in the work. No doubt about it. 

“We learned a lot from the summertime. That was just a time to bond with our teammates,” Ace says. “We’ve got great bigs, great guards, great shooting guards. We bonded, see how they play, they see how we play, and we just connected and put everything together.”

It’s only been a few months and they’ve already built out an uncanny cerebral connection. Dylan knows when it’s time for Ace to turn up. He can feel the pockets within the game where Ace can build his confidence through buckets, and vice versa. Backdoor cuts and alley-oops are signaled with the bat of an eye. At the same time, Ace knows when Dylan’s going to find him for a slashing cut off the baseline. He’s taking advantage of the moments where he can break open his bag and rain down pull-up threes while expanding his playmaking.

They’re adjusting to the pace of the college game and “not wasting your energy on doing a lot of moves. Being exact in what you want to do, stick right to it. Don’t try to play around,” Dylan explains. “These are grown men. Like 23, 24. You’re not going to have time to really do everything that you were doing in high school.”

“Get to your spots,” Ace chimes in. 

“Get to your spots,” Dylan repeats in affirmation.

Even when they’re not connecting on displays of basketball genius, Ace and Dylan are in sync. Target runs are routine, most recently copping a new comforter for Ace. So are late night stops at Shake Shack or hitting up the dining hall after practice. Since arriving on campus in the midst of June for summer workouts, Ace and Dylan have been stacking on the bedrock of their brotherhood. When one calls, the other answers. It’s been that way long before the commitments. 

“Yeah, we go to Target, like, every other week. If y’all want to catch us, catch us at Target. We’ll be at Target. All the time, I’m telling you,” Dylan says. “But, probably in the summertime it was more like, practice early, then the rest of the day we’re with each other. No class, chilling in the room, playing the game. Doing kids stuff, honestly, just being ourselves and bonding.”

Inside the third floor of the practice facility, Ace and Dylan pose for flicks in their Scarlet Knights uniforms. Despite standing in front of a matching backdrop, the bond between them is clearer than the panes of the business school they’ll be next to 30 minutes later. Jokes get thrown back and forth like the rock on the perimeter. They call out to passing teammates in unison, checking in to see what their guys have been up to. And when Josh Turner’s “Your Man” blares from the speakers above, an unanticipated karaoke session ensues.

Piscataway has become a second home. There’s a sense of comfort, family and loyalty that runs through the campus. Their commitment to Rutgers’ prominence is being met with a trust to be themselves, to keep their feet grounded in the present while holding each other accountable to what they set out to accomplish almost two years ago. Team up. Dominate.

Welcome to the new norm. Rutgers, you ready?

Portraits by Marcus Stevens.

The post Range Brothers: Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey Talk Coordinated Commitment to Rutgers, Building a Brotherhood and Sights on the NBA appeared first on SLAM.

Non-New Yorkers might think the Big Apple seems like one compact unit where everyone is familiar with the boroughs and neighborhoods, but that is definitely not true. Especially for a teenager who lived in The Bronx’s Mitchel projects in the 1980s.

“I never came to Brooklyn,” chuckles Long Island University’s men’s basketball coach Rod Strickland, a New York City Point God who spent 17 years in the League and more than a decade on high-level college staffs before getting this, his first head coaching job, in the summer of 2022. “I came here a couple of times to play, but I was so young I barely remember… I played in The Bronx, obviously, and we played in Harlem.

“So when I first got the job here, it was a whole different environment. I just had to get adjusted to that, which was fine. At the end of the day, it does look like The Bronx and Harlem. I just hadn’t been here. Now it feels like home.”

And isn’t that lovely for the LIU Sharks? If you’re doing a double take on what one of your favorite point guards ever is doing at a school you may not have even heard of…let’s take a step back.

LIU, formerly known as the Blackbirds, were a national power going back to the 1930s, when legendary coach and author Clair Bee led them to undefeated seasons in 1936 and ’39 and NIT championships in ’39 and ’41. The program crumbled in the 1950s after a point-shaving scandal and did not resurface in DI until ’68. The only reasons fans under 50 might be familiar with the program are the dope ’97 and ’98 teams that featured New York City ballers Mike Campbell, Charles Jones and Richie Parker or the ’10-13 teams that made three straight NCAA Tournaments.

Since that time, the university’s Brooklyn and suburban Brookville locations officially merged and the school has officially been known solely as Long Island University. What’s more, the sports teams are now the Sharks.

Rod Strickland, who in 1998 led the NBA in assists (he ranks 13th all-time in career assists) and was subsequently named second-team All-NBA, has been coaching the LIU Sharks for two years and we’re just getting around to covering them? Well, that’s OK with him, because it took about 24 months for him to get fully comfortable. “I had to get the experience and feel things out,” says Strickland (whose teams went a combined 10-48 in his first two seasons) from the comfort of his office in LIU’s Steinberg Wellness Center. “As of today, I feel like I have a great understanding of the environment. Now it’s a clean slate. These are my recruits. Whole new staff. It feels good.”

OG NYC hoop heads should consider this team a must-watch on the strength not only of Rod but his newly hired assistant Derrick Phelps, who starred at Christ the King in Queens before a stellar four-year career at UNC. But we get it; that demo is aging. Why should a modern hoop fan tune in to see the Sharks? Because they’re gonna be good!

The newcomers LIU fans are most excited about include freshman Roc Lee, a highly touted shooting guard from Atlanta considered a contender for NEC ROY, and Malachi Davis, a senior transfer wing from the Toronto area by way of Power 4 program Arizona State who has NEC POY potential. We find Davis overlooking the Sharks’ court from an office across the hall from Coach Strickland. “The important thing is building the LIU brand,” Davis says. “We’re trying to change the culture. We’re trying to change the environment. And bring the community together and do something real special this year.”

Sophomore forward Jason Steele, a Queens native who played his high school ball at Our Saviour Lutheran in The Bronx, is one of a select group of returnees for the Sharks. “The realistic goal for us is to win,” Steele says firmly. “We have people who want to compete. I would refer to them as straight dogs. Everyone here wants to work and everyone wants to win.”

The de facto team leader is another returner with a very familiar last name: senior point guard Terell Strickland. Terell had a great high school career in the Tampa-St. Pete area (Dad used to coach at South Florida) before playing in 50 games for James Madison University between ’20-23. Rod got the job too close to the ’22-23 season for Terell to get up here, but there was no doubt he’d arrive for the ’23-24 season. Terell had a solid junior campaign at the point, averaging 7.2 ppg and 3.6 apg, and everyone expects an even better performance this year.

“There was no debate about me coming to play for him,” Terell says. “I really enjoyed my time at James Madison, but this was just too special of an opportunity to pass up. Not only is he my dad, but he’s an NBA player who’s played the game at a high level. The chance to learn from him was something I couldn’t pass up.”

As Rod says, “I was quoted as a player as saying I never wanted to coach because I wouldn’t want to coach five of me. But when I was done playing, I needed a job. I called my guy at Memphis—William Wesley—and he got me with Cal [John Calipari]. Cal was so forward-thinking; he knew I was a point guard, and he got Derrick Rose, Tyreke [Evans], J-Wall.”

Strickland followed Cal from Memphis to Kentucky and then did stints at South Florida and with the NBA G League. “I wasn’t ready to be a head coach at first. But after being in it—at a high level at Memphis and Kentucky, playing for national championships—I don’t know exactly when, but it just got to a point where it was like, the next step. I played. Then I was an assistant coach. Then the next thing was to be a head coach.”

It’s an all-around, feel-good New York story that just needs some success on the floor to reach the happy ending everyone in the building seems to think is inevitable.

When asked about his father, who is obviously the key to the whole LIU hoops rebuild, Terell says, “I’m really happy for him. Very proud of him. It really is an amazing opportunity for him, especially for him to be back in New York to do it, surrounded by his family and a big group of supporters.”

Action photos via Getty Images and David Patalano.

The post Shark Sighting: How the Legendary Rod Strickland is Leading Long Island University Back to Prominence appeared first on SLAM.

There’s nothing quite like being drafted into the NBA. A decade’s worth of blood, sweat and tears has all led up to that surreal, life-affirming moment when one’s name is called to the stage. But even in a place where one’s wildest dreams come true, rarely do the stars align like they did for a then-18-year-old Carlton “Bub” Carrington.

Mere minutes after being selected 14th overall by the Portland Trail Blazers, Carrington was informed that he’d be traded to the Washington Wizards. He couldn’t believe it. He recounts thinking, “There is no way … Wait, what is happening right now?” Because, to Carrington, there’s more to repping the Wizards than individual pride; he’s repping his home state, too.

Take a 40-minute drive northeast of Capital One Arena, and you’ll arrive at Carrington’s childhood roots in Baltimore, a city that exudes its own grimy, uber-competitive basketball culture. However, compared to the abundance of opportunities in cities like New York or Los Angeles, there are only so many spots to be filled in Baltimore. “You’re trying to make that one team, you’re trying to go to that one school, trying to be in that one area,” Carrington says.

Point-blank, if you want to make it in Baltimore, you have to earn it. Carrington is no exception to the rule, and it’s not far-fetched to presume that’s where the battle-tested guard developed his pedal-to-the-metal tenacity. Just ask the man himself. “In some way, shape or form, [you’re] a product of your environment,” Carrington says. “On the court, it’s always been that one mode for me: you got to kill that person in front of you. Figuratively, of course.”

As Carrington puts it, it doesn’t matter if your opponent is someone you’ve never played before or someone you’ve been rivals with for as long as you can remember, every ball game is a battle. For Bub, some of his most formative memories came from those long-standing rivalries. Those battles became his statement to the city that he’s got the drive and game to back up his merciless mode of playing.

One battle stands above the rest, however.

When Bub first arrived at St. Francis Academy, one of the city’s most well-known prospects, Jahnathan Lamothe, was also there. 

“He blew up big,” Carrington says. And for the rest of high school, whether it was the final minutes of practice or the AAU circuit, an overlooked Bub made it a point of emphasis to earn his stripes through his battles with Lamothe. “I wasn’t, like, talked about, or anything … [so] he was on my list. He was on me and my dad’s list, telling me you had to go at him every day. [My dad would say] wherever you see him, you got to go at him.”

Those are words you don’t take lightly. Bub’s father, Carlton Carrington II, is a revered local AAU coach, and his insight into the sport allowed Bub to stay one step ahead of his contemporaries. “You see the game from a different perspective, from a coach’s perspective. A lot of kids see from a coach’s perspective for an hour, for however long you’re in practice…I see it every hour of the day,” he says.

That father-son, coach-player dynamic is unique. It’s a high-wire balancing act for them both, and sometimes, when players are younger, those lines are blurred beyond comprehension. “When I was younger, I used to think there was no switch,” Carrington recalls. But once Bub matured, he began to see the fruits of his labor as his understanding of the people around him started to crystallize. “I stopped trying to think I’m smarter than him. He knows what he’s doing…[and] it’s always a good thing to have someone that knows what they’re talking about.”

All this culminates in the player he is today: a 6-4 guard who’s a magician pulling up from the mid-range and a smooth operator from the pick-and-roll; a player who, in an effort to be the best player he can be for his team, embraces the little things and the not-so-glamorous aspects of basketball.

But, with all of Baltimore’s unrelenting competitive spirit, there is also a cherished sense of community. Ask any basketball player from Baltimore, and they’ll tell you everyone is trying to be nothing less than the best in the city. But when that once-in-a-generation player reaches the top, and their sky-high aspirations carry into college and beyond, the whole city relishes in their success.

That pride only intensified with Carrington playing so close to home, and to Bub, it’s only right to give back to a community that shaped him into Washington’s guard of the future. So, while the NBA eagerly waits for Carrington’s first game, he hasn’t wasted any time putting his charitable activism into effect. He’s already taking part in local back-to-school and annual Thanksgiving food drives while also conceptualizing community-oriented projects with fellow teammates.

“I’m trying to be a voice. I’m trying to actually be active in the community,” Bub says. “I like helping people. I help people because I was helped.”

Photos via Getty Images.

The post Washington Wizards Rookie Carlton “Bub” Carrington Reflects on His Baltimore Roots and Playing Close to Home appeared first on SLAM.

Everything he needs is here, including a state-of-the-art gym, where we’ve set up to shoot the cover of SLAM 252. Behind one basket, stretching the entire length of the wall, is a blown-up image of Lillard’s series-clinching three-pointer against the Rockets in 2014; behind the other, the unforgettable shot that knocked out the Thunder in 2019. Other photos marking significant moments in Lillard’s life and career surround the court—of family and friends, of award ceremonies and celebrations, of dunks and game-winners. “All part of the story,” he says.

SLAM 252 featuring Damian Lillard is available now.

A year ago, Lillard wasn’t sure where the next chapter of that story would unfold. After requesting a trade in July, his summer plans had to be altered. He couldn’t play competitively—couldn’t train as rigorously as he likes to—knowing that an injury would compromise negotiations. He waited three months until the deal with Milwaukee was done, leaving him with just a few days to pack his bags and adjust to his new situation before training camp began. It was all so hectic.

This summer has been a refreshing change. Less business, more family. Less uncertainty, more peace. Less waiting, more action. Lillard has been able to focus on his training, embracing a holistic approach that includes a strict anti-inflammatory diet. He even spent four days in Las Vegas working out with retired Navy SEAL David Goggins.

As the 2024-25 season looms, Lillard is prepared in a way that wasn’t possible last September, both physically and mentally. Here, he reflects on the past year, his transition to Milwaukee, building chemistry with Giannis Antetokounmpo and much more.

SLAM: What was it like to work out with David Goggins and how did that come about?

Damian Lillard: We had had many conversations over the last two-and-a-half years about getting together and training. And he would always tell me, like, ‘Man, I could take you to the next level as far as your conditioning and your mind.’ And I wanted to do it. It was just a matter of finding the time and opportunity that fit both of our schedules. And that time came this summer.

It was definitely a challenge physically. A lot of those exercises and conditioning drills that he pushes you through are a challenge. It pushes you past your limits. But I think it was more of a mental thing than anything. You realize how hard it is to do those things, and then he’s constantly demanding more. I walked away from it just understanding myself a little bit better, as far as like what you have to give. There were a lot of moments [where] I was ready to quit. And he didn’t say, ‘Just give me a little bit more.’ He was demanding a lot more when I had nothing left. He kept saying, ‘Don’t just survive, you gotta conquer it.’ And the fact that I was able to do that, I think it did change something for me mentally as far as when I feel like I’m breaking down and wearing down.

SLAM: Reflecting on last season, what are the challenges that come with adapting to a new team that people on the outside tend to overlook?

DL: I think the number one thing people don’t understand is the change that it is for the person—the change that comes with picking up and going into a new environment. Sometimes you leave one job for another job and you might have to relocate, but a lot of people go job to job locally. They don’t have to pack up their lives and go to a completely different place. And that’s not something that everybody experiences the same as us.

The number two thing is having to learn to work with somebody new. And not just having to—being expected to work together and figure it out right away. And I think that’s something people don’t understand. They just look at, This player’s great, that player’s great, you got this, you got that, and they just think it’s supposed to work. But you gotta figure out how it works for everybody. Me playing with Giannis is one thing, but we have to figure out how we work best and how that works for everybody, because there are a lot of guys that have to be able to do what they do best and be in a position to succeed for the team to succeed. So I think a lot of people look at two [people], and they don’t look at the big picture of the entire team.

SLAM: Now that you’ve been able to get settled a bit in Milwaukee, is there a level of comfort and peace that you think will translate to the court?

DL: I definitely think there is. Like I said, being able to come back and do everything to prepare myself to the best of my ability is the first thing. I know that when this summer ends and I get ready to go back to Milwaukee, I’m gonna go back prepared, not just because of what I did for my body, my PT, my strength and conditioning and my diet—all of those things are great for me physically but being able to come here and I didn’t say, All right, this summer I’m gonna take off and go on all these vacations and do all these things. I spent a lot of time with the people that I really care about and that I want to be around, and that’s my kids, my mom, my nephews, my sister, my brother, my cousins. We didn’t do a whole lot, we just spent a lot of time around each other. And I think that that did me very well this summer. So going back knowing that I’m physically prepared and I’m mentally prepared and it’s a more familiar situation. We gained some stability with [head coach] Doc [Rivers]. Knowing who I’m gonna go play for, having a much better understanding of the team, knowing guys now—I mean, it’s just different. And all of those things give me a different level of peace going into it than I ever could’ve had last year.

SLAM: You talked last year about the challenge of figuring out who you are on the Bucks. With a year under your belt, have you figured it out?

DL: I think I definitely have a much better idea coming off of last season and only getting to know the staff better. Even over the summer, spending time around them, talking to them, and also being able to step away and look back, I have a much better idea what is necessary for me. I know that I don’t need to play the same type of game that I played for the first 11 years of my career, but I think my mentality has to be what my mentality has always been. Instead of trying to come and overly fit in, I think I was brought in to be who I am. I spent too much time trying to ease my way into, What does it look like?, instead of just asserting myself and being who I am. Looking back now and also being there for some time, I think my understanding of that is much better.

SLAM: How has your relationship and chemistry with Giannis evolved and where is it at now?

DL: I think it developed great over the course of the season. He’s not a super talkative person and I’m not a super talkative person myself. Over time, I’ve become [more outspoken] the more that I start to build relationships with people, especially on the team. And I think as the season went on, me and him definitely started to talk more and more, and I started to come to his house to do conditioning or work out together. We’re on the phone. I’m sending him clips and stuff like that. And this summer, we’ve been in constant communication. We both know that we need each other. I think he’s excited coming into the season just like I am, because we became a lot closer as the season went on and we started to learn [about] each other a lot better. So having a full offseason of being connected to each other and being able to go into this next season, I think we’re both going to be ready. And we’re both excited to do what we gotta do.

SLAM: Can you talk specifically about building pick-and-roll chemistry with Giannis? How has that developed?

DL: To start the year, we just weren’t in a lot of pick-and-rolls together for a long time. We were playing in transition, or I was in ISO, or he was in ISO. It just wasn’t a lot of pick-and-rolls. The best way to get chemistry in pick-and-rolls is to be in a lot of pick-and-rolls together. And I think it got to the point with Doc where he was having us in practice, just, Set it. Throw it to Giannis. Giannis, give it back to Dame. All right, Dame, throw it back. All right, Giannis, uphill DHO. It was almost like the team was laughing at us, just repping it out over and over.

Then in games, we ended up being in a lot of those actions together a lot more the second half of the year. I started to see what he was thinking, and I think he started to see what I was thinking, and then we would talk about it. Once you start to build chemistry, then I can start directing a little bit more because we are more connected, instead of me just trying to tell him what I want him to do [when] we haven’t even really worked together on it. [I was] wanting to give him the respect of, like, he might have something that he wants me to do a little bit different, but it’s hard to figure that out when you’re not in a lot of pick-and-rolls together. And as the season went on, I started to see how I can make the game easier for him, and I think he started to see what I needed from him to be free out of the pick-and-roll. And from here, I think it’ll continue to just get better.

SLAM: Do you feel like people are overlooking the Bucks heading into this season?

DL: Yeah, I think people are definitely [doing that], and that’s how the league is. It’s like, on to the next thing. There are younger teams on the rise, you have teams that made big free agency moves, teams that made trades, all types of things took place. So obviously that’s going to be what’s sexy. When I got traded to Milwaukee, it was like, Oh, the Bucks gonna win! Everybody just jumped on it, you know? So when something major happens or something big happens for a team, especially if it’s already a good team, like of course [that’s the reaction]. Rightfully so, all of those types of teams are going to be mentioned at the top.

SLAM: On the Club 520 Podcast, you talked about how consistency tends to get boring for people, to the point where it starts to go overlooked. Can you elaborate on that a bit and how you’ve seen that play out during your career?

DL: I think early in my career, I always felt like I was underappreciated. I had an underdog mentality. Sometimes even when I was getting credit, I felt like I wasn’t getting enough credit or they were ignoring what I was doing. And then I think I reached a point in my career where I started to get acknowledged how I felt I should be acknowledged. And then fast forward to being named to the 75th Anniversary Team, [that was] like, the ultimate nod to what my body of work has been and how consistent I’ve been since I stepped foot in the NBA.

But on the podcast, I was really just saying, like, I’m not loud and I’m not saying too much and doing all these things, but I’m always productive. Even in a season like last season where I feel like I could have been better in a lot of areas, I still had a productive season, and we were still a successful team throughout the season—a two-seed for pretty much the entire season. I think people just kind of look past it because of what they think we should be or whatever their personal opinions are. But the fact of the matter is, I’ve always been productive. This is gonna be my 13^th season, and I continue to just show up and be productive. And my team is always a good team. Over time, people are just like, Yeah, you don’t have a ring. What’s next? But I think they get bored with the fact that I just do it over and over and over and over and over. It’s like, Do something else. When it’s really, like, I’m showing up, putting my best foot forward.

SLAM: We see how much fun you’re having with your kids today. Can you describe the motivation that you get from them?

DL: I get a lot of motivation from being a dad and from my kids because how I was raised—like, the principles and the values that my parents raised me with—having my own kids, now I got even more pride about those things. There are some mornings where I gotta work out at 6:30 and I’ll get my kids up and bring them in here. They might have a tablet or whatever it is so they’re entertained and not getting in the way, but they’ll sit over there while I work out because I want them to be able to see, like, this didn’t just come out of nowhere. You gotta work hard for stuff. You gotta do stuff that you don’t want to do. A lot goes into the life that you guys have. And I want them, from a young age, to understand what it means to work hard for things and sacrifice. I say that to say, they have to see me be the ultimate example of what I preach to them.

And the motivation comes in where, if I’m being criticized, or if I’m struggling, or if something makes me uncomfortable, I think about my kids when I’m having to respond to those types of situations. I know that, especially with the internet and cameras being everywhere, there’s gonna come a day where my kids will be old enough to understand like, This was happening to my dad or, This was what people were saying about my dad, and there will also be evidence of how I responded to those things. Whatever the situation is, I’ll be the example for my kids and my nephews and nieces, where they’ll be like, He’s not just telling us this, there will be proof of, like, This is who I am. I think that’ll give them a sense of pride, because they’ll see it with their own eyes. And I feel that way because that’s how I feel about my dad. He said all this stuff to me and I see him walk that out. So that’s the kind of motivation I have. It’s not about—if I win a championship, that’d be great. That’s a cherry on top. But how you represent yourself and what you stand on as a human, I think that’s most important. So I get a lot of motivation from the opportunities to show that even when it’s a tough or a bad situation.

Portraits by Gabe Pineda, Victory Creative Group.

The post Home Team: Damian Lillard Talks Offseason, Building Chemistry with the Bucks and How His Family Motivates Him appeared first on SLAM.

Jrue immediately points to Derrick, the winner.

“I won the blocks, I think Jrue won the steals. I was pretty confident I would beat him in blocks, and we discovered that,” Derrick says, before flashing a quick glance to Jrue as he prepares for a potential comeback. “The Stock Exchange, they both count,” he continues.

Steals, blocks, dropping 30-pieces and everything in between, it’s no exaggeration to say that the Celtics’ starting guards do anything and everything that’s required to win. And as a result, they’ve experienced a summer that only six other NBA players ever have: winning an NBA championship and an Olympic Gold medal all within the span of two months. Now add SLAM cover stars to that list. They just won’t stop winning.

SLAM 252 featuring Derrick White and Jrue Holiday is available now.

Derrick White and Jrue Holiday aren’t just dedicated to their many, many responsibilities. They achieve greatness through them. They excel at being great at everything, so at a moment’s notice, they can fulfill any role needed. They defend the best players, no matter the position. They initiate the offense. They operate out of the dunker spot. They put their bodies on the line. They make the game easier for everyone around them. So when it came to the construction of the 2024 US men’s national team, the transition from the Cs was damn near seamless.

Jrue started in three of the team’s six games as the primary ballhandler, dropping 15 points, 4 rebounds and 2 steals against Serbia in the opening contest. Off the bench, Derrick went 3-3 from downtown and swiped 3 steals against South Sudan. While a surrounding cast of superstars soaked up the spotlight, Derrick and Jrue held down the intangibles in the backcourt.

“Everybody was making a big deal about roles and everybody’s got to play a little bit differently. But for me and for Jrue, we just kind of played the way we play, just do the same things that we do with Boston,” Derrick says of playing in Paris with Team USA. “We didn’t have to change too much. Obviously, the minutes and everything looked different, but I didn’t feel like I had to go in there and be somebody I wasn’t or change anything.”

There’s a stoic confidence to Derrick White, one that was fully realized by the rest of the League’s fan bases after being torched again and again by the Parker, CO, native. From Boston’s outpouring of appreciation to receiving All-Star chants in San Antonio—where Derrick spent his first five years in the L—last year’s campaign was the best of his career: 15.2 points, 5.2 dimes, 4.2 rebounds, 1.2 blocks and 1 steal per game. On a ridiculous 39.6 percent shooting from three.

The playoffs were his playground. Thirty-eight against Miami in Game 4 of the opening round. Four blocks on the Pacers in Game 3. Five steals two nights later.

But it’s the absurd amount of blocks that Jrue’s consistently amazed by—87 of ’em on the season, to be exact. Go to YouTube and there’s a three-and-a-half minute masterclass dedicated solely to rim protection.

“Nobody else in the League can do it the same way,” Jrue says of Derrick. “He blocks shots like a big man. To me, that’s amazing. Not only having the talent, the ability, the timing to block a shot—he’s also guarding your best perimeter player, where in this League, it’s super difficult to guard anyone. To have a backcourt mate like that and know the drop-off isn’t there at all, I feel like for other people, it’s scary, but it’s exciting to know that every night is going to be a tough night for any team.

“Putting on this jersey isn’t easy. There’s a lot of pressure that comes with it,” Jrue continues. “Even the season he’s had is a testament to the work he’s put in. How he plays, how he came out and played from the beginning of the season, how he ran the team. Even starting us off in Miami, like, the first series. I mean, just cooking. That means a lot to us, but he put in the work.”

There’s a common thread throughout the duration of our conversation: Derrick White and Jrue Holiday are unselfish to the core. They can’t help but give the other their flowers. This isn’t just how they play, this is who they are. Compliments get thrown back and forth like they’re working the perimeter. They’ve earned them. And as the both of them can attest, these are lifelong habits.

“I think our parents did a good job of raising us and being able to show us that giving is the way to go, and that’s how you, I guess, get happiness—by serving other people,” Jrue says. “I think over time you start to realize that service to other people is very important. For us, I think it just translates to our game. Yeah, Stock Exchange.”

The joy they’re looking for doesn’t come from posting a career-high. Winning takes care of that—as well as the assists and persistent displays of defensive brilliance that result in 64 regular-season wins and gleaming gold hardware.

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A blend of pride, skill and fearlessness anchors the Celtics’ two lockdown artists. Sprinting back on D. Poking the ball away on drives. Deflections on the help side. Cutting off the pick-and-roll. Diving for loose balls while chipping teeth. It’s a concerted effort of chaotic beauty.

“As long as I’ve been in the League, it’s been known that Jrue is the elite of the elite on that end. Just being on this team, you see how guys don’t even want to dribble the ball up the court when he’s on ’em. As soon as they see Jrue, it’s just like, Give it to somebody else, let them figure it out,” Derrick says. “Playing against him, you really get a deeper appreciation seeing it night in
and night out.”

While Derrick had two seasons to get acclimated to playing alongside Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Co., Jrue arrived in Boston on the first day of training camp. A handful of weeks remained before the tip of the season, and Derrick was already comfortable running the point. So the two worked through what their version of the Celtics offense would look like. The more reps they got together, the more comfortable they felt.

“When we came into training camp, Derrick was so sure of himself at the point guard position that it helped me,” Jrue says. “I think being able to mirror him from the beginning was great for me. Him being confident and knowing that I’m here to run the team and do whatever it takes to win, it just gave me confidence, knowing alright, If I follow him and I follow his direction, I’ll be fine.”

More often than not, Jrue has been the one leading the direction throughout his career. In Philly, in New Orleans, in Milwaukee, each stop had him running the show as the head honcho of the offense. Then 33 years old, entering a situation that had already been somewhat solidified, Jrue’s mindset was the same as always: help where he’s needed.

Game averages of 12.5 points and 4.8 assists might have been a drop compared to years’ past, but the game is so much greater than the context stats provide. The work Jrue did this season didn’t always show up in the box score—unlike his career-high 5.4 rebounds—but it more than resonated with the team and the greater Boston area.

“This season, I feel like the city of Boston is kind of like how we play. Hard nosed, blue collar, no excuses. Whatever they ask me to do, I’m going to do, and I feel like the city of Boston is like that,” Jrue says. “You should see these fans. I’m telling you, literally from the first preseason game to the last game of the season, they’ve been there supporting, they’ve been there cheering in a way that I’ve never seen before. It’s like one of the craziest experiences that I’ve been a part of. I feel like they appreciate that because [they] understand my game and how I play.”

The recognition is shared from Dorchester to the front office, with both Jrue and Derrick signing four-year, nine-figure contract extensions. The best defensive backcourt in the League is back in Boston, and so is the Larry O’Brien trophy.

Even though they’re fitted in their green and white Icon threads, an overwhelming amount of gold fills the facility. Light dances off the Olympic Gold medals that dangle from their necks, reflecting off the Finals trophy that they carefully hand to one another. Standing in front of a row of cushioned bleachers, even here the weight of the 18 championship banners that hang in the rafters off to the left can be felt.

Derrick and Jrue know the expectations will be higher next season and they’re embracing it. They’re leaning even more into the trust that they’ve built in the backcourt, and the infamous mentality of head coach Joe Mazzulla.

“Right now, we’re just getting back into it, getting our minds right. Knowing that when the season starts, Joe’s gonna have us ready to go,” Derrick says before Jrue laughs.

“That’s for damn sure,” he says.

“He’s probably more excited than anybody to have a target on our back. Y’all heard the quote. That’s legit who he is. That’s the kind of guy you want to play for,” Derrick says. “Last year was last year. You just got to continue to have that same mindset of getting better, improving and focusing on the things that we do.”

Portraits by Marcus Stevens.

The post Surreal Summer: Derrick White and Jrue Holiday Discuss Winning an NBA Championship, Olympic Gold Medals and Doing the Little Things appeared first on SLAM.

Whether you’re a longtime basketball junkie who already knows everything there is to know about Hoop Dreams, the cinematic masterpiece about Arthur Agee, William Gates and their families, or a young buck just learning about the film for the first time, you have to understand how utterly improbable it was that the single best movie of any year was a basketball doc. Quadruply so back in ’94, when there was no such thing as 30 for 30 and you were lucky if you found a documentary on any subject anywhere other than PBS. In fact, filmmakers Steve James and Frederick Marx originally set out to make a 30-minute piece they hoped would make it to PBS and on the back end, well, there’d be no such thing as 30 for 30 if Hoop Dreams didn’t show the world how powerful a documentary rooted in sports could be.

It was no short-lived phenomenon, either. Hoop Dreams has appeared in numerous lists of the greatest documentaries of all time and tends to be passed down from one generation to another in basketball families like a treasured heirloom. “I think the biggest impact is knowing folks in my generation are watching with their kids. I just saw a clip of Carmelo Anthony saying Hoop Dreams is a film his son needs to watch,” says Gates, who during the film commutes 90 minutes from the Cabrini-Green Homes in Chicago out to the private St. Joseph High School in Westchester and eventually overcomes a knee injury to earn a scholarship to Marquette. “At the core of it, the film is as relevant today as it was then because the issues still remain…You’ve still got kids who have the dream of making the League, and there’s two elements of the story. There’s injuries, there’s grades, there’s lack of opportunities. These issues still exist. Just change the faces.”

Says James, who directed Hoop Dreams as his first major project and subsequently worked on numerous successful films with Chicago-based Kartemquin Films, “I’m shocked and surprised how many people still talk about it. It’s not every day, but I do get approached about Hoop Dreams a lot. It helps that it’s out there and available—people can still watch this film.”

While James and Marx had the idea for Hoop Dreams and started the work on it, Peter Gilbert came on shortly thereafter and served as the Director of Photography and a producer. Gilbert has also gone on to produce many movies and remains prolific to this day—but nothing has hit quite like Hoop Dreams did.

“It’s an interesting thing. I’ve made 30 or 40 other films, including one about the 50th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, Innocence Project films about people who were wrongly convicted, all different kinds of stuff, as well as narrative stuff,” Gilbert says. “But Hoop Dreams is the thing that people define me by. [It’s] not a bad film to be defined by.”

Where Gates, James and Gilbert have all branched out since Hoop Dreams came out three decades ago (the former as a pastor and motivational speaker who moved to San Antonio and the latter with all their subsequent movie projects), Agee is, effectively, “Mr. Hoop Dreams.” He’s got his Classic HD Basketball Clothing Co. and is working on Hoop Dreams 2. He also teams up with Gates on Agee and Gates The Podcast: What’s your Hoop Dream? Asked over text if Hoop Dreams feels like a daily part of his life all these years later, Agee doesn’t hesitate. “It’s never ending, it’s always there no matter where I’m at,” he types back quickly. “It’s just a real cool thing to live every day.” Dreams are real, indeed. 

SLAM has and would celebrate a film such as Hoop Dreams no matter how old we or the film might be, but there’s special resonance that the movie is turning 30 this year just as we are. In February, we brought the guys together at the first annual SLAM Film Festival to celebrate the 30th anniversary, which kicked off a year-long celebration of the film.

Now, Alamo Drafthouse will be re-releasing the film in theaters this week as part of their 1994 look back series, Project Backboard is refurbishing the court at Garfield Park on Chicago’s West Side as part of JDS Sports’ Play With Purpose initiative, with a court unveiling this weekend, and SLAM will be dropping a capsule collection this Friday. You can join the stars and filmmakers of Hoop Dreams for an exclusive 30th anniversary panel at the prestigious Chicago Humanities Festival on November 9th. For more details and tickets, visit chicagohumanities.org.

Photos via Kartemquin Films.

The post Hoop Dreams: The Iconic Basketball Documentary Remains as Powerful as Ever 30 Years Later appeared first on SLAM.

It was everything we could have dreamed of. One by one, the 2024 NBA All-Stars from the East and West made their way from the tunnel to the court. It was February 18, 2024. Everybody was suited in their best. The King debuted a hybrid Nike LeBron 21 fused with Deion Sanders’ monochrome Nike Air DT Max. Stephen Curry was rocking his titular Curry 4 Low FloTro. The digs were clean. And then a metallic finish gleamed under the lights of Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

Draped in the game’s half-red, half-blue striped warm-ups, Kevin Durant sent everyone—including us—into a fever pitch. The litany of social media posts that followed echoed the culture-shaking moments from the heyday of NikeTalk. Bright orange Swooshes stamped at the strap and the medial heel. A faint baby blue speckling littering the jet-black midsole that reflected the depths of deep space. A translucent, glow-in-the-dark outsole sitting just below. And under the hood, a picturesque galaxy of stars, big bangs and wormholes extending across the insoles.

For the first time since 2012, Kevin Durant was wearing the KD 4. And this wasn’t like him kicking it in a pair of Travis Scott x Air Jordan 1 OG Lows from his beloved rotation. The two-time NBA champ was dropping buckets in the Zoom-cushioned silhouette just like he did 12 years prior.

For the entirety of the first half, we got to watch KD play in what’s continuously heralded as the best sneaker in his lengthy signature discography. We literally witnessed history repeat itself in real time. Top of the key threes, alley-oop reverse lays and no-look assists on the perimeter. Different jersey, different city and a few more grays in the beard, but the kicks stayed the exact same.

We’re serious, the exact same. Kevin Durant’s retro run is precisely that: a retro. This isn’t the same ethos that surrounds Kobe Bryant’s Protro pairs that have been retooled for the modern game. The 4s have the same smooth TPU strap, full-length Zoom Air bag and monomesh midfoot windows that Leo Chang masterfully cobbled together out in Beaverton.

On a hallowed night in Orlando over a decade ago, the world watched a 23-year-old Durant stamp his unyielding love for the game in his third-ever All-Star appearance. Thirty-six points, 7 boards, 3 dots and 3 steals = MVP. Fast forward 12 years, and the sneaker wasn’t just laced on KD’s feet as he poured in a surgically efficient 18 points; it also lay in a shielded display case at CORPORATE on McCrea St.

Everyone knows about the different hallmark moments in the NBA season. But for the sneaker brands, All-Star Weekend is the epicenter of the year. Budgets are allocated, plans are set in place and venues are booked months and months in advance. In-person activations are the name of the game, marrying newly released products with experiential moments. Customizable gear is like its own currency. Then there are the true sneakerheads, who are are searching through pop-up stores and local boutiques for the holy grail of the weekend.

This past February out in Indianapolis, everyone was hunting for the pair Durant would famously wear a few days later.

The tonal beige and brown “Year of the Dragon 2.0” colorway may have officially kicked off the silhouette’s revival in early February, but the “Galaxy” was the first original colorway from that iconic 2011-12 run that the Swoosh brought back to market. A shock drop on February 15 set the stage for the return of the community’s favorite ensembles.

Just as we spoke it into existence last year in KICKS 26, Nike wasn’t hanging it up like they
did with the 2018 release of the KD 4 “Thunderstruck” after Durant and the Warriors claimed the title. The Swoosh combed through the catalog and hand-selected the best of the best. Nothing but haymakers for months.

In late May, we were blessed with the topographical “Weatherman” joints as images of cargo pants and color-coordinated tees screamed of a bygone era. By the time you have this magazine in your hands, what some consider the most acclaimed colorway of Durant’s 17 signature sneakers will have returned, with the aesthetic of rubber-tipped bullets and plastic magazines. The KD 4 “Nerf” is upon us. And while it won’t be packaged in the same square box that held a cardboard mini hoop and foam basketball, those same pops of deep blue, gray, orange and volt will be transporting everyone back to memories of denting the closet door with All-Star-caliber dunk contests in their childhood bedrooms.

The releases have been timely yet staggered, allowing more than enough breathing room between each drop to reignite the deep-rooted passion that exists for that midfoot strap. Nike knows they’ve got us in a vice grip. It’s why they’re reportedly set to close out the 4s retro run with a duo of bangers, the copper and black “Christmas” colorway and the heart-tugging “Aunt Pearl” rendition—the first of a now 13-silhouette-strong series dedicated to KD’s late aunt.

The past seven months have been a bunch of nostalgia-induced trips down memory lane. We’ve been living in the parallel reality that we dreamed about just a few years ago. It’s back on the streets, on the courts and in closets all around the world. Lucky for us, the story of the 4 continues.

Photos via Getty Images and Nike.

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Harlem native Darryl Roberts is the founder of Bridging Structural Holes, a nonprofit that spearheads the HBCU All-Star Dream Classic. Like many young hoopers, he dreamed of playing at a high major. Instead, his opportunity came at Lincoln University, the nation’s first degree-granting HBCU. “I fell in love with HBCU culture. My HBCU foundation is pure and authentic,” Darryl says. “And so are my Harlem roots.

“Anybody who hasn’t lived underneath a manhole cover understands that Harlem is the epicenter of Black excellence, Black culture and Black creativity,” he adds. “So when we were looking for a location [for the HBCU All-Star Dream Classic], there was no second choice because we wanted to do things outside of sports to inspire kids as well.”

This year’s Classic had it all: an HBCU resource center; food from Charles Pan-Fried Chicken on the adjacent handball courts; AKAs strolling by, and a youth marching band playing during game breaks. There were boosters chanting from the baseline; classic Marvin Gaye blasting from the speakers. And even Harlem’s own Pee Wee Kirkland. If you didn’t know any better, you’d think you were at the Greatest Homecoming on Earth.

Still, the main reason that hundreds of people gathered on this day was to watch 40 of the best HBCU hoopers in the country put on a show. After a tightly contested and action-packed girls’ game that set the tone, the boys’ game that followed was just as exciting. Both games were filled with highlights galore, prime examples of the overshadowed yet high-level talent that floods the HBCU basketball community and how they can compete with the best of ’em.

HBCU basketball has historically lacked marketing and promotion compared to its PWI counterparts, but that tide is turning slowly but surely. They may never be able to contend with high-majors when it comes to resources, but the HBCU hoops experience is second to none, and the HBCU All-Star Dream Classic shows it on full display, creating a loud and robust narrative about HBCUs, HBCU conferences and the HBCU lifestyle.

“For us, the scoreboard is not important,” says Darryl. “Our mission statement is to provide opportunity, access and resources to help people make better life choices.”

Sometimes, that “better life choice” means sticking to your roots and etching your name in the beautiful fabric of HBCU culture.

Photos by Curtis Rowser III.

The post HBCU Spotlight: The Annual Dream Classic HBCU All-Star Game is a Nexus of Black Excellence appeared first on SLAM.

These are just some of the WNBA players who have had impressive, eye-opening rookie seasons.

Add to that list Caitlin Clark, the No. 1 pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft.

Not since Parker—who went on to be the first and only player to win both Rookie of the Year and MVP in the same season—has a rookie impacted the League and everyone and everything around it as much as Clark.

Call it the Caitlin Clark Effect.

SLAM 252 featuring Caitlin Clark is available now.

Record-breaking performances. Game sell-outs across the country. Fans packing up and traveling wherever she goes. More eyeballs than ever on the W. Clark has been the talk of the W.

But there’s a flip side to it, too. Heated arguments and debates on sports talk shows and across social media are nonstop, all about Clark and her effect on the League. Is she getting too much press? Is she being painted as the WNBA savior when there are other players who have been here holding up the League for so long? Depends on who you ask—and the time of day you ask.

One could argue that never has so much pressure been put on a player coming into the League. Expectations were high from the jump, even while Clark was still in college at Iowa. There, she set the NCAA Division I scoring record with 3,951 total points. A lightning quick point guard with fast hands, she also became the Big Ten’s all-time assist leader (1,144) and hit the most three- pointers in a single season with 201. So, coming into the League, all eyes were expectedly on her.

But, ironically, Clark has not said much about the hype and fanfare surrounding her first season in the W. She appears to have chosen, instead, to just play her game and seemingly be content with breaking record after record after record and helping her Indiana Fever team do the same. All the while, she is assisting in a brand of excitement for women’s basketball, the likes of which haven’t been seen in a while.

The list of WNBA records broken by Clark is long and exhaustive. There are almost too many to name. They include setting the WNBA single-game assist record (19) against the Dallas Wings, recording the first triple-double for a rookie in WNBA history against the New York Liberty, and breaking the record for most assists in a season by a rookie.

You can’t leave out tying the rookie single-game three-pointers record—Clark made seven of those early in the season in the Fever’s game against the Washington Mystics. Other records include 21 games with at least 15 points and 5 assists, the most ever in a single WNBA season, and becoming the first rookie in WNBA history to record 400 points, 100 rebounds and 150 assists in a season.

Clark was also named to the WNBA All-Star Game in July and finished with 10 assists, the most by a rookie in the prestigious game’s history.

This unbelievable rookie season has also included a not-so-great statistic: She recorded the most turnovers in a debut game in WNBA history, with 10 in the Fever’s opener against the Connecticut Sun. She also has the most turnovers in a single season by any player in WNBA history. There’s definitely work to be done in that department, but overall, the Caitlin Clark Effect can’t be denied.

And it has extended beyond just her individual game.

The Fever clinched its first playoff spot since 2016 and currently sit at No. 6 as we head to print. In addition, the WNBA announced that the 2025 All-Star Game will take place in Indianapolis. The 21st WNBA All-Star Game, set for Saturday, July 19, 2025, marks the first time that Indy will host the League’s midseason showcase.

The Fever—already on an upward trajectory after last year’s acquisition of No. 1 pick Aliyah Boston, along with Kelsey Mitchell, Lexie Hull and NaLyssa Smith—have soared to new heights with the addition of Clark. This starting five earned a playoff spot after going on a hot streak following the Olympic break, rattling off seven wins in eight games. Collectively, they have transformed into a team whose ceiling keeps rising.

Hot shooting from Hull has landed her in first place in the League in three-point percentage (49.2 percent). Mitchell, who has been on her own personal tear this summer, is fifth in three-pointers made this season (96) and ninth in points per game. Clark is the assists leader, averaging 8.5 per game and is first in the League in three-pointers made at 111. Boston is fifth in field-goal percentage (52.8 percent) and eighth in blocks per game (1.3).

In August, the Fever led the entire League in scoring (89.7 ppg) and hit a season-best 100 points in a win against the Chicago Sky on August 30. Indiana also knocked down the most three-point field goals in the month with 72.

On August 16, the Fever beat the Phoenix Mercury 98-89, marking the first time since the 2015 regular season that Indiana has swept its regular-season series with Phoenix. Less than two weeks later, Indiana toppled the Sun, 84-80, for the first time since 2021.

The team’s success has also extended to its coach, Christie Sides, who formally entered the Coach of the Year chat and was named WNBA Coach of the Month for August after guiding the Fever to a 5-1 record. Sides is the first head coach in franchise history to earn the honor.

Clark has racked up accolades League-wide as well. In August, she was named both WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Month and WNBA Rookie of the Month. It was the third time she earned Rookie of the Month honors, having also received the recognition in May and July, while marking the first time she was named Player of the Month. She was recently recognized as the WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the second time in her young career, and she also leads her rookie class in scoring, assists, steals, free-throw shooting and minutes played. And on September 13, she broke the WNBA’s all-time assists record, previously held by the legendary Ticha Penicheiro.

The player many call the female Stephen Curry has been under the microscope since before she entered the League, and the heat has been turned up all season long. Whether you agree or not, whether you’re a fan or not, Clark has dealt with the pressure, lived up to the expectations (even exceeded them in many ways) and has cemented her name in the sport after only one year as a pro.

The Caitlin Clark experience has only just begun but it’s already in full effect

Buckle up.

Photos via Getty Images.

The post Simply Undeniable: Caitlin Clark Covers SLAM 252 appeared first on SLAM.

There’s an elite group of current NBA players who are Nike athletes with signature sneaker lines: LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Devin Booker and Ja Morant. An argument can be made that none of those future Hall of Famers has the best Nike sig on the market at this exact moment. There’s a strong case that Sabrina Ionescu, the New York Liberty sharpshooter, currently holds the heavyweight belt.

Ionescu took the hoops world by storm in college and put together one of the best amateur careers ever. She was the first player in NCAA history with 2,000+ career points, 1,000+ career rebounds and 1,000+ career assists; she shattered the NCAA triple-double record; she broke the Pac-12 (RIP) all-time assist record…and those are merely a handful of her many accomplishments while starring for Phil Knight’s pride and joy, the University of Oregon.

Sabrina’s been killing shit for so long, and it’s scary to think she’s just now entering her prime. She’s proved that she belongs in any conversation in which the greats, men or women, are being discussed. She further solidified that when, after setting the all-time WNBA All-Star Weekend Three-Point Contest record in 2023, she went toe-to-toe with Stephen Curry at this year’s NBA All-Star Weekend.

Ionescu fell just 3 points shy of Curry in what was the first-ever NBA vs WNBA Three-Point Contest, but even a blind man could see that Ionescu was right where she belonged—under the brightest lights, front and center on a basketball court, representing both a group of women who’ve arrived and a group of young girls who are on the way.

“Just to be able to have this be the first of this kind of event and come out here and put on a show but understanding what this means,” said Ionescu. “I’m excited to change the narrative and be able to do it alongside the greatest to ever do it.”

It wasn’t just Ionescu’s sweet stroke that captivated the eyes of viewers; her kicks did, too. She was sporting her Nike Sabrina 1s in a clean colorway of Liberty hues.

On a few occasions, Ionescu spoke to the idea of the Sabrina 1s embodying a story about defying those who doubted her ability to play basketball, let alone with boys, when she was growing up.

Well, defy she did. With the Sabrina 1s, Nike and Ionescu laid the foundation of a gold mine for her signature line, as they quickly became one of the more popular on-court picks among the basketball community.

“Not a women’s basketball shoe or a men’s basketball shoe, but just basketball,” Ionescu said to ESPN this year, when describing the Sabrina 1s. “Being able to tell that story and have people authentically buy in and respect that, I think the time is now in terms of wanting that to be pushed.”

Everywhere you look(ed)—high school, college, the WNBA, the NBA, your local basketball gym—you are/were sure to see a fair share of feet in various colorways of the Sabrina 1. The model was the fifth-most played in sneaker in the 2023-24 NBA season, with players clocking a total of 17,209 minutes played in the silhouette.

And if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Ionescu and Nike are running it back and running it up.

Sabrina and the Swoosh launched Ionescu’s second sneaker, the Nike Sabrina 2, along with an apparel collection this past June. Instead of a complete design overhaul, they built upon the first silhouette, maintaining a similar shape, cut and cushion.

“At the center of the collection is the Sabrina 2 signature sneaker, built for players who want to accelerate and cut with quickness,” the brand said. “Nike design teams partnered closely with Sabrina to combine the best of the Sabrina 1 with fresh upgrades that create a sneaker that’s 28 grams lighter and doesn’t sacrifice support, stability or comfort.”

Some of these “fresh upgrades” include a Cushlon 3.0 foam midsole (the first ever in a Nike Basketball sneaker), a Nike Zoom Air Unit in the forefoot, an updated band system around the midfoot and a new “S”-inspired pattern that provides multidirectional traction for quick cuts. Additionally, select colorways will showcase mirror-finished Swooshes, which Nike explains are “an affirmation from Sabrina to the next generation to see themselves in the shoe.”

At first glance of the Sabrina 2, and even the Sabrina 1, it’s obvious where Ionescu’s inspiration comes from. Two sneakers in, and her signature line has drawn early comparisons to Kobe Bryant’s.

Throughout her storied college career and early years with the Liberty, Kobes were Ionescu’s go-to sneaker. The fact that Ionescu’s line is mentioned in the same breath as Bean’s says a lot about the WNBA All-Star’s cultural appeal, but more importantly, her ability and commitment to leading the push to elevate the women’s game to national, and ultimately global, mainstream relevance. It’s a vision she and Kobe shared.

Ionescu first met Kobe in 2019 when he and his daughter Gigi pulled up to watch her Ducks dismantle the USC Trojans. Ionescu developed a close relationship with the Bryant family shortly thereafter. Kobe kept tabs on her throughout the season, often sending words of encouragement as she continued to etch her name in the history books. That summer, Ionescu trained with Gigi and even helped Kobe coach his girls’ team, of which Gigi was a member.

“If I represented the present of the women’s game, Gigi was the future, and Kobe knew it,” Ionescu said during her tribute at Kobe and Gigi’s Celebration of Life service in 2020.

It’s over four years later, and Ionescu still “represents the present.” And at only 26 years old, she represents the future, too. Think Kobe rocking No. 8 for the purple and gold.

“I grew up watching Kobe Bryant game after game, ring after ring, living his greatness without apology,” she recalled. “I wanted to be just like him, to love every part of the competition, to be the first to show up and the last to leave, to love the grind, to be your best when you don’t feel your best and make other people around you the best version of themselves. And to wake up and do it again the next day. So that’s what I did: Wake up, grind and get better. Wake up, grind and get better.”

If you see Ionescu walking through the tunnel before a game, scroll through her Instagram feed or observe her demeanor during interviews, you’ll see a charming personality that everyone likes being around. But underneath that is a fierce competitor who approaches her craft with utmost seriousness and focus, with a long list of results to show for it.

As we go to press during the Olympic break, the New York Liberty are hitting on all cylinders and have the best record in the W by a comfortable margin. Ionescu is averaging 19.8 points, 6.1 assists, 4.4 rebounds and 1 steal playing a career-high 33.7 minutes per game.

Ionescu’s impact on the court is undeniable, and her influence off the court is just as powerful. On the heels of the Sabrina 1 and with the latest release of the Sabrina 2, she continues to push the boundaries and create waves for those coming after her, like fellow Nike signature athletes A’ja Wilson and Caitlin Clark—each reported to have their first signature sneaker coming soon.

Ionescu is programmed for greatness—all she has to do is continue being confident and unapologetic about who she is and what she brings to the table, just like Kobe.

Ionescu is a blessing to the game of basketball, and her presence will transcend well beyond her playing days, just like Kobe.

Once, while in college, she said Kobe texted her. “Be you, it’s been good enough, and that will continue to be good enough.” He wasn’t lying.

“I wanted to be a part of the generation that changed basketball for Gigi and her teammates,” said Ionescu in her tribute, “where being born female didn’t mean being born behind, where greatness wasn’t divided by gender.”

From her consistently dominant play to the huge success of the Sabrina 1 and now the 2, there doesn’t seem to be a height that Ionescu can’t reach. For the younger generation who wasn’t lucky enough to watch Kobe in real time, just watch how Ionescu, one of his closest mentees, dissects her opponents with a relentless will to excel.

And in her new Sabrina 2s, she’s gonna look magnificent doing it.

Photos via Getty Images and Nike.

The post The Sequel: Uncovering the Inspiration Behind The Nike Sabrina 2 appeared first on SLAM.

SLAM 252 featuring Jewell Loyd is available now.

Before Jewell fell in love with basketball, her world revolved around tennis. She was exposed to basketball because her older brother, Jarryd, played, but tennis was her thing, and she was destined to be a pro. During her early years growing up in Lincolnwood, IL, a suburb outside of Chicago, she played tennis “every single day, for six hours a day,” she says. And chances are, if she had stuck with tennis over basketball, she’d probably be competing in the same US Open match she was heading to watch after shooting her SLAM cover at our office on a cool and sunny September morning.

But one day at the park changed her outlook forever. 

Loyd played at the park all the time as a young kid. “Of course, after my homework,” she’s sure to add. But on this particular day, when she was about 7 years old, two older boys wouldn’t let her play on the basketball court. Jarryd, about 15 years old then, saw what was happening and offered a solution: We’ll play you for the court. So, it was game on. Two-on-two. The first to 10 points wins. It was Jewell and Jarryd’s first time teaming up together.

With the game on the line, the boys double-teamed Jewell, who was inches away from committing a turnover. In doing so, they left Jarryd wide open near the basket. Throw it up, throw it up! Jewell recalls her brother saying.

In dramatic fashion, she tossed the ball backward over her head and toward the rim, and Jarryd caught it for a game-winning flush. “Jarryd was just flying in the air, and it’s the first time I [had] ever seen my brother dunk. We won, and in that moment,” Jewell says, “I knew that basketball was something that I wanted to be a part of.”

She spent the next few years making a name for herself in the parks around the neighborhood. In many ways, this is what shaped her approach to the game.

“You started at Drake Park, and that’s where you play 21, knockout—it’s kind of the beginners’ court. Then you go to Columbia Park and play three-on-three. And then, once you get a squad, you go to Proesel Park and you represent and play five-on-five. So, you kind of have to move your way up.

“Growing up in Lincolnwood was a privilege,” she continues. “Being in an environment like that allowed me to just be myself, and it challenged me in a lot of ways because I was one of four or five girls to play with the guys, and that was a great experience for me.”

By the time she was in high school, Loyd developed into one of the best players in the country. She was a four-year starter at Niles West High School in Skokie and essentially broke every school record, averaging 24.8 points, 11.9 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 3.2 steals and 2.2 blocks for her career.

While in high school, she had the opportunity to be a practice player for the Chicago Sky. Jewell says this experience is what really put her untapped potential in perspective. She had a front-row seat to observe what it takes to play at the highest level. “Seeing their routines and their lifestyle and the games up close opened my eyes to really be like, Wow, I think I could really do this,” she says.

She committed to play for Notre Dame and joined an already-loaded roster led by All-American guard Skylar Diggins. It didn’t take long for Jewell to adjust to high-major hoops; she was ready from the jump. She understood that she wouldn’t be the strongest and most athletic freshman, so she focused on what she could control.

“A lot of it is your body’s still growing and developing. I knew I wasn’t going to be the strongest right away, so I focused on conditioning,” she says. “When I got to college, I was making sure I was in the best shape, and that’s something that’s been with me since leaving college and going to the pros.”

At Notre Dame, Loyd etched her name in the history books as one of the best players in program history. She was a two-time All-American, two-time All-ACC selection, two-time ACC All-Defense selection, two-time NCAA All-Tournament selection and the 2015 ACC Player of the Year. For good measure, let’s not forget she also has a 2013 Big East Freshman of the Year under her belt (before Notre Dame moved to the ACC her sophomore year).

She accomplished all of this in only three years, and in a move not so popular in women’s basketball, decided to forgo her senior year and enter the 2015 WNBA Draft. And to nobody’s surprise, the Seattle Storm drafted her with the No. 1 pick.

Loyd arrived to the W with enormous expectations, not only because of her pure dominance dating back to her high school years, but also because she was tabbed with the nickname “Gold Mamba” by the Black Mamba, the late great Kobe Bryant himself. Now, that’s a lot to live up to. But if there was anyone built to carry that weight, it was Loyd. She embraced the lofty expectations head-on. It’s extremely hard for a No. 1 draft pick to meet expectations; she has exceeded them.

“Throughout [my rookie] year, it was just about understanding who I am, the belief that I could do something, the belief that I could stay in the League and be part of this League and grow the League. I really thought I could do that,” she says.

“And I’m the kind of person where, if I really believe I can do something, it’s probably going to happen. I’ve always been that person since I was young. I’ve never been afraid to say what I want to do, believe it and write it down. And I don’t dream small. I always dream big, and that’s something no one can ever take away from me.”

The Gold Mamba is cut from the same cloth as her namesake. She’s naturally gifted, has a relentless work ethic and is simply willing to do what the average aren’t. But the similarities run deeper than that. Like Kobe, Jewell has an unquenchable thirst to learn.

“It’s pretty cool as a professional athlete to still be learning and building your game up. For me, the best part about the game is that I’m still learning so much about it,” she says. “That’s the best part about life in general—you constantly learn and build, and you don’t know until you make mistakes and you can learn from those mistakes. A lot of people go to the next level, nervous to make mistakes. But you need them; you need a lot of experiences to help you grow and get better.”

Now, it’s Loyd’s turn to pay it forward. As eager as she is to continue learning and acknowledge those who paved the way for her, she understands the importance of mentorship and is now in a position to help guide the next generation of hoopers. She’s been seen working out with USC star Juju Watkins; she’s been very supportive of Seattle Storm rookie Nika Mühl and the exceptional 2024 rookie class; and she makes herself available to any of her younger peers seeking wisdom or advice.

“I understand that I’m here because people helped me. I didn’t get here by myself,” she says. “If it wasn’t for my family, if it wasn’t for the people in my circle, I don’t know if I actually would have been able to go to the next level.”

The honors are plentiful: two-time WNBA champion, six-time All-Star (and 2023 All-Star Game MVP), three-time All-WNBA selection, the 2015 Rookie of the Year and a two-time Olympic Gold medalist, her most recent coming this past August at the Paris Games. And from the looks of things, all of these accolades, aside from Rookie of the Year, of course, should probably be qualified as “and counting.”

The 2023 WNBA season was a contract year for Loyd, and she played like it, averaging a career-best 24.7 ppg (which was also a League-best that season) and 4.7 rpg. Yet, the Seattle Storm struggled as a team and finished with an underwhelming 11-29 record. 

Instead of jumping ship to team up with other All-Stars, she signed a contract extension with the Storm in the offseason, and bet on herself that other players would be interested in joining her in Seattle and building a championship contender. It seemed like Seattle was heading for a rebuild until a pair of elites, Nneka Ogwumike and Skylar Diggins-Smith, hopped on board.

As we go to press, Loyd is averaging 20.1 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 3.5 apg and 1.5 spg. More importantly, the Seattle Storm have clinched a playoff berth and are looking to make a deep run. And while they may not be the odds-on favorite, trust us when we say that nobody is looking forward to matching up against them.    

Loyd doesn’t have an in-your-face type of personality but rather a sort of quiet confidence that’s felt by her mere presence more than her words. She doesn’t ask for extra attention, though her game demands it. She isn’t typically the loudest in the room, but when she speaks, you want to listen. She has a wealth of knowledge and insight and is one of the most eloquent and thoughtful people—let alone athletes—you could come across.

Since she was a freshman in high school, Loyd says she’s been asked about the legacy she hopes to leave, and she says her answer constantly changes. This time, though, her answer has nothing to do with the game she loves, one that’s defined her life for the past 23 years, ever since that day at the playground with her brother.

“I just want my legacy to be that I’m a really good person, honestly,” she says. “I’m here to serve. That’s what I want people to understand about me. As much as I receive from the world, I’m going to give that back. And you don’t have to take it, but I’m here to let you guys know it’s all love here.” 

Portraits by Luke Schlaifer.

The post Jewell Loyd Discusses Her Journey to Becoming The GOLD MAMBA | SLAM 252 Cover Story appeared first on SLAM.

Devin Booker is different. The way he approaches the game is different. His obsession with decades past, definitely different. His extensive classic car collection, different. His Arizona home decked out with tastefully placed vintage furniture, different. His historian-like knowledge of basketball sneakers, mad different. How he’s approached the life cycle of his debut signature shoe—the Nike Book 1—has been emphatically different.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, as they say. And with an eye as unique and curated as Devin Booker’s, his debut signature sneaker was bound to be the culmination of years’ worth of meticulous passion and patience.

Off rip, the Book 1 looks unlike anything Nike has brought to the hardwood in years’ past. It’s refined simplicity with a regal accent. Buttery-soft leathers, a rounded toe box and simple stitched overlays all create an off-the-court aesthetic coupled with a crazy court feel. Plush is an understatement.

Set atop a Cushlon 2.0 foam midsole and a top-loaded Zoom Air bag in the forefoot, Booker and lead designer Ben Nethongkome infused a cohort of premium materials and tech into his debut signature.

The Book 1 echoes the essence of a museum, casting a compilation of vintage and modern textures throughout the low-top. Depending on the colorway’s inspiration, the finish is bound to wax and wane, like the cracked detailing reminiscent of the Phoenix desert in the forefoot of the “Chapter One” or the smoothed touch of the tonal tan “Mirage.” In the midst, a thickly stitched work wear textile adds an emblematic depth to the mid-foot panel.

But before we dive in too much deeper, we need to take a journey. A physical and metaphorical one. A journey through the mind of Devin Booker and the literal path he walked from the dew-fallen ground of Beaverton, OR, to the scorched pavement of Arizona.

Nike’s 24th athlete to have a signature shoe has been heavily committed to the signature process. The evidence is overwhelming. Taking a trip to the Department of Nike Archives—DNA, for short—in Beaverton early in the model’s 18-24 month production cycle sparked the vision that Booker has since brought to life.

His first silhouette serves as an homage to the firsts in Nike Basketball history: the Air Force 1, the Air Jordan 1 and the Nike Blazer, the first Nike basketball shoe. Drawing inspiration from Booker’s ‘72 Chevy Blazer K5—where he preserved the vintage exterior and souped up the interior with a modernized engine—the Nike Book 1 explores an aesthetic that bridges decades. The result is a future classic crafted with a sea of lavish materials and a historic level of storytelling that can only be found in the mind of the 27-year-old.

During All-Star Weekend, Booker invited media members and close friends to an intimate library lounge to celebrate the debut of the Nike Book 1 in the “Mirage” colorway on the SNKRS app. Various colorways weaved throughout bookcases that lined the walls of the dimly lit room. Large leather-bound boxes inscribed in gold foil lay on wooden tables housing the inaugural sneakers. This was more than just input. A true, authentic collaboration was taking shape. An alliance that featured many, many exclusive iterations.

Throughout the 2023-24 NBA season, Booker showed his vast appreciation and understanding of the Beaverton brand’s history via an assortment of Player Exclusive colorways. On Christmas Day, he unveiled an homage to his father’s favorite shoe, the Air Max 95, in the 1995 “Neon” color blocking. A tribute to the legendary Air Jordan XI “Cool Grey” landed in early November. And those “Be Legendary” Kobe 4 and Kobe 5 colorways he was hooping in a few years ago? Yeah, he transformed them into their own matching ensembles.

His love for the outdoors was channeled through the infamous ACG Air Mowabb “Twine” colorway, matching the “Teal Charge/Club Gold/Twine” trifecta to a tee. And his refined, classic mystique emerged with a salute to the circa 1972 Nike Cortez in the white, red and blue color blocking that Forrest Gump was kicking around in the 1994 film.

The Air Jordan 1’s construction wasn’t the only inspiration that Book drew from the landmark model. The “Metallic Purple” and “Shattered Backboard” compositions were given their due shine, too. Classic after classic. OG after OG.

While the Book 1 made pit stops throughout Nike’s sneaker mile markers, several nods to Book’s personal tastes appeared on the floor of Footprint Center. A triple-black treatment embroidered with a crisp white Detroit Tigers emblem arrived in early November. An icy blue throwback to his 2019 “Moss Point” Air Force 1 Low touched down a few weeks later. And a white clad concoction devoted to one of his favorite shows, Narcos, materialized in late March.

For the past 10 months, Devin Booker has been slowly reinventing the level of involvement for a signature athlete. The approach has been methodical, calculated, timely, purposeful; a canvas for his dedication to the process and the ones who came before. This sneaker, this moment, is decidedly Devin Booker.

The colorways, the mixture of fabrics, the tongue tab, the sleek aesthetic, even the ambiance found in the room out at All-Star Weekend, it’s all a result of who Devin Booker is at his core.

There’s a reason the model’s debut “Mirage” colorway smoked on the SNKRS app in minutes. Devin Booker just gets it. He cares about the storytelling, cares about materials, cares about creating moments. Devin Booker is a different level of tastemaker.

Photos via Getty Images.

The post Open Book: Chronicling the Ingenuity Behind Devin Booker’s Debut Signature Sneaker, the Nike Book 1 appeared first on SLAM.

One of the most successful streetball teams in New York City—year after year after year—is the Sean Bell All-Stars, coached by Jamaica, Queens, native Raheem “Rah” Wiggins. A decorated new short film, Bring Your Name, reminds viewers of the story behind the team’s name.

Sean Bell was a former high school baseball star from Queens celebrating his impending marriage in November, 2006, when he was shot by plain-clothes police officers. He died that night at age 23. Wiggins was a childhood friend of Bell’s who had been inspired to become a basketball coach by New York-area legends Jimmy Salmon and Tiny Morton. Wiggins was already entering streetball tournaments under the team name DDN (Dat’s Dem N—s), but he renamed the squad in honor of his fallen friend. And the team—not a high school AAU squad but a collection of adults, often with pro experience like Lance Stephenson or Tyshawn Taylor—has been a powerhouse ever since.

“We’re the best team in the city,” Wiggins says in the film, which takes you up close and personal to a game at Brooklyn’s Gersh Park. “People ask when I’m gonna walk away? As long as when I lose, people make a big deal out of it, I gotta come back.” He adds later, of the significance of the team’s name: “That’s my job, to keep [Sean’s] name to the public ear.”

Bring Your Name is directed by Raafi Rivero, the filmmaker and artist behind the ongoing Unarmed project, which exists “in memoriam of Black victims of police violence.” Rivero also worked on an upcoming docuseries around the 2024 NBA postseason that will air on ESPN.

Bring Your Name will make its world premiere at the BlackStar Film Festival in Philadelphia in August. From there, Rivero hopes to screen it at playground basketball venues in New York City as well as at other film festivals. And what does Rivero want viewers to take away from the film? “I hope they are inspired,” he says, “by the everyday heroism of people like Rah Wiggins.”

Portraits by Jon Lopez.

The post New Short Film Bring Your Name Details How the Sean Bell All-Stars Are Honoring the Memory of the Late New York Hooper appeared first on SLAM.

It’s a typical sunny day on the west side of L.A. and Trevor, Tajh and Tristan Ariza are trying to see who can hit a half-court shot first. It’s been two years since the NBA champion and L.A. native retired, and today, he’s back on the campus where his basketball dominance began. Except Trevor’s not the one in his old white, red and black threads. His oldest son, Tajh, is.

Tajh is currently one of the top 16-year-olds in the nation, and come next fall, he’ll be running the gambit on the same court his dad did. After finishing the basketball season at St. Bernard HS, Tajh soon after transferred to Westchester this spring.

Inside the school’s gymnasium, Tajh stands at halfcourt surrounded by a sea of red, black and white, from the “Comets” branded bleachers and walls to the shades of his dad’s original No. 4 home jersey that he’s wearing. The faded banners showcasing Trevor’s two state titles with the Comets hang proudly as father and son pose for flicks. Even in this moment, Trevor’s influence is ever-present. It’s surrounded Tajh since he was a baby, dribbling around with Kobe and Derek Fisher. Yes, he’s the son of an NBA player. But Tajh Ariza’s game is entirely his own.

“I gotta keep putting in work every day,” Tajh says. “You know, my dad [had a] great career, but I want to have my own name and show people like, Oh, I want to be like him, you know? So I just gotta keep working so I can get there.”

The 6-8 rising junior exploded on the recruiting circuit and is now considered top-10 in the class of 2026. After his freshman year, he held just three major DI offers. In the span of five months last year, he racked up five more. This past spring he received an invite to USA Junior National Minicamps, and over the summer he was playing up with Team Why Not 17U on the EYBL circuit. Things are just clickin’.

But the path wasn’t so easily laid out. Trevor let Tajh find his own love for the game. He didn’t push, he didn’t nudge; he sat back and watched his son discover their now shared passion.

“My idea for him was always right before he got to high school, if he was serious about it, I would give him all the tools that I use or the things that I learned to help him. So I would say when he got serious—about wanting to get better or actually work at basketball—was going into the ninth grade,” Trevor says.

Tajh agrees. He loved the game, but there’s a vast difference between loving to play and loving something enough to commit yourself to 5 a.m. workouts, two-a-days and a grueling 82-game season.

“I had to change my habits. Before maybe middle school, I didn’t really take it as seriously. It was just fun for me I guess. Of course, it’s still fun,” Tajh says, “but now I see that I have a real chance at what I want to do and be great. And I just kept going. I just took it.

Right before Tajh entered his freshman year, Trevor laid out what it would look like for his son to reach his highest potential. It ended with a soft yet subtle reminder: It’s time to kick it into the next gear. “I sat down with him and told him that it’s not gonna be fun. A lot of the time, it’s not gonna be easy. It’s gonna take a lot of sacrifice. And most kids, when they hear sacrifice or take away fun or free time, they kind of shy away from things. Lucky for me, he wanted to do it. So it was easy,” Trevor says.

In the year since, Tajh and Trevor have built out a dedicated plan. At least three times a week before school, they either lift or grind through sand drills with Trevor’s old Hoop Masters teammate. Working in the soft sand of L.A.’s beaches is taxing, exhausting, unnerving—all the above. But his explosiveness has taken off. “I started dunking on people, so that’s when I noticed that it started helping,” Tajh says. Off the court, he’s studying the ways larger guards like Paul George and Brandon Miller create space off the bounce.

After a shower, breakfast and school, Tajh will hit whichever program they didn’t do in the morning before heading to the court for myriad of shooting and ballhandling drills. From the gym to the sand dunes, Trevor is right there with his son.

Tajh’s dedication is persistent, a combination of witnessing the professional traits of his dad’s career and the will to carve out his own legacy. Getting up at 5:30 a.m. to run in constantly shifting sand is as much of a mental workout as it is a physical one. While Tajh embraces the results of his work, Trevor views it as a mile marker for how far his son has come since their freshman year conversation.

“It’s easy, for him especially being so young, to get the attention that he’s getting and kind of, like, be complacent and stuck in that. And my message to him is always just put your head down and focus on the work that you put in,” Trevor says. “Focus on the hours that you’re putting in, in the gym, in the sand, watching the game, learning the game, just focus on that. Everything else will take care of itself.”

When he moved from North Carolina to L.A. to attend Saint Bernard HS as a sophomore, Tajh says the talk around his game remained relatively quiet aside from the allure of his last name. That was until the beginning of the season when he received his first two offers from the University of Washington and USC. He’s still got the reaction video on his phone. “I was so excited. I was jumping up and down, yelling. It felt good to finally get, you know, what I felt like I deserved. But it also just motivated me to keep going. [To] just keep on stacking on that,” Tajh says.

Witnessing that joy in his own kin is a pride only a parent can experience. At the same time, Trevor has come to curtail his advice even after an 18-year career in the L that featured a 2009 championship with the Lakers and stops with 10 different organizations. The guidance he provides his sons is often rooted in the steps that he took in his journey to the NBA. And just like their games are different, so are the options and decisions available to them.

As Tajh prepares to enter his junior season and his younger brother, Tristan, gets set to start school, too, Trevor knows he can’t assume the roles of coach, dad and teacher all at once. He has to be selective and mindful of the hats he wears, and when he wears them.

“If there’s a week where I’m heavy on, like, Clean up your room or Take the trash out. How many times I gotta tell you to take the trash out? I gotta ease up on what’s going on on the court, because I’m hard on them at home,” Trevor says.

If Tajh is taking care of business at home, Trevor will drop some more knowledge. “But again, it’s his canvas. So he has to paint it the way he sees it. I can only tweak little things or give him little nuggets until he comes to me for big things.”

Big things like transferring to your dad’s alma mater.

As he looks up at the banners placed by his dad decades ago, Tajh can feel the target on his back expanding. Teachers are already flooding him with memories of the school’s past legendary battles with crosstown rival Fairfax. But the noise is just that: noise. And as his dad walks down the halls that he once occupied, he knows Tajh is ready to fully walk into his own. 

“I think for Tajh, he’s always been around it. So, it’s almost like second nature,” Trevor says. “He’s been around the environment since he could walk, since he could talk. It’s tailored for him. Some kids are born to do certain things. And to me, in my eyes, I feel like he’s one of those kids that was just born to be in this space.”

Portraits by Sam Muller.

The post Passing the Torch: With Guidance From His Dad’s Career in the League, Rising Junior Tajh Ariza is Ready to Make the Family Name His Own appeared first on SLAM.

Cam Thomas has always gotten his buckets in bunches…a lot of buckets in bunches.

He led the entire Hampton Roads area in scoring as a freshman at Oscar Smith High School in Chesapeake, VA. He left Oak Hill Academy as the program’s all-time leading scorer despite having only played there for his junior and senior seasons. He then led all NCAA DI freshmen in scoring during his sole season at LSU. It didn’t matter who Cam played with or against. His responsibility was always the same: score, score and score some more.

That all changed when he fell into the Brooklyn Nets’ lap at pick No. 27 in the 2021 NBA Draft. Not only would he be joining an organization with championship-or-bust expectations, but he was also joining a roster that wasn’t hurting for scoring. Do the names Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden ring a bell?

On one hand, Cam had first-class access to work with and learn from three of the best offensive players in hoops history. On the other, he had to wait his turn and deal with inconsistent playing time, something he’d never experienced at that point in his young career. Even then, Cam never lost even the smallest bit of confidence. It was tested, but that confidence is what got him here. And there’s a tad bit of “crazy” mixed in there, too. All the greats have it. But we know how the phrase goes: It’s only crazy until you do it.

In the sparing minutes he was given, Cam showed flashes of his scoring brilliance. Yet, on any given night, he could play anywhere from four minutes to 17 minutes or even have a DNP. It was like this for most of his first two years in the League.

And then, in February 2023…he erupted. Amidst the Nets moving on from their big three of KD, Kyrie and Harden and trying to figure out what direction they’d move in, Cam got a few more windows of opportunity. And he took full advantage. With Harden long gone, Kyrie just traded to Dallas and KD in trade rumors, Cam was unleashed. It all came together as he made history, becoming the youngest player to score 40-plus points in three straight games. And these 40-pieces were efficient, the works of a true professional scorer.

This past ’23-24 season, it started to slowly but surely all come together. Cam started in 51 of the 66 games he played in, averaging 22.5 points in about 31 minutes per game, a 12-point increase and 15-minute increase from the season prior.

And now we’re here. The Nets just completed a massive trade, and there are many questions about which direction the team is headed. There’s also an entirely new coaching staff, including Jordi Fernandez at the helm. But even with all the questions, there’s one thing that is for certain. The Nets have a more than capable number one scoring option in Cam Thomas.

It’s a warm Friday afternoon in July at SLAM HQ in New York, and the 6-3, 22-year-old combo guard who sits across from us is on the brink of what will be, one way or another, a defining season in his career. He sat down to discuss his offseason, proving doubters wrong, his love for Kobe Bryant and more.

SLAM: How’s the offseason been going?

Cam Thomas: It’s been good. Just laying low, resetting, getting ready for next season. It’s been real good.

SLAM: Have you developed some sort of routine, or do you approach each offseason differently?

CT: I usually try to go with a clean slate because you never know. Stuff changes from year to year, like coaches, schemes, etc. This summer was probably the longest I took off—about two or three weeks. Then I got right back to it.

SLAM: You’re mostly known for your ability to score at the highest level, and you’ve improved as a scorer each year since entering the League. Are there any specific things you’re focused on improving for next season?

CT: Nah, not really. I just want to keep working on everything. Last summer, I tried to put more emphasis on catch-and-shoot shooting, and I think I was way up in the League percentage-wise on catch-and-shoot [this past season]. So, just continue to work on that and fine-tuning the skills I had coming into the League, like my off-the-dribble stuff and finishing around the basket, [while] still improving on catch-and-shoot, trying to have the best percentage in the League.

SLAM: The Nets were part of one of the biggest moves this offseason when Mikal Bridges went across the bridge to the Knicks. This positions you for the biggest role of your career thus far. How have you begun to approach and prepare for this increased role, not only physically but mentally?

CT: Just knowing that and embracing it. Attacking it head-on. I’ve kind of been having those roles [as the leader of the team] ever since I was in high school and college. So, I’m not really worried about it. I’m just excited to get it going and to try to do it in the League. I’m not really worried about it at all; I’m just ready.

SLAM: You’re on a short list of the most talented young guards in the NBA. What do you think you need to do to get to that next level?

CT: Just doing everything—doing it consistently. I had the biggest jump in points from my second year to my third year. I was at 22.5 [points per game], so I think trying to get into that 25 ppg range, upping the playmaking and just trying to keep improving my all-around game. And hopefully, it leads to wins.

SLAM: Are you inspired by the doubters, or would you say you’re completely self-motivated?

CT: It’s a little bit of both…I don’t really worry about the doubters because I’ve always had them. Nobody really believed in my talent and scoring ability—even at Oak Hill, and even in college, and even in the League. So, I’m used to it. Now, it’s really just self-motivation. Even down to sliding in the draft all the way down to pick 27. I still carry that chip on my shoulder. And even with the Nets, not playing consistently my first two years. I have that in my back pocket so I can keep growing and keep improving…to show why you should have played me in my first two years.

I’m not focused on trying to prove myself anymore. Everybody knows I’m one of the top young scorers—top young guards—in the League now. So, it’s really just trying to maximize my ability, see where I can take it and become the best player I can be, this year, and for years to come.

SLAM: There’s clearly a lofty confidence you must have to be an elite scorer in the League, let alone as an undersized guard. What do you think is the main source of that mentality?

CT: I’d probably say growing up in [the Hampton Roads area]. It’s physical there. Everybody’s fighting for the same goal, sports-wise. I feel that helped me in a way. And really…Kobe Bryant. Just reading his mentality and idolizing him, that’s a part of it, too. That’s really how I shaped my mentality: Kobe and my hometown. At the same time, that’s just in me.

SLAM: Do you have any specific individual or team goals for next season? Are you concerned with All-Star, All-NBA and those types of individual accolades?

CT: Individually, I just try to stay in the moment. Whatever happens, happens. If I get it, I get it. If I don’t, I don’t. I just want to keep improving. As far as the team, the goal is to be better every day and try to win as many games as we can. Honestly, we don’t know what our team could look like going into next season. But whatever it looks like, we just want to be the best team we can be and try to put a good product on the floor for Brooklyn.

SLAM: What should Nets fans and Cam Thomas fans expect next season?

CT: Excitement. Entertainment. [I’m] hoping everything leads to wins at the end of the day. We’ll see. It’s different in the League. But I’m prepared, not worried at all. I’ve done it in the League, but I want to take it to another level, for sure.

Portraits by Marcus Stevens. Action photos via Getty Images.

The post Moment of Clarity: Brooklyn Nets Guard Cam Thomas Discusses His Offseason, Staying True to Himself and Proving the Doubters Wrong appeared first on SLAM.

The soulful piano keys of “Lost One.” The bellowing horns and drum breaks on “Show Me What You Got.” The screaming high hats from “Oh My God.” These are the sounds of Paolo Banchero’s education.

“Jay-Z was one of the first rappers I ever heard in my life,” Paolo says. “That was when I was growing into my own, just as a kid, as a player. So that CD was always on in the car. I heard it countless times, just running it through, and I just grew to love it.”

SLAM KICKS 27 featuring Paolo Banchero is available now.

Glance at Hov’s discography of album covers. Then watch the way Paolo plays the game. It’s an eerily similar sight. Dimly-lit backdrops and a polished getup. There’s a suave commotion going on. A don-like figure stands center stage with thousands of eyes thrust upon his every move. In turn, the figure speaks an eloquent truth. Both words—and pivots in the post—tell the tale of one wise beyond their years.

Paolo Banchero is here. His days as a Blue Devil are gone. That Rookie of the Year award is off in the distance. He’s dropping 30 on ya head, denting defenders’ chests with his shoulder and towing the Orlando Magic back to the playoffs, with the Air Jordan 39 on his feet. Rarified opulence.

Paolo may have grown up a Hov disciple, but the self-proclaimed music connoisseur is an old soul with an ear for the new school. By February of the 2023-24 season, the soon-to-be All-Star realized he had strayed too far from his roots.

“I just caught myself listening to the same music, kind of getting bored of it,” Paolo says. “And so I was like, Man, I ain’t listening to Jay-Z! I was like, Why am I not listening to Jay-Z? I’ve been listening to all this for months. I’m like, Man, I need to go tap back in.”

He did a bit more than just tap back in. Just like he did with the stack of CDs in his pop’s car, Paolo was swiping through the legends in his music library in search of that old shit. The throwbacks. The music that nurtured his soul.

Between the last two months of the regular season and through all seven games of the Magic’s opening round playoff series against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Paolo was shuffling through nothing but Lil Wayne, Jay, Nas and Jeezy. “I felt like it gave me a new energy,” he says.

The Pelicans got served a 20-point triple-double in late March. Then there were the back-to-back 32-pieces on the road in early April. Jalen Duren got as close as humanly possible to contest Paolo’s step-back jumper, but Banchero still hit the game-winner back in February. And to close it out, a 26-point double-double to clinch the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference with a dub over the Milwaukee Bucks in the regular season finale.

This isn’t the stuff of a typical second season. His numbers—22.6 points, 6.9 boards and 5.4 dimes a night—weren’t just an increase in production from year one. We all watched as Paolo took that next step in a future superstar’s career. And he did it in year 2. Wayne’s rhymes, Jay’s tone and Nas’ cadence all fueled the master class that unfolded before our eyes.

In the week of practice leading up to the Magic’s first postseason appearance since 2020, Paolo switched everything up. Lil Baby turned to Lil Wayne. The braids that were once tied to each side of his head were now in tightly bound cornrows. And the slew of Jordan Luka 2 PEs he’d been wearing throughout the season were swapped out for the pair that sits boldly on these pages, the Air Jordan 39.

Those at the AdventHealth Training Center out in Orlando in April got the first look at the sleek mid-top solution in the wild. For days, Paolo couldn’t take ’em off. The Air Jordan 39’s cushioning set-up is fueled by the same magic that propelled Eliud Kipchoge’s world-record marathon time and Mike’s fifth championship in the Air Jordan XII. Combining that full-length ZoomX foam with Air Zoom cushioning became an addictive feeling.

“Once I put the shoe on, though, that was when I was like, It’s over. I gotta be in these. I told Sam [Druffel, Paolo’s sports marketing rep at Jordan Brand] this 39 is their best work in my opinion. As long as I’ve been with the brand, it’s their best work. It’s a super comfortable shoe, I love wearing it,” Paolo says.

That love eventually turned into us seeing the 39 earlier than even the brand had planned. Paolo was diggin’ the sig so much, he asked the team out in Beaverton if he could be the one to debut the model in Game 1 of the playoffs. With a game that so effortlessly paralleled the silhouette’s ethos, the answer was a resounding hell yes.

The 39th iteration of Michael Jordan’s signature sneaker began with Mike’s infamous cross-step. From his three-dribble rule that forced the offense to create art within simple parameters to the fluid footwork that left defenders stuck in the mud, the foundation of Michael Jordan’s game lay in trusting that simplicity. It’s why there’s only nine colorways set to release from now through next spring. It’s why the haptic print upper, the textured tongue and the tumbled leather toe box are most prominent amidst a sea of hidden premium tech. The Air Jordan 39 is the epitome of refined elegance.

The essence of clarified minimalism that permeates around the Air Jordan 39 is exactly why Paolo is leading the charge for the game shoe. His movements on the block and in transition are that of a calculated craftsman. A polished spaceship hardwired with a jet engine.

“How can I get to the basket or make a play without taking seven or eight dribbles? I think in the playoffs, that was what I really honed in on and realized,” Paolo says. “That was something that I knew coming into the playoffs—I was going to have to make a lot of mid-range shots. I was going to have to shoot catch-and-shoot threes. I was going to have to take what the defense gives me and basically cut the fat from my game and just be as efficient as I could.”

The triple-white “Sol” colorway—marked with a dash of red at the tongue’s Jumpman logo—rode with Paolo through a combined 45 points in the first two games of the series.

“It felt like I was floating. Obviously, I’m a big guy. I play with a lot of force, I cut a lot, I jump, and there’s just a lot of force being thrown around in my shoes,” Paolo says. “But those shoes, I don’t feel limited at all. I feel like I can make any movement, any cut. I can put however much force I need to into the shoe, and it’ll hold up. It just performed really well. I think I noticed it right away. Sometimes, a shoe feels stiff or a shoe feels too narrow and stuff like that. I think there was just a sense of freedom when I was in the 39 where I felt like I could move and do anything.”

At 6-10 and 250 pounds, Paolo is a walking force of nature, yet he glides across the hardwood with an unmatched fluidity. Getting bullied is unavoidable. Every team knows it. It’s why they routinely pack the paint and force him to operate in the midrange any chance they get. But that’s where the magic happens.

In that seven-game playoff series, Paolo was straight spot hunting. He wasn’t taking half the shot clock to break his guy down or analyze the rotations. Everything was an instinctive reaction. If he drove toward the paint and saw bodies, he was pulling for a middie. If he saw the slightest crack of daylight, he was absorbing contact and dishing to the open shooter. If they sagged off at the top of the key, hand down, man down.

He wasn’t worried about the stats, wasn’t worried about the percentages. He “just wanted to do whatever it took to win and get the job done.”

“That whole series, I progressed and I learned every game. The first two we lost and everyone thought we weren’t ready, and Cleveland was talking a bunch of smack, saying we were kids,” Paolo says.

The last thing that Paolo Banchero is is a kid. Scratch that. It’s not even in the vocabulary. We all watched the same maturation this year. The Magic may have dropped their first two games in the playoffs, but in Game 3? The production that played in the background of those car rides with Dad started to emerge in the back of his mind. Back to the basics. A surgical 31 points through three quarters. Jumpers met nylon. Fadeaways stood unbothered. Getting to the rim was the regimen. Drop-steps were imposing. The Magic pulled Paolo before the fourth up by more than 30.

Game 5 featured 39 points on 57 percent shooting from three. Game 6 consisted of 27, 10 of ’em in the fourth to tie the series at three a piece. “That was just dope to do in front of the fans, in front of the home crowd, just to be able to protect home court like that,” Paolo says.

From October to early May, sellouts at Kia Center became common practice. For the first time in what feels like a long time, there’s a bonafide superstar wearing the Magic blue. He rocks with the old and the new. He’s laser focused on his growth. And since the season wrapped, he’s been back in his hometown of Seattle, surrounded by the love, comfort and inspiration that raised him. He’s been refining his tools, trusting his instincts and evolving every day.

“When I first got to Orlando, there weren’t a lot of expectations for the team, and so there were a lot of expectations for me. But I wanted to have that rub off on the team. I wanted it to be team success. I wanted people to come back and start coming to the games,” Paolo says. “So it’s just been awesome seeing the fan base grow, obviously, the organization grow, us just getting more serious and being in the playoffs.

“But now I think it’s time to transition, kind of from that beginner stage of success and being happy about having success. Now, we’re trying to be one of the household names of the East and of the League. That’s not going to be easy—I know that, we all know that—but I think we’re all ready for it and we’re all excited.”

The 2023-24 season saw Paolo storm the Magic Kingdom, take the throne and reveal a path to immediate success for an entire organization. The time of chipping away at the end of the tunnel is over. The lights are shining bright, the expectations are thunderous and the hopes of an entire fan base rest upon his shoulders.

“I think eventually, when it’s all said and done, I’ll look back to my second year, last year, and kind of look at it as the start,” Paolo says. “That was kind of the start of something special.”

Portraits by Marcus Stevens. Action Photos via Getty Images.

The post Refined Elegance: Paolo Banchero Covers SLAM KICKS 27 with the Air Jordan 39 appeared first on SLAM.

June 26, 2024. NBA Draft Night. We’re in NYC, where else? AJ Storr is on a Zoom from… Athens, Greece!?! We’ll explain all that in a second. More importantly, he knows the meaning of tonight as a prelude to his future.

“Literally one year from tonight, is it crazy to think you will be up on the stage…” we say before Storr interjects excitedly, “…in a suit and tie!”

Ten points for honesty with this one. Storr, now a rising junior for the world-famous Kansas Jayhawks and a projected 2025 NBA Draft pick, is not dancing around a topic many college players with eligibility remaining play hot potato with. “Yes,” Storr confirms, “I’m planning to be in the draft next year.”

Now that we have that very logical business decision covered, let’s backtrack and share one of the most unique and thoroughly modern basketball journeys of any high-profile player in the world.

We’ll start with the world business. Storr is in Greece at the moment because the Bahamian national team, of which he recently made the roster (pending some lingering paperwork), is playing a couple of exhibition games before an Olympic qualifying tournament in Spain that will determine if the small island nation with the increasingly outsized basketball talent advances to Paris.

The 6-7 Storr, a smooth-shooting, scoring guard tied to The Bahamas because his father was born there, is excited to be in Greece. Partly for the experience of what he calls his “world tour,” but even more so for the chance to play with folks who have gotten where he wants to go. Bahamas basketball has quietly built an explosive roster featuring current NBA players Deandre Ayton, Eric Gordon, Buddy Hield, Kai Jones and Isaiah Mobley, as well as other talented college and pro players. The squad is coached by longtime Golden State Warriors assistant Chris DeMarco.

“It is a really great experience to be out there with all these pros,” Storr says, a day after scoring 15 points (on 7-9 shooting) in a 93-80 loss to Montenegro. “I played a couple of games with them last summer and then we had training camp in Houston earlier this month, and now I’m playing real games with them. It’s great to be around all this talent.”

Whenever The Bahamas’ run ends, the world is on notice that it’s a program to watch out for in the future, and then Storr will have more time to spend in his latest “home”—Lawrence, KS. And what a home it is. Perhaps the most storied program in all of college basketball—“I hadn’t known that James Naismith founded the program here. That’s who founded basketball!” Storr exclaims—and a program with typically high expectations for the ’24-25 season. As ESPN’s Jeff Borzello put it in his recent “Way-Too-Early Top 25,” the Jayhawks are No. 1 after Bill Self responded to a disappointing ’23-24 “with the most loaded roster in the country. He went into the portal and landed AJ Storr (Wisconsin), Zeke Mayo (South Dakota State) and Rylan Griffen (Alabama); then, All-American big man Hunter Dickinson opted to return for another year.”

It says here that Storr, with a shooting touch that the Jayhawks sorely missed last season, may be the biggest piece of the puzzle. As for all the places he’s been before Kansas, that unfolds like a bit of a puzzle in its own way.

This young man is in the sweet spot for a proper SLAM profile because he’s “big” enough—thanks to playing one year in New York City and another year going viral as the athletic leading scorer for B1G power Wisconsin—to be heard of but without his full story being known because he was not a super high-profile recruit. We’ll tell you the story now so you’ll be in the know when he blows up even more at Kansas and then flies into the NBA in 12 months.

Storr grew up in Rockford, IL, a city of nearly 150,000 about 90 minutes west of Chicago. It’s most relevant in modern hoops as the home of current Houston Rocket Fred VanVleet. AJ came up alongside one older sister, Ambranette, who scored more than 2,900 points in her high school career before playing in college, and five younger brothers, raised primarily by his mother, Annette Brandy—a former Chicago high school star who played in college as well—and his stepfather.

AJ attended Rockford Lutheran as a high school freshman, showing promise as a hooper who was still just 6-1. After that, a ride started that has yet to end. The family moved to the South Chicago suburb of Kankakee when his mom, a teacher, got a better job offer, and AJ spent his sophomore and most of his junior year at Kankakee High. Then Covid hit. As Brandy explains, it was time to make some decisions. “The whole state of Illinois shut down. He had some offers—Chicago State, IUPUI—but he still hadn’t gotten major looks. We knew he was a Power Five kid, he just hadn’t been seen,” she says. “His dad lived in Vegas, and AJ was hesitant about it, but I convinced him to go. Build a relationship with your dad and put yourself out there with basketball.”

It worked. Storr started playing for Vegas Elite and Bishop Gorman High School and his exposure—and ranking—skyrocketed. He was set to play his senior season for Bishop Gorman and then…Clark County, NV (which includes Las Vegas) announced there would be no winter sports due to Covid. “After Vegas shut down, he transferred to AZ Compass and they made it all the way to the GEICO Nationals,” his mom says. “By then he had gotten a lot of offers, but I thought he needed to mature a bit.”

So it was off to renowned IMG Academy in Florida for a post-grad year that went great. In the end, AJ had attended five high schools in five years, albeit for reasons that were outside his control. When the time came to make his official college choice, Storr enrolled at St. John’s, firmly hitting the (admittedly biased) radar of the #SLAMfam’s college fans by putting together a Big East All-Freshman campaign highlighted by 40 percent shooting from three-point range, 9 ppg and an exciting style of play. Alas, the Johnnies fired Mike Anderson and Storr decided to transfer back to the Midwest, putting together an All-B1G Second Team season (17 ppg, 4 rpg, 1 apg) in Madison and establishing himself as a future pro. Storr flirted with entering this year’s draft before instead deciding to transfer one more time. To the best team in the county. 

“Playing for all the different teams has really helped my IQ. I’ve learned different plays, different coaches, different cultures,” Storr says, explaining the benefits of his journey. “Off the court, every school has welcomed me and made it like a family. I’ve got friends from every school.”

In Storr’s mind, the ascension from unknown high schooler to likely first-round NBA pick is not because he recently got good at the sport. For better or worse, exposure still matters. “I’ve been pretty good at basketball my whole life, but I had to get around the right platform and coaches and take advantage of the opportunities,” he says. “St John’s is in a great conference. Then I went to the Big Ten and the Badgers, who have made Final Four runs and are known worldwide. Being there helped me a lot. Now I’m looking forward to taking my game to another level at Kansas.”

Storr describes himself as very coachable and has learned bits and pieces from all the coaches he’s played for, but none of them have been around him consistently enough to have developed a deep mentorship. For daily support as he pursues his dream, Storr points to the people who have been around the longest. “I’ve got a team with my mom, my sister, my management,” he says. “It takes a team to accomplish your dream. You can be the most talented player, but if you don’t have the right people around you, you’re not going to make it.”

For her part, Mom could not be prouder. “I’m so excited for him,” says Brandy, who recently got a new job—and bought a house—back in Rockford. “He has put in so much work to get here.”

And to reiterate, Storr himself views his varied experiences as a positive. “My game translates to a lot of different places,” he says. “I know how to buy into a program. I respect all my coaches. I’m a great teammate. Once you step on that court or in the weight room, you become brothers. Where I’m trying to go, you gotta be prepared. In the NBA, guys get traded all the time. So this could be an advantage.”

Portraits via Missy Minear Kansas Athletics.

The post From Undiscovered to Unrivaled, AJ Storr Has His Sights Set on the League After Transferring to Kansas appeared first on SLAM.

A little over 24 hours before being drafted 17th overall by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2024 NBA Draft, Dalton Knecht was in our office getting up shots on the mini hoop.

While the SEC’s scoring average leader from last season made his way around to the 10 designated shooting spots we’ve laid out across the floor, we realized that the final sticker got swept up in the hustle of the day. So instead, we gave him the option to shoot from anywhere on the floor. He could go back to the faux free-throw line, try another from the couch or hit a simple layup. Instead, with a pure shooter’s mentality, Knecht took several steps back into the hallway, putting at least 25 feet of distance between himself and the hoop that’s bolted to the opposing cement wall and netted the shot.

“I felt that confidence arise from the moment I touched a basketball,” Knecht says. “My parents have always made me super confident, always told me [to] trust your hard work. I always felt like that. So no matter what, when I step on that court, I’m gonna be the most confident player on that court.

Knecht is a gym rat, whether that’s on a regulation-sized hoop or not. He’s drawn to the hardwood and its sights and sounds; the screeching of herringbone traction patterned outsoles, the smell of repolished floors and the sound of the leather ball falling through aged nets. It’s an obsession that he’s fostered meticulously over the past five years while on a journey exclusive to him and him alone. 

“I’d say it’s just kind of like home. When you’re in the gym, playing your own music, whatever you want, and you just go out hooping, either with some friends or just by yourself, you just go there to fall out of reality, just being on your own, flow on your own stuff,” Knecht says.

Hailing from Thornton, CO, the 6-6 23-year-old, in a purely figurative sense, lit the Thompson-Boling Arena ablaze every single night as a fifth-year transfer at Tennessee. From JUCO to the Big Sky to playing under head coach Rick Barnes, Knecht stormed into the SEC with a chip carved into his shoulder this past season, averaging a team-high 21.7 points and 4.9 boards a game while shooting a ridiculous 39.7 percent from deep. He dropped a 40 burger on Kentucky in early March, became the first player in the SEC since Shaquille O’Neal to score back-to-back 35-pieces and took home SEC Player of the Year in unanimous fashion.

Knecht’s story is the annual reminder that there are guys all throughout mid-major programs who belong on the biggest stage in college basketball. All they need is a sliver of opportunity. And Knecht snatched his in an instant.

Without an influx of offers after graduating from Prairie View High School in 2019, Knecht elected to go the junior college route. Surrounded by acres of prairie fields in the high plains of Sterling, CO, he poured his days into the gym. After two seasons and a first-team NJCAA All-American selection to his name, he set his sights on the Power Five conferences. And then the pandemic happened. So he adjusted, transferring from Northeastern Junior College to Northern Colorado in the Big Sky Conference. 

As a junior, Knecht acclimated himself to DI competition amidst a nagging injury and a stacked roster filled with upperclassmen. Enter his senior year, where his 8.9 points per game from the season prior erupted into 20.2 alongside the Big Sky scoring title, only confirming what he’d believed for years: betting on himself was worth it. So he decided to do it again.

On March 23, 2023, with a year of eligibility remaining, Knecht entered the NCAA transfer portal. Colorado, Oregon, Indiana and Tennessee all came knocking. But there was a glaring difference between the Volunteers and the rest of the pack: head coach Rick Barnes had coached Knecht’s favorite player of all time, Kevin Durant.

Knecht will be the first to admit he’s painstakingly combed through all of KD’s highlights on YouTube. He may not have the same funky warm-up routine as the two-time NBA champ, yet Knecht has drawn an affinity between their games.

“I tried to apply as much as I can to my game, and it kind of just carried on to watching—at Tennessee with Coach Barnes—a lot of Kevin Durant’s highlights, as well as Devin Booker’s,” Knecht says. “So, I just try to take as many players as I can and put it in my game.”

Throughout the year, Barnes and his starting guard sat in the film room and dissected Durant’s highs and lows from his lone season in Austin. They studied his cadence with the rock, his mastery of time and possession and his fluidity in iso scenarios. But mainly, they’d watch Durant’s monumental game against Texas Tech that featured 37 points and 23 rebounds.

It didn’t even take a full game before Knecht started amassing his own mix of highlights that Barnes will surely show to his pupils in the future. “I’d say that dunk was Coach’s favorite memory.”

“That dunk” was actually a full-on poster. With 15 minutes left in the second half of a “friendly” exhibition against Michigan State in late October, Knecht found himself pushing the pace up the backcourt. In a moment’s notice, he turned on the jets, lost his defender with a clean wrap-around the back at the three-point line, took two steps, rose up with the ball cradled in his right arm and threw down a silencing dunk on another Spartan defender. Straight filthy. The epitome of a body.

“The first thought was…I don’t even know. To be honest, I can’t even remember. But I just know before the game, one of my coaches, Rod Clark, he told me to go punch it on somebody if you get the chance. And I had the chance in the first half and I didn’t,” he says. “Then the second time, you kind of saw what happened, and to see my teammates’ reactions, like Josiah [-Jordan James] running up to me, was priceless. It was fun, just putting on a show and showing what I could do to the world.”

The poster heard from East Lansing to the Rocky Top set the standard of what was to come from No. 3 in Knoxville. Knecht has a knack for leading conferences in scoring. Go ask the NJCAA, Big Sky and SEC. Lights out shooting was a constant, curls in the midrange were automatic, putback dunks came and went and dusting defenders at the three-point line while finishing contested lays became routine.

“He also taught me on the offensive side about showing where gaps are and reading my secondary guy, ’cause Coach [Barnes] always told me you can get by your guy at any time, you just gotta worry about the secondary people,” Knecht says.

With around 20 hours between him and his hometown, Knecht scored tons of buckets night after night, helping to lead the Volunteers to the Elite Eight, where they fell to Zach Edey and the Purdue Boilermakers, despite Knecht dominating with 37 points and cashing in 6 threes.

After long years spent honing his craft and waiting for the opportunity to place his bet, Knecht saw decades of self-belief and confidence validated by the highest entity in hoops on June 26, when the Lakers snagged him with the No. 17 pick.

Some say he came out of nowhere last season, but the good people of Thornton, Sterling, Greeley and Knoxville have been tapped in for years. Meanwhile, Rob Pelinka told reporters that new Lakers coach JJ Redick has already started drawing up pindown and ATO actions for his rookie sharpshooter.

“My journey’s not like everybody else’s, and that’s OK,” Knecht told reporters in his first press conference as a Laker. “Just creating my path is something special, and a lot of kids will look up to it. It’s really cool to write my own story.”

Portraits by Eli Selva. Photos via Getty Images.

The post Knecht Four: Lakers Rookie Dalton Knecht Talks About His Rise From Junior College, to Tennessee to the League appeared first on SLAM.

When asked how this story should start, Sienna Betts was a little taken aback as she prepared her answer. She emphasized how important one specific year was to her journey. In 7th grade, Betts decided to walk away from soccer and focus on her true passion for basketball. “Something switched, and I realized what I wanted to do,” she says. The eagerness to be better pushed her to understand what was needed in order to be one of the greats. “If I want to succeed in basketball, I need to focus.” It was a pivotal moment that would define the next year for her as she began training.

All it took was for her to be in the right place with the right people. Sienna’s trainer, Derek Griffin, saw potential in her at an early age, challenging her to see that her dream school, UCLA, was more than possible. “He made me realize what I could possibly become in the future and he brought me to that,” she says.

During the pandemic, Betts would stay in the gym day in and day out, working on her game from every angle. As an 8th grader, she was practicing with Colorado royalty: Raegan Beers, Sam Crispe and, of course, her older sister Lauren.

The amount of accolades Sienna and Lauren have brought to their home state is remarkable. At Grandview High School, they delivered two state championships and four Gatorade Player of the Year awards. With Lauren currently at UCLA and Sienna committed to the program, the future duo is bound to do incredible things together in Westwood.

How does Sienna scout her own game? “I would describe my game as versatile, high IQ, and specialized,” she says. “My whole goal [in the game] is I don’t care about my stats or anything like [that]. Whatever I can do for a win, that’s what I’m going to focus on.”

From the development of her handles to her strong footwork, Sienna has found her rhythm and has yet to let up. The recipe for success has been to keep her feet planted in the moment and maintain her confidence—because she has prepared for this. In a year’s time, Sienna went from a role player off the bench to leading in every statistical category for the Hardwood Elite club team.

Speaking about the year Sienna went all-in on basketball, Michelle Betts, her mother, says, “She wanted to do it, so she did it.” Painting the picture of that moment back in 7th grade, Michelle remembers Sienna saying, I don’t want to just be the girl who goes in to play defense and blocks shots. I want to be a great player.”

She became just that. “All of a sudden, all the things she said she wanted to do, she could do them and then some,” Michelle says. “She went and grinded and became all the things she wanted to become, which I think is incredible.”

The outpouring of support for Sienna has fueled her. “My dad sends me a reminder text before every game,” she says. His most recent text before the FIBA AmeriCup Championship was: Just run the floor, rebound, I love you so much. You’re amazing. The impact of the text was huge. “I repeat this to get it in my head, and throughout the game and halftime, I repeat it to myself,” Sienna says.

As a gold medalist, two-time Gatorade Player of the Year and state champion, the 7th grader who made the decision to take basketball seriously and is now the top post player in the country is simply “just playing my game.”

“I’ve worked to be here,” Betts says. “I should have confidence in what I do.”

Portraits via Garrett Ellwood.

The post The Rise of Sienna Betts: The No. 2 Player in the Class of 2025 Talks Accolades, Her Work Ethic and What’s to Come Next Year at UCLA appeared first on SLAM.

Like any young hooper, Caleb Wilson tended to look to the most obvious sources for inspiration. “When I was younger, I used to only look at the stars—LeBron, Kobe, the big names,” he explains. “But my dad brought it to my attention that there were a lot of people I didn’t know about.”

A willingness to accept his father’s guidance helps explain how, when asked to name some of the players whose games he admires, the 18-year-old rattles off a list of guys who would impress any hoop-savvy dad—and probably a lot of grandfathers, too. “I watch Tracy McGrady, Penny Hardaway, John Stockton, Steve Nash, David Thompson, Alex English. I watch Clyde Drexler, Rick Barry, Chris Mullin and Run TMC, Nique, young Shaq in Orlando, and then the Lakers—I could go on and on about Magic and Kareem…”

He smiles. “I can keep going. I know a lot about basketball.”

Of course, his appearance in this magazine means Wilson is more than just a well-informed fan. The 6-9, 205-pound forward at Atlanta’s Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School is also a consensus top-10 prospect in the 2025 class, with a game informed both by that multigenerational collective of NBA greats and current stars like Nikola Jokic. With the game’s positionless revolution firmly entrenched, it only makes sense that a dude like Wilson would look far and wide for inspiration. “I feel like every player has aspects you can learn from,” he says, “especially the great ones.”

Wilson has a long way to go before he hears his name mentioned in the same breath as the aforementioned All-Stars and Hall of Famers, but then he’s already come a long way. He was a relatively late bloomer compared to most of his peers near the top of the rankings, and the memories of how far he felt from the game’s elite provides ample motivation now that he’s among the best high schoolers in the country. “I feel like a lot of younger kids look up to me because of that, so I want to talk about my humble beginnings, my struggles as a young player,” he says. “I remember not being the best player—it sticks with me. Just because you’re not good at something now doesn’t mean you can’t be good at it later.”

Wilson’s rise is proof of that, as evidenced by his production at Holy Innocents (he averaged 21 points, 15 rebounds and over 4 blocks last season) and on the Nike EYBL circuit, as well as his invite to this summer’s USA Basketball U18 junior national team camp. Of course, big-time programs have noticed. As we went to press, Auburn, UNC, Stanford and Duke were among the favorites to bring him to campus in 2025.

Low-key off the court—“I like to play video games, I watch a lot of TV, especially anime, and sometimes I do Legos,” he says—Wilson is committed to the game and usually in the gym. Still somewhat raw offensively, he’s athletic and savvy enough to still get his points or get teammates involved, and as those blocked-shot numbers attest, he’s got the potential to be a game-changer on D. Talent and motivation go a long way, of course, but ultimately, Wilson says the foundation of his game comes down to nothing more complicated than holding himself accountable and putting in work.

“I feel like it’s just discipline and commitment,” he says. “Once you tell yourself, I’m gonna do something, and you follow through with it, you build trust with yourself. I became true to myself about that: Caleb, you’re going to dribble every single day for 30 minutes, you’re going to do push-ups, you’re going to do sit-ups every single day. It allows for belief that you can do better. You’re competing with yourself.”

Portraits via Omar Rawlings.

The post Caleb Wilson Studied the Legends of the Game, Now He’s Channeling Their Wisdom as He Makes His Own Mark as a Top 10 Player in the Class of 2025 appeared first on SLAM.

SLAM 251 featuring Naz Reid is available now.

The name of the reigning Sixth Man of the Year represents more than just a name at this point. Naz Reid has become a greeting between Minnesota Timberwolves fans outside of home games. It’s turned into a consistent stream of car horns outside of Parkway Pizza in Northeast Minneapolis with the now famous “Honk If You Love Naz Reid” sign sitting right outside. It’s transformed the seats of the Target Center into a beach day with Naz Reid towels in late March. It’s seen hundreds of yard signs plastered with his face strewn about lawns across the greater Minneapolis area.

It’s the name of a Jeopardy contestant’s cat. It’s even become the first tattoo for everyone from 18-year-olds kids to 82-year-old grandmothers. Naz Reid has got a hold on the Timberwolves fan base and the greater NBA community. There’s no explanation, no broader details. This is the epitome of if you know, you know. And trust us, after this past season, everyone and their momma, and their mommas, knows about the rise of Naz Reid.

But at first, Naz didn’t think the ink was real.

After the Timberwolves took down the Denver Nuggets by 26 points in Game 2 of the Western Conference Semifinals—featuring 14 points, 5 boards, 4 blocks and 4 threes from the man himself—two lifelong Wolves fans and artists at Beloved Studios in Roseville, MN, set the stage for the community’s latest outpouring of admiration.

At 12:29 a.m. on May 7th, tattoo artist JC Stroebel tweeted out, “Will tattoo ‘Naz Reid’ on anyone for $20. I’m dead serious.”

Hundreds of requests followed.

“It was crazy. I think the 82-year-old lady was the first person that I saw, and then the list just goes on, I think 200-plus,” Naz tells SLAM. “It was up to the point where I was at the barbershop one day and two kids came in [and] my name was their first tattoo. So, that was crazy to experience. Definitely super exciting. It’s something you obviously dream about as a kid, to have that type of fan base and that excitement around your name is huge.”

From the back of the tricep to the lower thigh just above the kneecap, that excitement is on permanent display in Times New Roman font. The feeling has been surreal, in Naz’s words.

His name has become celebrated among a small market fan base longing for a return to prominence. Yes, the Timberwolves have a bonafide superstar in Anthony Edwards, alongside All-Stars Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert manning the paint. But it’s the 6-9 versatile New Jersey native with the bag of a guard that has completely won over the hearts and minds of Timberwolves fans. And it’s the reason he’s on this very cover.

Naz Reid is the unsung hero of Minnesota. His quiet confidence is on full display as soon as he walks into the gym we’ve rented out in Las Vegas for his first SLAM cover shoot. Summer League games are taking place just a few miles away, but Naz is suited in his midnight blue and white Timberwolves threads with contrasting “Reverse Grinch” Kobe 6s on his feet as we snap away flicks. He’s paying no mind to the record-setting 116-degree heat that awaits just outside. 

Reid is only the third-ever undrafted player to win the Sixth Man of the Year award—joining John Starks and Darrell Armstrong—and the first Timberwolves player to take home the honor. His 13.5 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game on 41 percent shooting from three weren’t just a bump across the board from years’ past. The 2023-24 season served as his arrival as a full-fledged force in the L.

“This is the craziest I’ve ever seen it, especially this past season with how far we made it in the Western Conference Finals,” Naz says of the culture in Minnesota. “It’s been crazy. We have posters everywhere, chalk on the ground everywhere. It’s super exciting. Definitely something that we’re looking forward to for years to come.”

If you were to truly dive into why the Timberwolves fan base has such a deep-rooted love affair with the stoic 25-year-old, the overwhelming answer would probably be the relatability of his journey. And definitely the way he moves with the rock.

It’s the opening round of the Western Conference playoffs and the Wolves are cruising with a 17-point lead over the Phoenix Suns. With 9:53 left in the fourth quarter, Naz snags a loose ball and sets out in transition. A duo of rapid in-and-out dribbles follow, keeping Eric Gordon from planting his back foot confidently. As Naz finishes the second move with the ball, he whips it wide over his right shoulder, high above Gordon’s head, into a fluid pro hop. Time stops for a moment, as he cradles it in his chest and Bradley Beal enters the scene to contest. Except this is Big Jelly we’re talking about. With ease and a calming finesse, Naz pulls his momentum to the left side of the basket and lays the ball onto the glass and through the net with a clean right-handed reverse.

These routine displays of basketball artistry have sent home crowds into a frenzy, but for those in Asbury Park, NJ, they’re reminiscent of the days Naz was cooking at Roselle Catholic and dropping highlight after highlight as an official member of the Jelly Fam.

“That’s just my go-to. I’ve been doing that for a long time, long time,” Naz says of his transition excellence. “I think Jersey guys are just shiftier than a lot of other people. We just come with a different type of swag and game to any move that we put into play. That’s just kind of how we roll. You think about all the guards that have been in the NBA or near the NBA. You’ve got Kyrie Irving, Isaiah Briscoe, Kyle Anderson; you’ve got a lot of guys who are shifty and move with a different type of swag. I think it’s just kind of how we roll and where we come from.”

Looking back on the days when high school phenoms were stitching a new era into the cultural fabric of hoops, Naz now appreciates the impact being surrounded by guys like Jahvon Quinerly, Atiba Taylor and Luther Muhammad had on his game. “Everything has definitely translated and taken off to what it was back then to where it is now,” Reid says.

Twenty-seven points, 6 rebounds and 7 threes against Dallas in mid-December. A 31-piece and 11 boards while shooting 75 percent from the field in an early April dub vs. the Lakers. Twenty-three points on 78 percent shooting from three in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals.

From Roselle Catholic to Minneapolis, Naz has blended a guard-like fluidity and pace with the size and skills of a stretch big. He punishes smaller mismatches in the low post with surgical footwork and hook shots while dusting slower opponents at the elbow. He cashes in corner threes before his defender even realizes he left the paint. And he thrives, absolutely thrives, in any position head coach Chris Finch puts him in.

“We’ve had lineups this past year where I was the 3. We’ve had big lineups, so that’s something that I’ve been working on and continuing to work on,” Naz says. “Time will tell, but I can probably transition to a 3, 4 or 5 in this League. So, I’m just going to keep working on it and keep expanding my role.”

In that role as first off the pine, Naz recorded the most consistent season of his career in ’23-24. Fourteen 20-plus point performances in the regular season behind a career-high shooting from deep. And his defensive instincts began to shine. With No. 11 on the floor, the Timberwolves recorded a League-best 107.9 defensive rating. The infamous Game 2 that spawned a litany of tattoos saw Naz enact a defensive masterclass. In the first half alone, he stuffed Jamal Murray twice, then rejected Nikola Jokic on a pair of shots.

Ahead of the ’23-24 season, Naz signed a three-year, $42 million extension with the Timberwolves. The deal was five years of tumultuous work in the making.

His illustrious rise from Jersey to LSU wasn’t met with the same amount of enthusiasm you might have expected when he set his sights on the NBA. After a lone season in Baton Rouge, the 6-9 forward went undrafted in 2019.

His 13.6 points and 7.2 rebounds during that season were enough to receive SEC All-Freshman team honors, but the League wasn’t biting. Concerns around his draft workouts and size were highlighted.

“It just made me more hungry. It kind of rose, kind of changed to where I was the hunted, now I’m hunting at that point,” Naz tells SLAM. “In high school, I was a top recruit, five-star, McDonald’s All American, things like that, to where now I had to grind to be in a position where I had to compete against others who were at high levels, who were drafted and things of that nature. So [I was] putting myself in that perspective of just hunting.”

Over the past five seasons, Naz has hunted for more minutes, more shots, more defensive assignments and more responsibility. In every role he’s found himself in, he’s progressed. Dialing into the specifics matters—who he works out with, his daily routines, even what time he goes to sleep at night—all of his habits are predisposed to how things carry over into the next season. Consistency in his role, in his growth, “that’s just the key to the sauce, to be honest.”

As a result, the fame, the outpouring of love and the appreciation he’s received have reached yet another peak. From influencing an entire generation with how they lay the ball up as a 17-year-old to the cult following of his name in the League, Naz has been dealing with the many waves of notoriety for years.

“I treat it as second hand and whatever comes with me putting the work that I put in, I’m excited to have,” Naz says. “Obviously, I’m truly humbled to have all that. I think as anyone should at the professional level, take that along with the bumps and bruises. Just keep being you and playing your game.”

Standing in front of a blue seamless backdrop that lets the aurora green piping of his shorts pop, Naz holds the infamous “Naz Reid” towel outstretched across his back. That March 22 evening was his favorite from this past season. As 18,000 faithful unfurled the towels throughout the arena, Naz dropped 18 points en route to a 13-point win over the Cavaliers. “That moment was a moment where I had to really take it in,” he says. “I haven’t really explained how much I appreciated that moment and how much that really made me feel as far as excited and wanted and loved.”

So we asked him to expand on that appreciation, to speak directly to the fans. From Naz to the Timberwolves fan base, NAZ REID the cat and those who hold his name in ink, this is his message:

“I appreciate every single one of you guys. You guys have seen me come in and work since day one, since the two-way signing to where I am now to this point,” Naz says. “I think everybody knows how much work and dedication I put in and [the] aspirations that I put in to get to where I am now. It’s not going to stop now. This is only the beginning.”

Portraits by Erik Isakson. Action photos via Getty Images.

The post Naz Reid Explains His Cult Following, Winning Sixth Man of the Year and Building a Newfound Culture in Minnesota appeared first on SLAM.

South Sudan, the youngest country in the world, is, as I write this, the proud home of a national basketball team hooping in the Paris Olympics, an outrageous accomplishment for a strife-ridden nation that has only existed since 2011.

Even if this program was led by people that no one at SLAM had ever heard of, the accomplishment is so grand it warrants our attention. Alas, it’s led by two of our favorite people in the sport, gentlemen who have been bringing smiles to us and all who love the game for almost as long as SLAM has been around: Luol Deng and Royal Ivey.

Deng, who most of you should know from his longtime NBA career, if not the many remarkable steps in his life path before or since, is the crux of this story. I learned about Luol around 2000, when his older brother, Ajou, was a highly touted recruit at UConn and agents started whispering about a younger brother they called “Louie” who would be even better than Ajou. By late 2002, I was hanging out at Blair Academy for a feature on then-Blair senior Luol and his teammate, Queens’ legend and future NBAer Charlie Villanueva. Luol was certainly one of the most impressive teenagers I’ve ever spoken to (as if writing about high schoolers for SLAM wasn’t enough exposure, now I have a teen of my own), and he came with a breathtaking backstory. 

Born in the southern part of Sudan when it was still one country in the throes of a civil war, Luol and his mother and siblings fled the country for a safer life in Egypt in 1990, and in ’94, they reunited with his politician father, Aldo, in London. Luol spent some formative years in the South London neighborhood of Brixton, picking up a proper love for Arsenal and football but also hooping all the time. And growing. Luol followed Ajou’s footsteps in coming to America for prep school, which is how we found him at Blair. And he wasn’t just a nice kid playing some ball while getting a quality education to set himself up for a college scholarship; he was the second-best player in his high school class. Literally, pretty much every 2003 high school ranking system or all-star game had a No. 1 and No. 2 player. Luol was No. 2. No. 1 was LeBron James.

Deng went to Duke for one season, leading the Blue Devils to the Final Four (where they lost by 1 point to Villanueva’s UConn team, ironically). Deng was the seventh pick in the ’04 Draft and began a 10-year stint with the Bulls that featured two All-Star appearances, two seasons leading the NBA in minutes per game and a ton of playoff games. This was mostly the Thibs-Derrick Rose Bulls, and Deng was the engine that made them go. He played five more seasons after Chicago to give himself a tidy 15-year career in which he was absolutely beloved by his coaches and teammates and always a pleasure to chat with in locker rooms (especially if I led with Arsenal check-ins). 

Deng was not satisfied just being a star on the court, though. Off it, he created the Luol Deng Foundation and was regularly going back to London and Africa to take part in various charitable efforts and basketball events designed to grow the game. In 2021, he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire, which is one of those very British things that, at least in Great Britain, means that he should be presented as Luol Deng OBE; becoming “Sir Luol Deng” might happen in the future. At the same time that he was making his mark with charitable work in his adopted home of England, Deng was reigniting his relationship with his real home of South Sudan. He’d been named President of the South Sudan Basketball Federation in 2019 and began spending more time there. “Imagine your family fleeing a country and going to find life somewhere else,” Deng says in a mini-doc about the team qualifying for the Olympics that was shared with SLAM. “And instead of you being in that other country and forgetting about South Sudan and enjoying your professional basketball career, you’re actually committing to come back and play for that same country that you fled because of the war, and you’re the one now bringing all this positivity to it.”

Beautifully said, Luol. Unsurprisingly for a country of less than 13 million that has been around only 13 years—and suffered through internal fighting and development challenges the whole time—building a basketball program was not a priority. But there is a heritage of the sport there and in the people who come from there, beginning with famed NBA shot blocker Manute Bol (who originally inspired Deng and his brothers) and continuing with Deng, former Syracuse star Kueth Duany, Manute’s son (and SLAM fave) Bol Bol and heading into the future with young stars like Khaman Maluach, a 17-year-old incoming freshman at Duke who is projected to be a top-five pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.

Since his appointment as president of the SSBF, Deng has instilled structure around the team and sought to get the best players from the South Sudanese diaspora suiting up for the country of their roots. Things coalesced last summer when South Sudan, playing in its first-ever FIBA World Cup, earned an Olympic berth by finishing as the highest-ranked team from Africa.  

If Deng has been the SSBF’s Jerry West—the retired legend now building a roster with guile and conviction—Royal Ivey has been their Pat Riley, a retired role player turned motivational master as head coach.

Ivey, currently an assistant coach with the Houston Rockets, has been on my radar since 1999, when he led what was once unquestionably the #SLAMfam’s favorite high school, Queens’ (NY) Cardozo (shout out Ronnie Z and Coach Naclerio!), to an NYC PSAL title, earning MVP honors in a 57-47 win at Madison Square Garden that gave Naclerio, now the winningest coach in New York State public school history, his very first title. 

After graduating from Cardozo with that ’99 title on his CV, Ivey spent a post-grad year at Blair where he played alongside…a young Luol Deng. “Luol has been like my little brother since I met him his freshman year at Blair,” says Ivey over Zoom from Kigali, Rwanda, where the South Sudan team is holding pre-Olympic training camp. “I was older and I wanted to protect him, but he was also motivation to me. I was 17 years old and he was 13, waking me up at 6 a.m. to get in the gym. Then we were in the same draft class and we’d hang out in Chicago and stay in touch. Later on, I worked his camps in London.”

Ivey was a 6-3 2-guard who couldn’t shoot all that well, but he always played hard—especially on defense—and he was a great teammate. He played four years at the University of Texas, reaching the ’03 Final Four and making such a mark with his intangibles that he was the 37th pick in the ’04 NBA Draft despite four-year college averages of 8 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists per game.

Ivey’s numbers were even lower in the pros, but he lasted a decade in the League and then, after his final stint with the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2014, OKC GM Sam Presti asked if Ivey would serve as an assistant with their G League team, the Blue. Ivey’s been on the coaching grind ever since. 

“The way I got this job was crazy,” Ivey shares today. “I was watching Luol coach [South Sudan] on Instagram. I’m coaching in New York. [Then-Knicks head coach David] Fizdale gets fired. I was looking for a new opportunity and I was intrigued about helping Luol move forward. I told him I’d love to be part of the staff. You don’t have to be a part, Luol told me. I want you to run this thing.”

And with that, the two—friends through two wild decades in the business of basketball—were off and running, coming out of the pandemic with a fast playing style and the buy-in of more and more good players. South Sudan has plenty of work to do as a nation, but when the basketball team, nicknamed the Bright Stars, plays and wins, there’s a national pride that is not typically on display. “We’re here to put South Sudan on the map,” Ivey says. “We’re here to heal. To bring a country together through sports is something life-changing. I’ve been there and touched the ground and touched the people.”

Adds Deng in the mini-doc: “I want these guys to realize what sports does for the country. Sports is gonna be the vehicle of unity.”

Clearly, there’s a full-length movie to be made here. I know I’ll watch it.

Photos via Getty Images.

The post Building the Foundation: Luol Deng and Royal Ivey on the Rise of South Sudan’s National Basketball Team appeared first on SLAM.

To celebrate Boston winning their 18th title, we just dropped SLAM 251, the Champs Issue, featuring none other than the Jays; Jayson Tatum and Finals MVP Jaylen Brown.

SLAM 251 FEATURING THE CELTICS IS OUT NOW

Get your copy of SLAM 251 right now so you can reminisce on the season, whether that’s in Beantown or beyond. And we’ve got Gold Medal Editions on lock, too. Go grab a piece of history and celebrate the champs accordingly.

The post The Champs Are Here: The Boston Celtics Cover SLAM 251 appeared first on SLAM.

SLAM 251 featuring Alyssa Thomas + DeWanna Bonner is available now. Shop here.

An uplifting energy was flowing throughout our office on a Monday morning in late June. After a two-and-a-half hour drive from Connecticut to NYC, all that can be felt and heard is an abundance of love and laughter shared by the couple as they pose for photos at their first-ever SLAM cover shoot.

Rocking their bright orange Explorer Edition uniforms, both Alyssa and DeWanna are fully present in the moment, while creating pockets of time where they fall into a world all to their own. They’re holding staring contests while we snap flicks and poking fun at their height difference.

“I love playing with Alyssa. She’s one of the hardest working competitors in the League, so it kind of makes me want to go harder,” DeWanna says. “Even at my age, I’m like, I’ve got a little bit more in there to give because I see her going just as hard.”

The two have been dating for the past few years, and during 2023 All-Star Weekend out in Las Vegas, Alyssa proposed to DeWanna underneath the shade of palm trees accented by candles and hundreds of roses. They started off as competitors and still are in some ways. DeWanna drafted to the Phoenix Mercury in 2009. Alyssa drafted to the New York Liberty and immediately traded to the Connecticut Sun in 2014. Ahead of the 2020 bubble season, a blockbuster trade sent the two down the path of a relationship as teammates that eventually turned into partners.

The past five seasons have been a journey of ups and downs: new teammates, new coaches, new positions, new responsibilities. And yet, the two remain anchored to the culture they’ve instilled since they first teamed up four years ago. It’s a culture that has the Sun sitting at 18-6 as the second-best team in the W with both DeWanna and Alyssa dominating, again. The wedding’s gonna have to wait ’til after the Olympics, though.

Before the morning of June 11, Alyssa Thomas and DeWanna Bonner had never been inside the Connecticut Sun offices. As Alyssa walked down the hallway with DeWanna closely behind, the four-time All-Star peered through the frosted glass of the room to her right. She instantly dropped her head to the side as the emotions began to build. A familiar figure stood in the room, Connecticut Sun president and USA Basketball’s Women’s National Team Committee Chair Jen Rizzotti. In her hands were Alyssa’s deep red, white and blue USA Basketball threads, honoring her with a spot on the 2024 US Women’s Olympic team.

“Honestly, they told me I had a meeting,” Alyssa says. “I turned the corner and I see her [Jen] through the glass and my heart kind of just dropped that it’s finally happening. I’m probably the second-oldest on the team at 32, and I’m getting my first opportunity to be on a team like this—it meant a lot to me.”

In the video posted to USA Basketball’s Instagram, the loudest voice in the room is DeWanna’s, cheering and clapping for her person with pride. “It’s funny because I think I was more anxious than her during that waiting process. I’m just like, When is it going to happen?” she says. “So for me, I’m just so proud of her, I’m so happy for her. It’s something that she really, really worked hard for, like she said, at 32. Yeah, we’ll be in Paris.”

Throughout her 11-year career in the WNBA, Alyssa’s offseason timeline has rarely matched up with the Olympics. She prefers to recoup her mental and physical in what little downtime there is between the season ending and the start of her overseas schedule. The 2020 Olympic Games (held in 2021 due to Covid) were at one point an option, but the rehab process for a torn Achilles that she suffered in January took priority.

AT was back on the court nine months later. And when the season wrapped, Cheryl Reeve convinced Alyssa to suit up for her and Team USA in the 2022 FIBA World Cup. Winning Gold has been an inescapable feeling ever since.

Just three days before our shoot, the first voting update for the 2024 WNBA All-Star roster was revealed. DeWanna ranked in the top 10. Knowing the festivities this season will see the USA Basketball roster face off against the WNBA All-Stars, the two are already looking forward to playing opposite one another in Phoenix. “Oh, I’m gonna whoop her up,” DeWanna chimes in immediately.

“She’s not scoring. She’s not getting a bucket,” Alyssa interrupts.

“Shut up,” DeWanna says in a playful tone as Alyssa laughs out loud. “Please. I don’t care where I am, I don’t care how crazy of a shot it is, I’m going to try and make it. And if I make it, oh, I’ve won a championship. If I make one shot on her, it’s over.”

“It won’t happen,” Alyssa fires back.

The back-and-forth is more than just a great sound bite—it’s a peek into their unique dynamic, one filled with love, teasing and a very, very healthy amount of competitiveness.

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“We almost had the opportunity to do that overseas, but I got hurt, which I was happy about,” DeWanna says about playing against each other. “I was a little nervous playing against her, because Alyssa is a little rough and I’m not. But in this environment, where it’s not too much on the line, it can be friendly. But I promise you,” she says looking right at AT, “I’m trying to bust you up.”

“It’s not friendly at all. It’s all business,” Alyssa replies.

For the past five seasons, it’s been just that: straight business. After DB was traded from the Phoenix Mercury—where she won two championships and was a three-time Sixth Woman of the Year—to the Sun, the two quickly formed one of the most dominant duos in the history of the W.

Under their purview, sustained success has become routine out in Uncasville, CT. Numbers 24 and 25 have led the Sun to four straight semifinal appearances plus a trip to the 2022 Finals. They’re insurmountable in high-low actions, transition and half-court defensive schemes. In the midst, a list of collective and individual accolades has been running longer than the Susquehanna River.

“They really are the heart and soul of this franchise,” head coach Stephanie White told the AP. “You think about not just what they do on a day-to-day basis, but the consistency with which they’ve done it since they’ve been here.”

Unstoppable doesn’t even begin to describe AT’s game. She’s a point-forward who sets the game to easy mode for everyone while leading the team in assists, rebounds and steals. This season, she’s putting up 11.5 points, 9.4 rebounds and a League-high 7.9 assists a game. And to start the season against the Indiana Fever, she threw down a 13/13/10 triple-double. Yeah, last season wasn’t just a one-off.

In her 15th season, DeWanna has only continued to expand the mastery of her offensive repertoire. The midrange is lit up with hot spots like a Christmas tree for DB. Transition treys stick to the net and post-up fadeaways sing of swishes. She uses her length to snatch steals on the defensive end, plugging up gaps and sending shots into the third row. As of press time, the 6-4 bucket-getter is pouring in a team-high 17.1 points, pulling down 6.3 boards and swiping 1.3 steals a game.

“I always say we have to be that much better than other teams. We’re not a super team or anything of that sort, so our margin for error is a lot smaller than other teams,” Alyssa says. “And just trying to get everybody to buy into that and understand that there are no off days. There’s no relaxing or taking plays off. We’ve got to go hard for 40 minutes.”

This season, the two have been clocking in overtime. Alyssa’s already popped off for two triple-doubles and DeWanna’s posted eight 20-pieces. Between Alyssa, DeWanna and two-time All-Star Brionna Jones, the only other constant that resides in Connecticut is change. The past five years have seen a revolving door of coaches, players and front office personnel.

“I think that’s just the nature of the beast in Connecticut,” Alyssa says. “It’s not a favorable market for people that like to do the other things, be in the spotlight, things like that. It’s a quiet area, you’ve got to be a different type of player to come there. We don’t have all the bells and whistles that other people do, so it’s really about the basketball for us.”

The 2024 campaign has been filled with even more adjustments. DeWanna and Alyssa spent the majority of last season surveying the paint at the 4 and 5. With center Brionna Jones back from a torn Achilles, they’ve dipped back into their typical roles while infusing elements of last year’s success. They’re developing chemistry with the new backcourt pairing of DiJonai Carrington and Tyasha Harris, who have stepped in to the starting guard positions. The newest additions of Rachel Banham and Moriah Jefferson coming off the pine have been an added piece to juggle, too.

“I don’t want to say we started over again, but it’s implementing new people and trying to get them to understand the system. But in the same way, reworking it to fit everybody’s style of play and get the best out of everyone,” Alyssa says. “We’ve had our ups and downs so far, and it’s still a work in progress, but it’s going to come down to us and the coaches coming together and figuring out what is best for this team. That’s why it’s a long season and it’s about playing your best basketball come playoff time.”

The playoffs are still a bit in the distance, but in June, the Sun were already in midseason form, posting an early 13-1 record and becoming just the seventh team in League history to win 13 of their first 14. All six of those previous squads reached the Finals, and four of them won it all. We’re not saying it’s destiny, but history has a way of repeating itself.

“We’ve been right there on the cusp, so now this year, I think we’ve kind of taken the fun out of it a little bit, but we’re trying to get that back,” DeWanna says. “It’s championship or bust for us. That’s where we are.”

As seamless as the highlights look, the couple warns that playing basketball every single day with your partner isn’t as magical as one might think it is. There are angles, reads and passes that Alyssa may see that DeWanna doesn’t, and vice versa.

“It’s like a gift and a curse. You’re playing with somebody that’s the best in the world and she’s also your partner, so you get to bounce ideas off of each other, you talk basketball. But also, it’s competitive; we go at it on the court as well,” DeWanna says. “But I still want to bust her up on that court.”

“It’s mostly that she wants to bust me up on the court,” Alyssa responds. “Nine times out of ten.”

“Tune in! When is the [All-Star] Game? July 20th. Vote me in, ’cause tune in,” DeWanna exclaims.

“Drinks on me the night before,” Alyssa says with a laugh.

Portraits by Marcus Stevens.

The post Power Couple: Alyssa Thomas and DeWanna Bonner Talk The Olympics, Their Engagement and Building A Winning Culture With the Connecticut Sun appeared first on SLAM.

The game has always been a part of Strong’s life—she even suited up for the same club team as mom—but it wasn’t until she moved to the United States in fifth grade that she started taking her game to the next level given the level of competition.

“The talent level and skill level is a lot different here, so definitely it’s a little harder. I started getting results out of it, so I was like, OK, let me lock in,” she says. Off the court, Strong also had to deal with the transition that comes with moving from a different country, whether it was cultural adjustments—in Spain, she would watch a lot of American movies and was nervous about having to deal with bullies in school like what she saw in the films—or the language barrier. Strong, who speaks Spanish, initially struggled with reading comprehension in English.

She’s come a long way since then. A five-star recruit and the No. 1 ranked player in the ESPNW 100 for the class of 2024, Strong is an undeniable talent with an all-around game—at 6-2, she uses her strength and size to her advantage, whether it’s holding her own on the post, using her silky smooth handles to drive to the rim or relying on her acute court vision to dish out dimes to her teammates. The 2023-24 Gatorade North Carolina Girls Basketball Player of the Year averaged a double-double at Grace Christian School (NC) while also maintaining a 3.68 GPA.

Strong, who would watch highlights of Maya Moore—her favorite player—and Breanna Stewart, had always dreamt of going to UConn. And yet, when it came time to make her final decision, the final factor had nothing to do with location, she says, but rather, what she felt within. “It’s always been a dream school,” she says. “I just kind of felt it in my heart, and I talked to my family. I prayed about it.”

At UConn, Strong wants to elevate her game and get “accustomed to the college pace” and the level of physicality—from getting in shape to becoming more efficient and a consistent shooter. She’s set to join a Huskies squad that just lost standout Aaliyah Edwards to the 2024 WNBA Draft but will see the return of one of the most elite floor generals in college hoops, Paige Bueckers. The pairing already has fans in Storrs excited for the future. Strong is ready to bring that same energy.

“We’re just trying to win,” she says. “They haven’t won a championship in a while, so that’s the plan for the next four years. I’m just very excited to play with everybody and be coached by the coaching staff.”

Portraits by Luke Schlaifer.

The post From Spain to the States, No. 1 Ranked Senior Sarah Strong is Ready to Continue Her Journey at UCONN appeared first on SLAM.

Inside the green-accented gym of Myers Park High School in Charlotte, NC, stands 6-7 senior Isaiah Evans. In front of him, a sea of white t-shirts screaming obscenities. But here’s the thing: Slim—one of his many monikers—was bred for this environment. Hell, he lives for it.  

The nation’s No. 13 overall prospect in the Class of 2024 (via 247 Sports) is simply built different. Nights like these are filled with overwhelming expression and talking mad trash to the crowd—only after it’s been dished his way. With his tongue swaying from side to side as he begins to unfurl a contested side-step middie, it’d be a good business decision to just get out of the way. Though there are few—very few—who have been successful doing so.

Draped in his royal blue and red North Mecklenburg threads, the future Duke Blue Devil pulled his squad across the finish line against the defending 4A state champions in a tension-filled atmosphere that rivaled the Drake/Kendrick Lamar beef. And yet, Showtime Slim enacted a masterpiece: 48-piece no fries—21 of them in a row during the second half.

“I always had an energetic feel toward me, but I really started getting real active my sophomore year, right after that ninth-grade summer,” Evans says. “I was really taking it personal.”

After being placed on the JV team during his freshman year, Evans spent the entirety of the following summer grinding his way into the varsity rotation as a sophomore. In Slim’s words, “It was time to activate.” After flipping the switch two years ago, the 18-year-old forward now holds the title of one of the most lethal scorers in his class. Gatorade State Player of the Year in North Carolina, McDonald’s All-American, reigning state champion and SLAM All-American—the list of accolades has only cemented his legacy. 

It was just over a month into his sophomore campaign before the major college offers began to trickle in, transitioning quickly into a downpour. While his peers began to stack themselves on prep school rosters, Slim chose to stay home, finishing the last of his high school days in the city that raised him. 

“Once I had gotten those first couple of offers [my] sophomore year, there wasn’t really any reason to leave,” Evans says. “You’re playing a national schedule every year, you’re going to these tournaments with these top teams, so I’m going to gain exposure. And I feel like I’m getting better year by year, so what’s the point in leaving?”

After pouring in 23 points—including four treys—Evans’ journey in his hometown was cemented with an undefeated season and the 2024 state championship. While visions of Cameron Indoor and hostile enemy crowds are in the near future, Evans knows he’ll miss the memories of those lively Friday nights when he bent the game to his will. But there’s still one solvent, a memento of his legacy. 

After igniting North Carolina’s historic basketball community as its latest homegrown star, Evans was cemented in North Mecklenburg history by having his jersey retired at the end of April. He let us in on the honor when we spoke. 

“A lot of people don’t know this, but I’m going to be the first and last person to wear No. 0 [at North Meck]. It really meant a lot to me.”

Portraits by Luke Schlaifer.

The post Future Duke Blue Devil and SLAM HS All-American Isaiah Evans Talks Staying Home for His Senior Season, Confidence and Being a State Champion appeared first on SLAM.

We connected with Coby to speak about his offseason plans, becoming the go-to guy in Chicago, staying in the moment and more.

SLAM: How’s the offseason been so far?

Coby White: It’s been quiet, bro. I really haven’t been doing much because of how long the season was. I’ve been taking it easy—really just been in the weight room, tryna lay the foundation down before I get back on the court. I usually give myself two weeks [of rest], but this year I played a lot more minutes, so this offseason is a little different for me. I’m taking three to four weeks, and then I’ll really get back to it.

SLAM: You’re coming off the best season of your career so far—we’ll touch on that in a minute—but I want to take it back to last year. Was there anything you did differently last offseason in preparation for this season, or was it just a matter of everything finally coming together?

CW: I think last year, as far as on the court and in the weight room, the physical aspect of it was pretty much the same. What really changed for me was that I took the mental side of it differently; I took a different approach. Coach [Billy] Donovan really put it on my mind to transform myself mentally. He felt that was the next step for me. So, I started trying to grow mentally, doing little things such as reading more, meditating, putting myself on a set schedule, praying multiple times a day and things of that sort. And then Coach Donovan took me and a couple of the young guys to Colorado last year. We met with a mental coach, and he gave us little exercises. I just wanted to carry that to my summer training and into the season.

SLAM: You only started two games last year, but early on this season, it was clear you’d have a much bigger role. How was the transition for you establishing your role as the team’s lead guard?

CW: It was challenging at first, but it was fun. Obviously, things changed over the course of our season. Going into the year, I knew I was gonna have a big role, but by the end of the year, it was even bigger than I thought it was going to be. I just embraced the challenge. My teammates and coaching staff were supportive of me and patient with me. It was a learning experience. There was definitely a learning curve at the beginning. But once I got the hang of it and became accustomed to using my voice and being a leader, that’s when things just kind of clicked and I took off from there.

SLAM: Unlike many other lottery picks, you weren’t given the keys to your franchise right away. Can you speak to what staying the course looks like for you and how you stayed ready for the inevitable moment when you’d get the opportunity?

CW: It was hard at first, especially as a rookie. You kind of look around the League and see all your counterparts who were drafted around the same area as you, and you see a lot of guys playing 36 minutes, starting, leading their teams to wins and playing [in] those crunch-time moments. For me, I was coming off the bench, playing, like, 18 minutes a game. I think the mental part was the toughest for me. I’ve always been a hard worker and always worked on my game. I just wanted to show them that no matter what position you put me in, I’m going to continue to be myself and work how I always work in the gym. I just had to understand the mental part—it was a different type of adversity I had never been through in my life. But once I accepted the fact I was gonna have to work for this and be patient, I got a lot closer to God, especially his plan for me. I felt it in my spirit for the longest that my time was gonna come; I just had to be patient. This year, it finally came and I just thank God for allowing me to be in this position.

SLAM: Was there a moment early in the season that you could point to where it was like, This year’s going to be different?

CW: I think training camp just felt different. I just knew I couldn’t fail. I had the support of my teammates and my coaching staff, and I was more outspoken and the leader out there. Then, as the season started, I wasn’t very good—the first month, I was OK. I wasn’t myself the first month, but I remember talking to my brother, telling him I had this gut feeling that it was just all going to come together. Then, in December, things just clicked, and the confidence kept rising. Then, you know, you get comfortable [in your role], and you get the sense like: I belong here. This is who I am. And then I just kept getting better as the season went on.

SLAM: You finished second for the Most Improved Player Award; even though you didn’t win, is there any satisfaction in knowing that other people and your peers are considering you among the young stars in the League?

CW: You couldn’t go wrong [with any of the finalists for the MIP Award], but for me, it’s like—I lost. There isn’t really any gratification. Like, you either win or you lose and that’s just kind of how I see it. For me, it’s extra motivation, extra fuel—but it’s not animosity. Any one of us could have won it. In terms of being in conversations and people starting to recognize who I am—I try not to pay attention to it because I try not to get too high or too low. I enjoy the moments as they come. And then, after they go, it’s behind me. I had a great season, but I have to continue to build a foundation and continue to grow in every aspect of my game.

SLAM: Y’all fell just short of making the playoffs after losing in the play-in; what do you think is the next step for you to become the lead guard for a team that’s a consistent playoff contender?

CW: I think just continuing to build as a leader and use my voice. One of the hardest parts is the emotional aspect. There are so many emotions that go into one game, let alone the entire season. I’m an emotional guy; I wear my heart on my sleeve. When it comes to basketball, I care so much, and I’m emotional about it, and sometimes it’s affected me to the point where I’m not being the leader I should be. I have to be that rock for the team—that foundation for the team. I have to be the one to reel everybody back in. I’m learning in that area.

And I think this summer, I have to do a lot more conditioning. I can’t let fatigue play a factor [in] if I play well or not. I didn’t know I was gonna come in and play damn near 40 minutes a game. The role I had coming into the season, I was like the fourth option. By the end of the season, I was the first or second option. Towards the end of the season, when teams started adjusting to me and making things a lot harder for me, I feel like fatigue played a huge part in some of the games in which I didn’t play as well. I feel like taking a step in my conditioning and physicality will help me take the next step to where I want to be.

I’ll also work on being more creative on the ball. I’m learning how to get to my spots, learning how to play through physicality, because now, every night, I’m getting the first and second best defender on the team.

SLAM: Looking ahead to next season, what are some goals you’re aiming to accomplish?

CW: I think winning truly takes care of everything. But for me, individually, I think that next step is just becoming an All-Star. This past summer, I had one goal, and that was to prove to everyone that I deserve to be a lead guard in the NBA and that I can be a starting guard in the NBA. The one thing I want to do going into next year is just prove that I can sustain this level of play and also take a leap and become that All-Star. I feel like if I continue to work and be on the trajectory that I’m on, I think winning would make it an easy choice. For me, winning always comes before anything.

Photos via Getty Images.

The post Bulls’ Coby White Talks Offseason, Staying the Course and Goals of Becoming an NBA All-Star appeared first on SLAM.

“I think that is a lot of where I found a love for the game,” Taylor tells us. “Just seeing them compete and get after it every night–as I got older, [it was] Kelsey Plum, A’ja Wilson, Chelsea Gray. [I was] able to see women be really successful in their profession.”

For Taylor, the reality that she’s playing in the same League as those she’s always admired is surreal. The former 2023 ACC Defensive Player of the Year–who averaged 10.1 points and 3.4 assists after transferring to Ohio State for her fifth year–knows she has a lot to learn if she wants to elevate her game at the next level. “The first thing that comes to mind is just how crazy it is, and how crazy it will be to see people that you saw playing when you were little right in front of you. To either be playing next to them or against them, I mean, it’s just really exciting and cool, honestly.”

When asked if she’s ready to hold her own, Taylor doesn’t hesitate. “I am.”

Photos via Getty Images. Portrait by Evan Bernstein.

The post From New York to Indiana, Fever Rookie Celeste Taylor Talks Adjusting to the WNBA and Playing Against the Stars She’s Always Admired appeared first on SLAM.

Now honoring banner 18 with an all-Boston special edition collectible item. This magazine is entirely dedicated to the Celtics and it features both new and old stories from SLAM’s past coverage of Boston’s squad.

The post SLAM Presents Celtics is OUT NOW! appeared first on SLAM.

An actress then in her seventies, Allison peered out at the group and saw one figure towering above the rest. 

His name was Rueben Chinyelu.

He was 14 years old and stood around 6-8.

Allison couldn’t believe her eyes. What was this boy doing here? Why was he selling clothes? She maneuvered through the crowd to find him. 

“Do you play basketball?” she asked Chinyelu.

He smiled and laughed, as he did every other time someone asked him that question. 

“I’m serious,” Allison said. “You could go to school playing basketball. You could further your education.”

This caught Chinyelu’s attention. The idea of playing basketball had never been framed to him in this way—as a possible ticket to a better education. And for some reason, it struck a different chord coming from Allison. Chinyelu had never played basketball before in his life. But suddenly, he felt compelled to pursue it. “I just think everything happens on God’s timing,” he says.

That was the summer of 2018. Six years later, Chinyelu is a 6-11 rising sophomore at the University of Florida. He transferred from Washington State University, where he played in all 35 games last season and finished fourth in the Pac-12 in blocks.

Growing up in the eastern region of Nigeria, Chinyelu was six years old when he lost his father. His mother raised him and his three older sisters, emphasizing discipline and education above all else. Chinyelu didn’t play any sports as a kid—not even soccer, which is by far the most popular sport in Nigeria. Instead, he focused entirely on his schoolwork and dreamed of one day becoming a doctor.

Everything changed that afternoon in 2018 when Allison, whom Chinyelu now refers to as his grandma, walked into his brother-in-law’s shop. Less than a week later, Chinyelu went to the National Stadium to register to join Raptors Basketball Academy. Despite his inexperience and rail-thin frame, he made an immediate impression on his new coach, Charles Ibeziakor. 

“I saw something that was different from the other boys that come to learn basketball,” Ibeziakor says. “I saw that this guy is going to be a potential player, a prospect, because of his hard work. He did not relent.”

Chinyelu’s discipline carried over from academics to basketball. If I’m doing this, I’m all in, he told himself. The team practiced Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to noon during the summer, but Chinyelu would come to the court at 6 a.m. for extra work. He trained individually with Ibeziakor every Sunday and watched tutorials on YouTube to tackle the fundamentals. Soon, his dream was to make it to the NBA.

Within a year, Chinyelu was picked to represent Nigeria in the 2019 FIBA U16 African Championship. He averaged 12.3 points and 17.6 rebounds (best in the tournament) to help his team place third. “He was one of the best,” says Ibeziakor. “From there, I knew that this guy was going to go places.”

Even before his debut for the junior national team, Chinyelu received interest from high schools throughout the United States, but his request for a visa was denied by the embassy. Eight times. And Chinyelu never really found out why. He was hurt, but undeterred. He just had to find a new path. “If I cry or get mad about it, I’m just doubling the problem,” he says. “I just never doubted myself.”

Coach Ibeziakor is also a scout for NBA Academy Africa, an elite basketball training center in Saly, Senegal. The Academy was established in 2017 to provide top high school-age prospects from across the continent with the tools necessary to pursue a future in the sport. Chinyelu arrived in 2021, having gotten much stronger after working out at home during the pandemic. He now had access to state-of-the-art facilities and was surrounded by the best young players in Africa, all of whom shared his ambition to reach the next level. In the school’s multi-purpose room, where the students eat, watch TV and socialize, pictures of African players who have made it to the NBA adorn the walls—a constant reminder of the goal they are all chasing.

With expert guidance from staff members such as technical director Roland Houston and head coach Alfred Aboya, Chinyelu improved dramatically at the Academy. “They have plays. Back home, we don’t have plays,” Chinyelu describes. “Just go play basketball, catch the rebound, pass the ball, make baskets. It was different getting breakdowns, extra workouts, when to work out, how to maintain your sleep. In the Academy, they didn’t just teach us about basketball—they taught us how to be a basketball player and also how to be a man. Because it all works together.”

Chinyelu founded the “6:00 a.m. Club” with Coach Aboya, a morning workout ritual that his teammates, who typically reported to the gym closer to 7:00 a.m., eventually joined. “He’s a tireless worker,” says Aboya. “He will bug you to work him out.”

The Academy competes in exhibitions and showcases across the globe, and Chinyelu also participated in the 2022-23 Basketball Africa League (BAL) season, averaging 5.4 points and 7.9 rebounds for Stade Malien. Since he started so late, his game—particularly on offense—is still being polished, but Chinyelu always brings energy and intensity. He becomes “a different person” on the court, according to former Academy teammate Seifeldin Hendawy. “Rueben’s game is so emotional,” Hendawy, an incoming freshman at Loyola Chicago, continues. “Super aggressive. When he comes between the lines, he just forgets everything. He doesn’t care. He’ll be dunking on people, destroying rims.”

Hendawy remembers one game of full-court two-on-two when Chinyelu “just went crazy” battling against fellow Nigerian and current Louisville big man Emmanuel Okorafor. The trash talk was flowing and the match-up was becoming increasingly physical. At one point, Chinyelu threw down a vicious dunk and let out a scream so powerful that it startled Hendawy and other spectators. “The gym was shaking,” Hendawy recalls with a chuckle. Houston eventually had to interject to settle things down a bit. “I’m him, Coach!” Chinyelu hollered at Houston, pounding his chest. “I’m him!”

That image stands in stark contrast to Chinyelu off the floor. He is soft-spoken, polite and eloquent, his comments peppered with the same sort of inspirational phrases that are taped up in classrooms at the Academy.

“Rome wasn’t built in a day.”

“The easy road is not always the way.”

“The only thing I can control is the present.”

“I know that something that is meant to happen is definitely going to happen.”

He has a calming presence that one could easily foresee translating into an excellent bedside manner. While his main objective remains to make it to the NBA, Chinyelu is also studying to become a dentist and plans to take summer classes to finish school should he leave early for the draft. 

Chinyelu joins a talented Florida squad (slotted at No. 20 in ESPN’s current rankings) and should assume a much bigger role this season after averaging just 13.8 minutes per game for Washington State. The Gators have several solid frontcourt options, but Chinyelu is projected to start at center. He arrived on campus at the beginning of June following a brief trip back to Africa, during which he visited family in Nigeria and caught the BAL Finals in Rwanda.

Watching him today, his first coach, Ibeziakor, is not surprised by the player Chinyelu has become. “Because I know the kind of person that Rueben is,” he says. “I know that Rueben will work extra to get there—to play in the NBA. And I believe that he will play [there] one day.”

Photos via Getty Images.

The post From Nigeria to Gainesville: The Improbable Journey of New Florida Big Man Rueben Chinyelu appeared first on SLAM.

It’s a beautiful afternoon in mid-May and we’re at the Pippens home for a “Day in the Life” shoot with Tissot, and Justin and Scottie are going back and forth in their game of PIG. Well, initially, they were playing HORSE, but as the ball continued to find the net, both father and son quickly realized they’d be there until dusk if they didn’t make a pivot. So, PIG it is.

Scottie’s got just one letter; P, while Justin looks to save himself from elimination on the right wing. As soon as the shot clanks off the back iron, Scottie begins to celebrate. But Justin still has a shot at redemption. Right?

“I feel like I defeated that kid twice,” Scottie explains. “I’ve played PIG numerous times in my life, and I’ve never heard of you getting a second shot after you miss. I went with his rules, but in my world, I won twice. But in his world, he won once. So, I’ll let him win once.”

In Justin’s mind, and by the book for some players, if you miss your first shot on the last letter of PIG, you automatically receive a second shot to redeem yourself. If you make the second, you play on. If you miss, game over.

“There was not a new rule,” Justin says in his defense. “We played PIG, he had me at P-I and then for the last shot on G, you get two shots if you miss it. I don’t know [how] he never heard that. That’s how me and my brothers grew up playing. I can call [them] right now and I’ll ask [them] and [they’ll] tell me the same thing.”

Right on cue, the youngest Pippen whips out his phone and Facetimes his older brother Scotty Pippen Jr., who just finished his second season in the League with the Memphis Grizzlies. There’s no brotherly catchup, no “How are you doin?” It’s straight to business. Justin asks and Scotty Jr. answers: “When we grew up playing, yeah.”

Competitiveness runs in the Pippen family, from the hardwood to Connect 4 and Monopoly. As we prepare to walk with the two through a typical day in their lives, both father and son are giving each other a hard time. The quips aren’t negative, they’re purposeful. As Scottie puts it, the banter builds a competitive edge while instilling confidence. Coaches say it all the time: “Worry when I’m not giving you a hard time.”

Scottie’s got six NBA championships to his name, Scotty Pippen Jr.’s carving out the beginnings of his career in the L after dicing up the SEC at Vanderbilt. Now, it’s Justin’s turn.

The post The Pippen Hoops Lineage Lives On appeared first on SLAM.

The view provides a calmness effect after the ruckus from the previous hour, when both players found out the short list of teams that are most likely to end up drafting them in June. It’s been quite the journey for this duo—one that will have them stamped in college hoops history for eternity.

SLAM 250 featuring Donovan Clingan and Stephon Castle is available now.

Clingan, a 7-2 center, won back-to-back national titles in his only two seasons at UConn. He averaged 13 points, 7.4 boards and 2.5 blocks per game this past season, earning him a spot on the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award Midseason Watch List, the 2024 NCAA Final Four All-Tournament Team and a ’24 NCAA East Region Most Outstanding Player nod.

Meanwhile, Castle, a 6-6 freshman wing who averaged 11.1 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.9 assists while becoming a top perimeter defender for the Huskies, made his own imprint in the history books. He set a new Big East record with 11 Freshman Conference Player of the Week honors, surpassing Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson. He was also the first Huskie since Rudy Gay in 2005 to win Big East Freshman Player of the Year.

We sat down with both projected top-10 picks after our shoot to discuss their historic run, their chemistry and their NBA outlook, among many other topics.

SLAM: It’s been a few weeks since you guys cut down the nets and made history, going back-to-back as national champs. Now that you’ve had some time to process it all, how do you put into words the accomplishment?   

Donovan Clingan: To win back-to-back, you know, for me personally, was something really special just because there’s not too many people that could go around saying that they’ve done something that special. We did it in such a historic program that has a lot of history, and it’s a place where it’s hard to make history. But to go out there and do some of the most historic things that have happened in the program was something really special. I think UConn is a special place that will always be home to me. I know Steph will say the same thing. I’m just super, super blessed to be able to have accomplished what I’ve accomplished, and I’ll be forever grateful for my two years at UConn.

Stephon Castle: I mean, honestly, it really still doesn’t even feel real to me. I only won once, I can only imagine what it feels like for DC. Just the whole experience was super, super fun.

It really was a blessing just to be out there with the great group that we had. We had a real special group. Like [DC] said, it’s definitely a second home for me.

SLAM: At what specific point in the season do you remember feeling like y’all had a really good chance to run it all back?

DC: I feel like when we went on our trip to Europe [UConn played in Monte Carlo and Spain last summer—Ed.], we saw the potential we had. To be honest, I feel like I didn’t know if a national title was a possibility again, just because I realized how hard it was the year before, and we were going to have a big target on our back, but when we got back from Europe, we had like two weeks off and we came back in for the start of practice in the regular season. And you could just tell the energy and the will of everyone on the team, everyone on the staff, everyone in the building, really, just wanted to go out there and win every game, every night.

SC: Early in the season, I didn’t know how good we were. I mean, we always talked about going back-to-back and chasing a national championship, but I feel like every school talks about going for a national championship. I feel like it was about the midpoint of the season, probably like where the Big East [season] really kicked off, when I kinda knew, like, we really had a chance at winning the whole thing over again.

SLAM: Donovan, your freshman season, you only averaged 13 minutes per game but played a major role in the rotation on the 2023 national championship team. What did you learn from that group that you were then able to apply to this past season, when you became a major focal point?

DC: Just realizing everything I had to give every single day. I played [in practice] against the most dominant big in the country in Adama [Sanogo], who went into practice and into workouts every single day knowing that he’s gonna get better and knowing that the team was gonna need him that year to make a big jump [and] lead us to where we wanted to go. I feel like that was something for me, coming into the season—I have to make a big jump. I have to be a leader. I have to dominate the floor on the offensive and defensive end. I just gotta give my all, day in and day out, just to make sure that this team wins.

SLAM: Steph, you got thrown right into the fire despite being a freshman—you were a starter from the very first game, and only came off the bench a few times due to an early season injury. What was the early challenge like for you?

SC: I mean, it was definitely hard at first. Definitely something that you have to really adjust to and really just embrace. But I feel like my teammates, they had a lot of confidence in me this year and they instilled a lot of confidence in myself. So, just going out there, just trusting my work that I put in and just knowing that the coaches believe in what I do.

SLAM: Donovan, you decided to return to college without even testing the NBA waters in 2023. A reporter afterward said that NBA scouts believed you could have been selected anywhere between 25 and 40 in the draft that year. Why did you think it was important to return?

DC: I knew I had to mature as a person, as a player. I had to expand my game in many ways. I only played 13 minutes a game last year. I wanted to go out there and be a starter, try to lead the team to another national title and I just wanted to go play for UConn. I love Coach [Dan] Hurley, I love that staff, I love the school, and I just wanted to try to be part of something really special and to be able to say that I did that means a lot to me.

SLAM: Steph, do you remember the moment when you realized that despite being a freshman who’s starting for the reigning national champs, you had what it took to hold your own at an elite level?

SC: I don’t remember the exact practice but I know I was frying though, that’s the only thing I do remember. I think I was on the second team at the time, too. So, that definitely gave me a lot of confidence going into it, especially coming back from an injury.

SLAM: Are there parts of your game that you didn’t get a chance to showcase in college because the team didn’t need you to, that you’re now excited to be able to show at the next level?

DC: Yeah, to be able to step out, shoot the three ball a little more, play off the dribble, really just working that midrange game and setting the pick-and-pops and just roll to the rim, lobs. You know, Coach Hurley had a great game plan for this team. He always put us in the best position possible and my team didn’t need me to shoot threes to win games. That’s something I didn’t have to do. [But] that’s something I’m gonna have to do to take my game to the next level and succeed at the highest level.

SC: I mean, probably just being on the ball more, taking more shots, like off the dribble and stuff like that. I feel like Coach had a great scheme for us and he asked specifically what he needed for us to win a championship. And I thought we got it done. But if there was anything, I’ll say shooting off the dribble, playmaking a little more on the ball and, you know, stuff like that.

SLAM: Steph, you set the Big East record for most Conference Freshman of the Week honors, and in doing so, you surpassed Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson. What did that historic feat mean to you?

SC: It meant a lot, just to put my name next to those high-level type of guys. You know, I feel like that meant a lot for my career and what my legacy was at UConn for that short time. But a lot of that credit goes to my teammates and my coaches. I feel like they put me in a great position to be successful in those games. I just had to go out there and just be myself. I feel like a lot of credit goes to them.

SLAM: You also became the first UConn men’s player since Rudy Gay in 2005 to win Big East Freshman of the Year.

SC: I wouldn’t say it was regularly just a goal for me, but it’s definitely in the back of your head as you’re playing. It’s something that you kind of shoot for. So, like DC said, it’s a pretty historic school. There’s been a lot of great names to come out of there, so just to have my name beside those guys and instilled in that history forever, it’s super special to me.

SLAM: Donovan, do you have an off-the-court story of Stephon that you’d say perfectly reflects his personality when the cameras aren’t rolling?

DC: I mean, Steph loves to nap. He loves to sleep. When we were on the way back from Europe, I remember before we left out of Barcelona—like, I don’t think everyone was even on the plane yet—he was already asleep, and he didn’t wake up until the lights turned on when we landed in Boston. It was like an eight-hour flight, and he did not wake up once. Not even to use the bathroom. Nothing. And I was just like, That’s Steph! Like, when he’s sleeping, he’s sleeping. But when he’s up, he’s just hooping. But he just loves to nap. Every time I see him, he’s napping. On the bus, on the plane—he’s napping.

SLAM: What about you, Steph—any good Donovan stories?

SC: So, it’s one day in practice—I think [Donovan], he wasn’t having the best practice. He was kind of mad at himself. I want to say he kicked something or he punched the backboard or it was something crazy like that, but he hurt himself. And we had a game coming up. I mean, we always called him “Cling Kong,” so I feel like that was one of his moments. He ripped his shirt in practice, punched the backboard, he started screaming. He was going crazy.

DC: I want to win [shrugs with a smile].

SC: It’s practice, though [laughs].

DC: It’s OK, I don’t lose.

SC: I don’t remember the whole story. I know you can tell the story.

DC: I mean, I get upset sometimes with how I’m playing, and if I’m not doing what I’m supposed to do on the floor, I take it out on myself. And I put a lot of pressure on myself. I do just get frustrated at times—

SC: [interrupting Donovan] You ever seen somebody punch the backboard without jumping?

DC: I just want to win [laughs].

SLAM: When people talk about the 2023-2024 UConn Men’s team 10, 20 years from now, what do you hope they say in terms of your legacy?

SC: I think we might be up there as one of the best college basketball teams ever, because if you think about it, our only games we lost were away games, and one of them, we didn’t even have our full team. [Actually], two of them—one game I was hurt and then one game [DC] got hurt.

DC: Just to be remembered as one of, if not the best college basketball team ever. There was a bunch of guys who gave it their all every single day for 11 months of the year. It’s a special group. We were a brotherhood. Everyone loved each other, and that’s going to be a special team. There’s no one that’s going to be left out forever. We’re all going to stay in touch, we’re all gonna be brothers for life, and that’s just something that’s really important to me.

Portraits by Joe Pinchin. Action photos via Getty Images.

The post After Winning Back-to-Back Titles at UConn, Donovan Clingan and Stephon Castle are Ready to Make Waves in the NBA appeared first on SLAM.

We’re commemorating Luka’s unbelievable run to the 2024 NBA Finals with this cover of SLAM 250, which is also available in an exclusive orange and gold metal edition. Tap in.

The post The World is Mine: Luka Doncic Covers SLAM 251 appeared first on SLAM.

When the legend herself walks in wearing an all-white fit, her aura and energy is mesmerizing. Her presence commands the entire room. This is the same visionary who just led her team to an undefeated season and the program’s third national championship, a feat very few expected them to accomplish. This is the very trailblazer who is the highest paid Black coach in all of women’s basketball. This is the Dawn Staley, the dream merchant who has led not just a program, but the culture, into a new day where no one can deny what she’s done and no one can doubt that she is one of the greats. It’s written in the banners, in the stars, and on this very cover. She is in charge. The CEO of excellence. 

SLAM 250 featuring Dawn Staley is available now.

With her right hand man, Champ, prancing a few steps behind her, Staley exudes calm, cool and collected as she walks onto set. Biggie is blasting through the speakers in the background, serving as the perfect anthem for what we’re trying to capture: her aura, her energy and all that damn swaggggg. Not only is this Dawn’s first-ever solo SLAM cover, but it’s the first time ever that any coach has had their own cover for the magazine. Today is about capturing the legacy of someone who is way bigger than the box scores—but, if we are talkin’ hoops, a legacy that includes 38 straight wins this past season. The Gamecocks were out here destroying teams by upwards of 50, 60, nah, 80 points per game. 

As legendary photographer Diwang Valdez snaps away, Staley, who is now wearing the team’s 2024 National Champions tee, effortlessly poses in front of the camera. Just when you think the flicks couldn’t get any more fly, Dawn turns things up with another outfit change. This time she’s rocking a black blazer, tearaway joggers and, of course, a crisp Louis Vuitton tee. She goes from giving soft smiles and playful banter to transforming, as she leans back into the chair she’s now sitting in, crosses her legs and rests her elbow on a basketball. She stares into the lens, giving the same look that we’ve seen from her on the court. It’s deeply methodical, poetic even. Right now, Dawn means business. 

This is the face of someone who has personified strength, resilience and authenticity for decades. Here, she gives us a glimpse into her mind and her magic—a conversation that is as much about basketball as it is about how she sees people, her legacy, and—with true sincerity—herself. 

SLAM: You’ve mentioned in the past how you didn’t really have an interest in coaching, at least early on. Can you bring us back to when you were playing in the WNBA and coaching at Temple at the same time?

Dawn Staley: One of the most gratifying moments of my life was to be able to play and then be able to coach all at the same time. Because it played on both sides of my brain and the passion was on full display. If any of the younger players in the WNBA ever have the opportunity to do both, they would find that it’s so fulfilling. You’re able to get out the aggression of playing while also being a dream merchant for younger players and giving them an experience that you are actually living. A lot of coaches have to go back in time to that place when they were playing, but when you’re able to do it in real time, it is an automatic respect from your players because they know you’re doing the very thing that you’re asking them to do and to be disciplined at.

SLAM: You often refer to yourself not just as a coach but a “dream merchant.” Can you elaborate on what you mean?

DS: Anybody that is coaching this game, that’s what you are. I know we try to figure out our purpose in coaching, and it’s just that: being a dream merchant for young people. Helping young people find their passion [and] work towards that. It’s not always basketball—it’s not. For 90 percent of them, it’s not basketball. It is figuring out what you want to do, because I want people to work in their passion. It is a lot easier to work in your passion if that’s what you do on a daily basis. The real world really is taxing. It pulls you in a lot of different directions and if you’re not passionate about it, you are not going to give it your full effort. And maybe half of you is good enough in some instances, but for you as a person, your fulfillment is most important. 

So, what does a dream merchant do? That person guides, that person helps to navigate, that person is a listener [and] an observer. That person is someone that is trustworthy of not only the student-athlete but everybody that touches that student-athlete, because it’s not just a one-way street. All young people have people in their lives that impact them. I find that young people talk to their parents every single day…I think back to when I was their age, I probably talked to my mom or my dad maybe twice a month. And you know when that was? When the funds were low. But they talk to them every day, so I’m like, OK, well, I may have to change my style. I may have to pivot a little bit because I want to be the biggest voice in my players’ heads, and if it’s the parents that have access in that way, in talking to their daughters every day, [then] I gotta talk to the parents. 

GET YOUR COPY OF SLAM 250 + COVER TEE

SLAM: Who were your mentors? And did any coaches inspire you?

DS: I really didn’t have coaching mentors. I’m more of a private person. I don’t like to show weakness, and that’s probably a downfall of mine, but it’s the very thing that keeps me going, because it has me working. It always has me preparing for the worst, and I don’t like to take my problems to anybody else. I will say I have people in my life that I bounce things off that [are not] as close to the game as probably some other coaches, and I like them to give me feedback from the outside looking in, because when it’s all said and done, I like to be covered. My mind works as a basketball coach most of the time, so I’m always looking for basketball things to teach lessons to our players because I believe that sometimes they learn better from that standpoint. 

And then, if I get advice from somebody that’s not in the basketball world, I can balance that and make sure that I’m giving our players what I see, as well as what somebody else may see that I’m not covering. 

SLAM: Has your approach to coaching changed at all over the years? Are there things that worked early in your career that may not work now and vice versa?

DS: We’re in an era where we have to pivot. What worked 24 years ago will not work today. I’ll say this: The core principles of who I am as a person and coach doesn’t change. [The] battles I fight? They change. Take for instance this year—my approach was entirely different than my approach in just the recent years. In recent years, we had a group of players that got it. They understood the assignment and what they needed to do and they executed on and off the court, so they gave us no issues. I was just able to be a basketball coach. 

This year, they were different. They were younger, their approach was different. They were lackluster, they didn’t really have a plan as individuals—they may have thought they had a plan. Their plan was just to play more. You can approach it that way, but it’s shallow, so you gotta put something behind it. We worked from a place that we hadn’t worked from in a long time, which was, Hit the ground running. We couldn’t [even do that] because they couldn’t run, they were outta shape. They came in just thinking, I wanna play. I sat for a long time. It’s my time. Well, their time, and who they thought was taking their time, [the] approach was a lot different. Zia, Aliyah, Brea [Beal], they all came in shape. Every time that we had to come back in the summer, so we could hit the ground running…It was more of creating better discipline and habits, because they hadn’t formed it to the degree of them being ready to rock and roll. So, I looked at it as a challenge, and once I looked at it [as that], I got more passionate behind it because I’m drawn to challenges. It was cool because they did teach me [that] there are a number of ways to be successful and a number of ways to approach things.

One of the battles that I did not fight that I normally fight: if everybody had the same sweatsuit on, and one person didn’t, I knew that they spoke to that person. I knew it. I could see it, I’m looking at [it] and it looks strange to me…I approached it as a mistake that had been handled. But that’s one of the things I didn’t fight, because I knew this team had a way of delivering the message that I would deliver. 

SLAM: As you mentioned, the start of the season was a little different for you. What do you attribute this year’s success to? 

DS: We’ve had the best team in the country prior to this year, I would say for years. The best team in the country and this one ended up being the best team in the country by way of default, so to speak. But it was a way that was formed by them and I will give them all the credit because they could’ve balked, they could’ve said, I should be starting—for a while, they could’ve said, I’m the It. I should be starting. Tessa [Johnson could’ve been like], I could play with the best of them. Let me get some of Breezy’s time. Let me get some of Raven’s time. [But] they didn’t. Actually, the youngsters just allowed the older players to guide them to the point where they were so confident entering the basketball game that they knew that they were going to make an impact. And they kept holding each other accountable. Ashlyn [Watkins] found her superpower, and her superpower is on both sides of the basketball, but it was also leading. Her voice was prevalent in huddles, and it got to the point where they didn’t want to lose. It wasn’t even being undefeated, they just didn’t want to lose. It was nothing about winning each and every game, but in the moment of each game, they didn’t want to lose. So, they would listen to each other and they were very coachable, and then we just got momentum. We kept pushing through and then when we got to the Final Four, they were like, We gonna win this thing.

Before the national championship game, they were talking major cash ish. The coaches’ locker room is connected to the big locker room, and we don’t go in there [to] let them have their space. I’m too close to the situation, I don’t want to hear them, [but] they’re like, We’re going to kick their A, and I’m like, Lord, they don’t know what they don’t know. Either we’re going to get blown out, or we’re going to blow somebody out because they were talking. And I know they’re hyping themselves up, but as coaches, you know, we gotta go out there and face Caitlin [Clark] and them. Like, they got themselves here, they got momentum. 

As coaches, too, we would ask each other, You drinking the Kool-Aid? We would literally ask each other. So, for the most part we were like, Nah, we ain’t drinking it. Towards the end of the year, we asked, How about now? You drinking the Kool-Aid? I’m like, I’m sippin’. I ain’t taking a big gulp, but I’m sippin’. Because they’re putting it on display. I think, just overall as I reflect, it was a super cool journey and environment to be around them. They just played loose. I told this to a friend, I said, “They played free.”…So, I think that was really kind of cool for them to take us coaches down their journey. It’s usually, like, our journey—how we want to direct them and guide them. Nah. Nah, we got on their train and we rode their coattails. 

SLAM: Now that you’ve accomplished it all—going undefeated, winning your third chip—how does it feel?

DS: It feels great, like seriously. It’s unbelievable to me…[The] 2022 [team] looked the part. They looked the part, they played the part. They played just freer, but with pressure. And then this group was just unlike any of them. I don’t think anybody saw it coming. We didn’t see it coming, so that’s what I like about it. I’m sitting [here] and I’m happy…I want to share our story. I want to share the good, the bad, the ugly but also the likelihood of someone else doing what we did—I want to give them hope, because we didn’t look like a national championship team at the beginning of the season. We looked like most of the teams in the country, so we’re relatable to most of the teams. If we could do it, anybody could do it. 

SLAM: Your legacy reaches far beyond Xs and Os, wins and losses. We could go on and on, but what do you, Dawn Staley, want your legacy to be? 

DS: I want my legacy to be an “odds beater.” I am an odds beater. The odds said that I wouldn’t be an Olympian, I wouldn’t be the head coach of an Olympic team. To have coached 24 years in this game, I know that I don’t care about a personal legacy. I want to let my players talk about the legacy that they were able to feel every day from our coaching staff. I don’t have to say anything, they say it. Historically speaking, you don’t really hear my name as being a great coach, whether it’s X-ing and O-ing. I’m probably known to be a player’s coach, whatever that means. But to win three national championships, to not be an X and O coach and only be a player’s coach, I think we’re doing pretty good. If the X-ing and O-ing coaches aren’t winning national championships, I know they would probably flip it and be a player’s coach, if it produces national championships. I really don’t care about any of that, but what I do care about is our players, their experiences [and] their legacy, because the more of a legacy they have, it comes back. I just want to do right by our players. 

SLAM: You’ve seen women’s basketball skyrocket from a business standpoint, starting from your playing days to what it is today. What has it been like to see this transformation in real time?

DS: Women’s basketball is super cool, now. I would say now. It was super cool to me when I was growing up playing it and going to college because I didn’t know what I didn’t know. Now that I know what I know about our game, one, we’ve been intentionally held back. I know that because it just doesn’t come out of nowhere. It seems like our game has just come out of nowhere and now everybody is falling in love with it, when we know different. We know that back when I was playing in ’88, in college, in ’89, people were watching. They would tune in. I know it because I know when I go to different places, I’m more known for playing at Virginia than anything. So, they were watching it. 

So, what happens between then and now? Decision makers are making some really good calls when it comes to our game…They know that women’s basketball is a mainstay. So, the biggest difference now is we are being treated like a real sport. The good, the bad and the ugly because in sports you have storylines, like a Caitlin Clark. In our game you have storylines of us being undefeated, winning a national championship. You’ve got Juju [Watkins], Hannah [Hidalgo], MiLaysia [Fulwiley], all of these storylines that are being played out now because the fans want more and more and more. And now, finally, and maybe, it’s the new negotiated TV deal that is allowing us to continue to grow. Maybe there’s somebody in the room that’s making sure that we have different people telling our stories. You got Elle Duncan, Chiney Ogwumike, Aliyah Boston, [Andraya] Carter, Carolyn Peck…I thought that whole crew broke basketball down like no other. Wasn’t biased, because we gotta get the bias out of our game. So, you saw what happens when it’s unbiased. It was absolutely beautiful.

SLAM: You don’t seem like the type to chase milestones or history, it just sort of finds its way to you. With that being said, is there anything that you have your eyes set on before you bow out of coaching?

DS: Selfishly, it’s just one thing that I wanted out of this game: I wanted to be a Hall of Famer. So, I went in [to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame] in 2013 as a player. Now, I do want to go in as a coach. 

Portraits by Diwang Valdez. Action photos via Getty Images.

The post The Excellence of Dawn Staley: South Carolina Head Coach Talks Championship, Being a ‘Dream Merchant’ and Growth of Women’s Hoops appeared first on SLAM.

He was in class that morning when the text came through. It was John Calipari: I’m coming to the game today. Knowing the guy who had just recruited him would be in the building, the Arkansas commit suddenly had even more motivation for that night’s game. “My family was there, my future head coach was there—and just for him to pop up like that was very special,” Fland says. “I just wanted to put on a show.” 

It all hit even harder at the gym that night. “I was tearing up before the game, and then once I saw they were honoring me for making the McDonald’s All American Team, the tears came running down,” he says. Once the game tipped, Fland immediately made clear that the emotion of the occasion wouldn’t derail him from performing at the level that has made him a top-20 recruit and arguably one of the top point guards in the 2024 class. The line: 29 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals to lead his Archbishop Stepinac (NY) squad to a senior-night dub. 

His only slight disappointment afterward? “Man, I was trying to get 50,” Fland says. “I was locked in.”

It was a dominant but not at all surprising showing from Fland, the 6-3, 175-pound, Bronx-born guard who checks all the boxes for an elite floor general. Explosive and in-control, he dictates pace as a scorer and playmaker, a skill set made clear by the players whose games he works to emulate: everyone from LeBron and SGA to Ja Morant, Tyrese Maxey and Immanuel Quickley. That includes working to perfect one of the game’s most unstoppable shots.

“If you go on YouTube and search my name, you’ll see a step-back as the thumbnail. Just watch how many step-backs I do,” he says. “I’m so quick, they try to play the shot and the drive, and when I see that they’re playing the drive, it’s easy for me to snatch back and step back.”

The path that took Fland from the Bronx to White Plains (where Stepinac is located) and will see him in Lexington leading a typically loaded Wildcat recruiting class next winter has included plenty of stops that allowed him to show his skill set and sky-high potential. He’s been among the best hoopers at his age level since anyone can remember. “When I was in, I think, second grade, we were ranked top 25 in the country,” he says of his AAU squad. “Yeah, second grade, but it was something to us.”

A few years later, he led his AAU team to the national championship game, where he missed what could have been a game-winning shot. “That moment taught me that, you know, there’s going to be lows,” he says now. “I was so used to winning. That was an eye-opener for me. That taught me I gotta get better.”

The improvement really hasn’t stopped, as he’s shown time and again against elite competition. He was a member of the U17 US national team that took gold at the 2022 FIBA World Cup and was selected to join the stacked US roster for the 2024 Nike Hoop Summit. With that résumé, where can he still improve? “Before Coach Cal left on senior night, he said I need to talk more, be more vocal—it helps everybody on the floor, and it helps me.”

That shouldn’t be too difficult. Fland brings the same energy to every court he steps on, with his Bronx roots always on display. 

“New York is different. When people say that, it definitely is true,” he confirm emphatically. “You gotta have some swagger to you. You can’t be stiff. When you walk in the gym, they gotta know, Oh, he’s from New York.”  

Portrait by Marcus Stevens.

The post Stepinac’s Boogie Fland is Ready to Put on a Show at Arkansas appeared first on SLAM.

30 YEARS OF SLAM fully chronicles our history in 256 beautiful pages and includes a forward written by Allen Iverson.

The post The 30 Years of SLAM Book is OUT NOW! appeared first on SLAM.

“I was just out there having fun, I didn’t really care about talent. We just wanted to play to have fun,” Edgecombe says.

But talent is something the now-18-year-old has always possessed. It was just a matter of time before those outside of the islands came to know his name. After going toe to toe with juniors and seniors as a 13-year-old at Buddy Hield’s basketball camp in the Bahamas, V.J. decided to capitalize on his powers and potential by heading to the States to chase his dual dream: make the NBA and support his family.

The transition was smooth, Edgecombe says, but the reality of spending your teenage years in an entirely new country hasn’t been without its challenges. “I know it’s all for the best,” he says, “so I can sacrifice that for sure.” 

Ahead of his freshman year, V.J. headed to Florida, where he was initially unable to hoop due to the pandemic. His sophomore campaign was spent on the local AAU circuit with the South Florida Kings before he caught the attention of the Southeast Elite squad in the adidas 3SSB circuit.

“I was playing with a sprained wrist so I couldn’t shoot or anything. [I was] just on the court to play defense, go to the rim and make plays,” V.J. says of the summer going into his junior year. “I left those last two sessions with no offers. I was just hooping. I was just having fun, that’s all that mattered to me.”

Despite not being able to demolish defenses with a barrage of pull-up jumpers and spot-up threes, Edgecombe’s dominance quickly garnered traction at the grassroots level. Chase-down blocks and help-side pins off the backboard were a constant occurrence, alongside emphatic tomahawk dunks.

Imbued with lessons of determination grit and from his childhood in the Bahamas, V.J. brought an unrelenting hunger to Long Island (NY) Lutheran the following season. In his junior year, he exploded with the sheer force of a supernova.

“I came to America to play basketball, knowing I’ve got to feed my family and all of that. That’s definitely helped me and the person that I am right now. Just work harder than everybody else,” Edgecombe says. “I don’t want to be in that [percentage] that don’t make it out. I want to be in the part that makes it out and sets the standard high and sets a path for all the younger kids behind me.”

In his first year playing against the nation’s top prospects in the National Interscholastic Basketball Conference (NIBC), a new league for elite prep teams, Edgecombe earned Gatorade New York State Player of the Year honors while also securing the League’s Player of the Year and scoring titles by pouring in 17.3 ppg. The offers started flooding in. In mid-January, Edgecombe announced his collegiate decision, becoming Baylor’s highest-ranked commit in over a decade.

Edgecombe has cemented himself as one of the most physically imposing players in his class. The athleticism is just unfair. And that J is smoother than the threads of his LuHi uniform. Trust that we’ve put you on game, because the Bimini native is holistically locked in to the next chapter of his journey.

“I feel like it’s going to separate me, to be honest,” V.J. says of his defense. “You have a bunch of prolific scorers in the country. I’m gonna be honest—everyone can score. I just need to do something that’s going to set me apart from everyone else. I’m not trying to be the same, I’m trying to be different.”  

Portraits by Erick Sasso.

The post Baylor Commit V.J. Edgecombe Left the Bahamas as a Teen. Now, His NBA Dreams are Within Reach appeared first on SLAM.

Sarah. Joyce. Kate. Kiyomi. Jaloni.

VJ. Cooper. Isaiah. Dylan. Tre.

The post The 2024 SLAM HS All-Americans Have ARRIVED appeared first on SLAM.

Weatherspoon’s return to the W, this time as a coach, is historic: she was one of the original members of the New York Liberty when the W began play in ’97 and watched the League, and the game, grow and evolve throughout her storied career, which included five All-Star appearances and winning the first-ever Defensive Player of the Year award. To call her simply a basketball great wouldn’t do her career justice—Weatherspoon is a pioneer, an inspiration, a legend. 

“First of all, it’s full circle,” she says of now coaching in the W. “I had the opportunity to play in New York and, as a player, to start something in a professional [women’s basketball] league in America. But then to come back and coach in this League really means a lot to me because it’s still helping the League to grow. I’ve had an opportunity to do some incredible things in between to just have myself very well prepared for any situation or circumstances that might come up. You equip yourself along the way.” 

Those “things in between” that Weatherspoon is referring to are all the coaching jobs she’s had over the past decade—at nearly every level of the game—including as a head coach at her alma mater, Louisiana Tech, and then in the NBA, where she served as a player development coach before moving up to assistant coach with the New Orleans Pelicans. For her, the decision to join the Sky was simple: they knew she was the perfect person for the job. Period. “They believed in me. They fought for me. They trusted me to lead this organization. For me, that was enough.” 

Weatherspoon has been tasked with bringing the Sky back to glory. After winning its first-ever WNBA championship in 2021, the franchise has not made it past the semifinals in the past two seasons. While 2021 Finals MVP Kahleah Copper is now in Phoenix, they have exciting new additions including Diamond DeShields and Chennedy Carter. But one thing their new head coach has made pretty clear is to not call this upcoming season a rebuilding year. That’s not the framework in which Weatherspoon operates. She has other plans. Big plans.

SLAM: As you get ready for the upcoming season, what do you think the transition will be like, going from coaching in the NBA to taking over as a head coach in the W? What’s your approach?

Teresa Weatherspoon: It’s [about] being aware of who you’re coaching [and] being aware of your personnel. I think when you’re playing the game period, they always tell you to know your personnel. That’s what it is for me. Yes, it is basketball. Yes, I recognize you’re male and you’re female. But at the end of the day, it’s all about knowing your personnel and what fits your personnel—what is best for your personnel for them to be the best versions of themselves.

SLAM: It’s been a few years since the Sky won a chip. What do you think it will take to bring the team back to that level? 

TW: Well, first of all, they did a heck of a job pushing to get into the playoffs, right? That says a lot about who they are, the fight that’s in them, the determination that’s in them. They have goals and they want it…It’s just a matter of me now coming in and putting my stamp on things of how I see things with them and then sustaining the success. We don’t want to be successful for [just] a year, we want to sustain the success, and that’s going to be our attitude. That’s going to be our approach…They have the ability, they have the talent, they have all of that. And it’s a matter of putting together pieces to the puzzle and making it work.

SLAM: When you first got the head coaching gig, did you connect with the players right away?  

TW: As a matter of fact, I sent them a message this morning just to say, Hey, wishing you a great day, because I want them to know that [they’re being] thought of. I’m not just a coach that’s just going to coach you and then forget about you, no. I want to know how you’re doing. I want to know how your family’s doing. I’m different. I approach things differently because I was once a player and I knew what was important to me as a player. So, I want to bring that same thing to them because I want to be a coach that’s open, honest and transparent. 

SLAM: Would you describe yourself as a people person? 

TW: I’ve always wanted to be. Not to be known, but to show that I care. And in that care, especially being a head coach, I’m going to push buttons that you never thought could be pushed. I’m going to push them because as a coach, if I ruffle your feathers, I’m doing my job.  

SLAM: Having coached at every level and now at the highest level—the NBA and, soon, the WNBA—what advice would you give to aspiring coaches who want to get to where you are?

TW: This is crazy [because] I just gave this message in a speaking engagement that I had and I talked about the table. When you talk about the table, it’s your table…It’s a self-constructed table, and every experience that you have is at your table…I want people to break bread with me at my table because I’ve had to experience a lot of things to equip me to get to where I am right now. And it’s my duty—whether it’s hard, whether it’s tough, whether it’s painful—it’s my duty to go through it to make sure that every seat at my table is available for everyone to find solutions. Because at the end of the day, that’s going to be the most important thing: What is your life doing to impact another life? 

SLAM: When did you come to that realization—that you are the player, and it’s your duty to be of service to others?

TW: As you’re growing, you know you have to bring something to the table—you know that you gotta bring something so someone can trust you and know that you’re of value. Especially when you’re playing the game, people have to know, What’s your best skill? What do you bring to this team? And why would you help this team be successful?…That question [has] happened to me all my life, so it has built my table…Now, this table has to help someone else…There’s no way that I should go through something, and at the table there’s no solution for what I went through. It’s just sitting there. It doesn’t sit, you gotta keep moving to find the solution…And that’s all I’ve ever wanted. If there’s something that you don’t like or you don’t see that’s coming from me and it’s what you want, tell me. I’m gonna find the solution. I’m gonna fight my butt off to find the solution, because I always want to be able to help the next person.

SLAM: You had such a storied playing career. As you enter this new chapter, how would you define your legacy up to this point? 

TW: I believe that is still being written. I believe as long as you continue to strive, to thrive, that it’s going to continue to be written, because there’s a lot more, I believe, to come from me. There’s a lot more that God has for me. So, I have to continue to move in that way, knowing that things aren’t over. There are many more things to come. 

Photos via Getty Images.

The post Teresa Weatherspoon Talks Vision for the Chicago Sky and Her Own Legacy appeared first on SLAM.

Even when he turns his camera off, and despite being in the middle of a vacation, you can hear the passion in Noah’s voice when he begins to excitedly talk about the different community initiatives he’s currently working on, whether in Chicago or in Africa. It’s been years since he’s hooped on an NBA court, but the enthusiasm the former NBA All-Star and Defensive Player of the Year was always known for remains intact.

SLAM: Are there any new passions or hobbies that you’ve found during retirement that maybe you did not discover during your playing years, or just didn’t have the time to dedicate to while in the NBA?

Joakim Noah: Well, I’m not gonna lie to you, I’m on the top of a mountain right now overlooking—I’m on a ski slope right now. I just did three hours of skiing with my kids. My nephew just came for the first time from Maui. It’s his first time seeing snow. When you’re playing basketball in the NBA, you’re not allowed to do things like [skiing]. You don’t want to put yourself in a position to get hurt. So, I’ve been picking up skiing, that’s a good one. And just being able to travel and take time and not being rushed into getting back in playing shape. It’s a different kind of training. [Now] you train for health. Training for health and training for championships are two completely different things. I think that my nervous system appreciates it.

SLAM: Where’s your skiing skill level?

JN: Skill level, I would say I’m not comfortable going down heavy duty stuff. I’m not going down any black slopes. Or even blue slopes. I’m very comfortable staying in the green. You know, that’s seven feet, 260 pounds going down the slope. That’s a different animal.

SLAM: What new business endeavors have you been getting into?

JN: Being able to be an investor in the NBA Africa league, the BAL, has been a real blessing, because I’ve been able to travel all around the continent and just really learn from the best in the business with [President of the Basketball Africa League] Amadou Gallo Fall and [NBA Deputy Commissioner] Mark Tatum. You know, taking a leadership role in NBA Africa, and just really starting from scratch on the continent, and just watching this league flourish. We just came back from South Africa. It was packed, it’s a different energy. And we’re just getting started on something that I’m really excited about.

SLAM: What is your ultimate goal with the BAL? Where do you see it in 10 years?

JN: My ultimate goal is when you see African kids, like, doing a tween-tween hesi, then you know that we did something right. You haven’t really seen the African kids do the hesi-hesi yet, and that’s coming!

SLAM: It sounds like there’s a lot of untapped basketball potential in Africa, plus also a business model structure to enable the league to flourish.

JN: There’s definitely a business model structure. But the continent is 54 different countries and the fastest growing youth population in the world. So, the math adds up. But it’s also understanding that when you’re playing in systems in America, you get to play in a beautiful gym, you have your school’s high school rival, you have your little girlfriend that’s coming to watch you play, mom and dad are coming to watch you play. Like, these are all things that places around the world don’t have. So, the problem with Africa is the lack of—this isn’t a sport that’s part of African culture. So, it’s really starting from scratch. And understanding that the issues are lack of infrastructure and lack of basketball education, even when it comes to refereeing, when it comes to coaching.

A lot of people are putting in the time and making long trips and teaching, [running] basketball and coaching clinics, clinics for the referees. Just to see how far the growth has come in the last five years is just astounding, but we still have a lot of work to do.

SLAM: How did you end up connecting with the BAL?

JN: I think, for me, it was having a relationship with the president of the BAL, Amadou Gallo Fall, who was a dear friend of mine throughout my career. Even though he was the guy who was a scout for the Dallas Mavericks, [and] I never played with the Mavericks, [he] was just somebody that I always connected with. And I think that that’s something that I realize now that I’m done playing. You realize that when basketball is over with, all you have in the end is just your relationships and your memories. So, I think that’s just important to sometimes [remember], there’s so much money involved, and it’s so easy to get caught up in the business. Just make sure that you go out on your terms, and that you make solid, solid relationships and solid bonds.

SLAM: Are there some non-basketball endeavors that you’re into that you might want to put on people’s radars?

JN: I think that most of the work that I’m doing right now is basketball-oriented. The other endeavor that I’m really excited about is this One City Basketball League that we created in Chicago. We’re working with 28 violence prevention groups all around the city and having at-risk youth playing basketball against each other, getting state funding and being able to build a basketball league that’s much bigger than basketball. We have financial literacy courses, job education, job training, and all this. Things are moving fast. I’m really excited with the development of our One City Basketball League. We’re doing special things. We’re really hoping to be able to grow it in other cities, and hopefully other guys around the League get inspired and want to do things in their neighborhoods. I really feel like the future of this league can be a national program. I think that’s very important in our communities in America.

SLAM: You mentioned fatherhood earlier. How has fatherhood changed you as a person after retirement? What is Joakim Noah, the father, like these days and what have you learned from your kids?

JN: It’s teaching me that it’s not about me, ever, especially when the kids are around you. When you’re playing, sometimes you feel like it’s about you, and the lights are on you. But my kids, I can be watching my favorite show on TV, and they’ll turn that right off [and] put on Moana. They don’t care.

SLAM: What do you think about the current state of basketball? What are some trends or things you like about the game today? And what are some things that you feel could be improved upon?

JN: Well, I think that the game is definitely more skilled. I think one through 15, even the guys who are just coming into the game, are just so good at basketball. I think that, obviously, the spacing is different. A lot of people are putting an emphasis on [saying that] there’s no defense and stuff like that, but I don’t think it’s the players’ fault. I think it’s just the way that the game is ref’d, the way that the game is, it’s completely different. They’re not letting you have any contact with guys. The game is a lot softer because that’s just the way the game is called. It’s just less physical. And I think it’s just putting a lot of pressure on the defense when you can’t use your hands, these are all things that were part of the game even 10 years ago that they’re not letting guys do anymore. So, I don’t think it’s a question of guys not wanting to play defense. I think it’s just the way it is officiated.

SLAM: Is there one thing you didn’t get a chance to do or try, or maybe you just were
apprehensive about, during your playing days that you look back on now and regret not doing?

JN: I think that my mind would say that I wish that I had developed a three-point shot. I think that would have definitely helped. But, you know, at the time, I was a rolling big—you set screens and you roll, and that was my role. That’s just the way the game was played. And what I tell the young guys all the time is, it’s about being as effective as possible and trying to affect winning. And when your mindset is trying to score points for yourself, I think that takes away from the ultimate goal, which is to win the ball game. I don’t really talk about Xs and Os too much, I don’t talk about technique, because that was never my strength. My strength was always being as available as possible for my teammates and being a good teammate, and doing whatever it takes to help win a basketball game.

Photo via Getty Images.

The post Former All-Star Joakim Noah Talks NBA Africa, Community Initiatives in Chicago and Fatherhood appeared first on SLAM.

A first-generation Canadian whose parents migrated from the Philippines, Niko grew up around hoops ever since he could remember.

“Filipinos in general, we love basketball. That’s what I was exposed to very young. I got okay at playing. I played in the OBA—it’s almost like AAU but a Canadian version. I played for an organization called the Scarborough Blues, which made a lot of basketball players that play in the NBA right now—whether it be Corey Joseph, Kellly Olynyk.” Niko says. “My dad played college ball in the Phillipines and then when he came in the ‘70s to Toronto, he kind of found his love again for the game in these small adult leagues. He would bring me with him and that’s kind of how I fell in love with the game.” 

Eventually, the Toronto Raptors arrived to town, and Niko says he still recalls attending the franchise’s first ever youth camp. Like with most hoopers, though, he eventually came to the realization that it wouldn’t be something he’d pursue professionally. As fate would have it, it was the music industry he’d enter, helping his close friend Drake became a global icon. 

Nonetheless, Niko still found ways to keep himself around the game. He launched OVO Bounce, a local summer pro-am tournament that drew NBA stars from across the border. OVO Bounce blew up and became a summer hoops staple. For Niko, though, this was only the beginning of his journey with the sport. 

As his name and reputation grew—known for being Drake’s right-hand man since Day 1 as co-founder of OVO and for helping push hoops in Canada via his OVO Bounce tourney—he says he was eventually approached by the Canadian Elite Basketball League post-pandemic about helping establish a new professional team in Toronto. 

His initial response was that he’d only be interested if the team would be based in his hometown of Scarborough instead. As expected, his response raised some eyebrows at first but the league ultimately agreed and the Scarborough Shooting Stars were soon born, with Niko serving as co-owner.  

“I gotta shout out the commissioner, Mike Morreale, because initially when I brough that up, everyone was just like, Why? Why are we doing Scarborough? Scarborough is a small suburb, and they wanted obviously a Toronto team because it’s a bigger market and to capitalize off that. But my heart wouldn’t be in it if the team wasn’t in Scarborough. I’m passionate in what raised me… [Marreale] was like, there’s this guy that’s just as passionate about Scarborough as you are. I’m like, Yeah? Who is it? And that’s how I met Sam [Ibrahim]—he’s one of our partners that contributes greatly to this organization.” 

The Shooting Stars essentially serve two purposes: a culture of community and culture of winning. While the Raptors have become a global brand, and do in fact stay active in the community, their demanding schedules and off court obligations in many ways limit how accessible players can be to the community. That’s where the Shooting Stars come in. Niko says the goal has been to host some type of community event every week during the season—whether it be camps, clinics, or meet-and-greets. And that doesn’t just apply to the players, he’s applied that same responsibility of accessibility to himself as well.     

“When we made this team, I wanted to make it about the youth. For the kid that couldn’t afford tickets to the Raptors. I didn’t ever go to a Raptors game until I was probably 18 years old. The Shooting Stars is one of those things where it’s accessible,” he says. “Let’s reach out to all the youth basketball programs and high schools, and give them tickets. Doing camps and having them meet the players and meeting me. And going through a full day of what it’s like to be a professional basketball player. Just trying to find a way to inspire kids… I’m just trying to stay as connected as a I can with them and be personable with them. We’re not unreachable. I want Scarborough Shooting Stars to not be unreachable. You can reach out, you can shake hands. Us being a community team, we can do that.” 

The CEBL, which launched in 2019, is comprised of 10 teams across Canada that play about 20 regular season games and a single-game elimination playoff structure, where after the quarterfinals being played at home, the semis and title games are played at a rotating neutral site (last year was in Vancouver, this year will be in Montreal) during a championship weekend. The league, which goes from May to August, has unique rules that aim to prioritize local Canadian talent. For example, only 4 imports are allowed on each team—3 of them being Americans and the other being an international player from anywhere else. The rest of the roster is all Canadian hoopers. The league also requires for two Canadians on each team to be on the court at all times. If a team doesn’t follow that rule, it’s an automatic technical foul.    

The way the season is structured does bring some challenges, of course. The roster is made up of guys that play professionally in the EuroLeague and other top divisions across the globe, as well as NBA G League and Sumer League regulars. Some of the players on the roster in previous years included Jalen Harris, Isaiah Mike, Cam Chatman, Kasssius Robertson, Kyle Alexander, Cat Barber, Kalif Young…and Grammy-winner J. Cole. 

But with high-level talent comes obstacles. Some of the players arrive late if their season overseas goes deep into the playoffs, some have to leave early if their respective overseas teams start early, and some have even gotten invited to NBA Summer League in the middle of the CEBL season. It creates a roster puzzle that Niko and his staff have to constantly navigate through with precision, forecasting which players they might lose or start without and coming up with contingency plans. To Niko, navigating through the roster shuffles just means that his guys are experiencing upward mobility in their careers and that the Shooter Stars are playing a role in their development.  

On the court, though, those challenges haven’t affected the team’s success at all. In just two years of existence, the team made it to the championship game in their first year and won it all last year. The early success is of no surprise to Niko, whose ultra-competitive nature helped establish an expectation of claiming the top spot from the very beginning. He knew that the team would automatically have much more eyeballs and pressure on them (and naturally haters, too) than any other team in the league due to their affiliation with OVO and Drake. 

Whether being in the studio with The Boy, or on tour across the globe, or in business meetings talking strategy around the most-streamed male artist ever, it all prepared Niko for this very moment. 

“I learned from Drake a lot in terms of, he’s involved in everything of his creation—whether it’s concepts for his music videos, the beat production, writing, hooks, whatever the case may be, he’s involved in everything. And that’s what I did with this. On a regular day, I’m going to training camp, I’m watching film with the guys, I’m going to coaches’ meetings—I’m just learning and soaking it all in, and contributing with anything I can,” he says. “I just wanted to win or lose at my own merit, and I didn’t it want for it to be a thing where it didn’t work out but I was right. So, I wanted to be as involved as possible, so if I lost, it was on my own merit.” 

“The expectations are high. We’re repping a big city. We’re repping the east side of Toronto We’re repping OVO. We’re repping Drake. There’s a lot at stake here. I think that’s something I don’t take lightly. I want to be competitive here. I learned a lot from Drake, you can’t settle, you can’t be content. We cannot not have a successful season. We have to continue to find ways to stay on top somehow.”  

Beyond the wins and losses, the Xs and Os, and the championships, Niko’s story is a very relatable to the natural human experience. One that ultimately revolves around finding your true purpose and calling in life, living out your passion not just yourself but also ideally while pulling up those around you. It’s been quite the full circle moment for the Scarborough native. 

“Growing up, I wanted to be the starting point guard for the Raptors. But, obviously, being Filipino, I didn’t really grow much,” Niko says with a laugh. “I didn’t really know what [else] I wanted to be. I went to college for one year before Drake kind of snatched me and brought me on the road. I went to college to be a social worker. So, I always wanted to inspire and help the youth, troubled kids. I don’t want to say I was a troubled kid, but I wandered. I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I always felt stuck. I never thought I could be a sports team owner, working in sports professionally. Now, I just want to inspire those that look like me.  

“It was tough, in terms of that feeling of being stuck—it’s a scary thing. That feeling of helplessness. Like, what’s next? Waking up every morning and being, like, Yo, what’s next? What am I going to do? Like, I don’t know what I’m going to do. There’s life after that. As long as you keep at it, good things will happen for you.”           

Photo credit: PlaceNEW.

The post Niko Carino, aka OVO Niko, Has Emerged Into a Successful Pro Team Owner After Transitioning From the Music Industry             appeared first on SLAM.

Jimmy Butler is everywhere these days.

There he is at the US Open, serving as an honorary ball boy for an exhibition match between Carlos Alcaraz and Frances Tiafoe. There he is in the new music video for Fall Out Boy’s “So Much (For) Stardust,” sporting his now-legendary “Emo Jimmy” look. There he is in ads for Hulu, Alo, State Farm and Hotels.com. There he is sampling products for BIGFACE, his budding coffee brand, and at the first-ever Reserve Cup, a padel competition that he helped bring to Miami. There he is at the Kaseya Center, soaring for lobs and knocking down threes.

And here he is at ZZ’s Club Miami, singing and dancing along to Lloyd’s “You,” breathing energy into the club’s swanky sports bar. He is, after all, five cups of coffee in, and it’s just 2:30 p.m. (he drinks 10-12 cups a day, by the way). A wide-ranging playlist booms through a handheld speaker—everything from “Let Me Love You” by Mario to “Jamming” by Bob Marley & the Wailers to “Loop Hole” by Tee Grizzley featuring 21 Savage. In between posing for photos, the Heat star snacks on sushi and sips an old fashioned.

Welcome to Jimmy Butler’s SLAM cover shoot, and welcome, more broadly, to his ever-growing universe, where you’re invited—err, encouraged—to be your authentic self at all times. To follow whatever passions you may have.

SLAM 249 featuring Jimmy Butler is available now. Shop here.

Butler is a man of many interests: coffee, wine, country music, tennis, padel, soccer (which he calls football), dominoes, spades, UNO, traveling—the list goes on. He is always up to something, always surrounded by family and friends. His house in Miami doesn’t even have TVs. Instead of binge-watching shows, Butler does things like chase tennis balls around Louis Armstrong Stadium in Queens, NY, because, well, it’s fun and he felt like doing it. He is currently working on his own country album; right now, it features 62 songs (!) and Butler, who has played a DJ Khaled-like role, is debating whether to hop on one.

“He loves to get into a whole bunch of stuff that you wouldn’t think he would enjoy doing,” says Butler’s teammate Caleb Martin. “He’s just super active, man, whether he’s doing something on an off day or meeting up with certain types of artists or playing dominoes or going to tennis matches. He’s definitely a dude full of surprises.”

Surprises like…starring in that aforementioned Fall Out Boy video in an all-purple cowboy outfit. 

“Anything to shake up anything on the internet and continually be myself, be happy and love my life and what I’m doing, I’m down,” Butler says. The video was shot over All-Star break and it dropped less than two weeks later. And yes, it shook up the internet.

Butler strikes a difficult balance: he doesn’t take life too seriously, but he is also extremely competitive. He cracks jokes, but often leaves people wondering…was that really a joke? 

“Don’t be fooled because you see me on TV or a commercial or a billboard, I do a lot of the same stuff y’all do,” he says, before adding with a grin, “I’m probably just better at it than all y’all…but I can’t help that.”

The truth (and irony) is, Butler engages in many extracurricular activities, such as tennis and songwriting, “to humble” himself. He wants to experience firsthand the challenges of other professions. Of course, he is also certain that if he keeps working at something, he will excel at it. He has a burning desire to be the best at everything he does. 

To win at everything he does. 

Take spades, for example. The Heat like to play on the team plane during long road trips. “When I say he does not lose, he does not lose,” forward Jamal Cain says. “Me and Haywood Highsmith beat him once and he was kind of shitty after that. I kind of saw it in his face. He’s very competitive. He does not like to lose.”

Or take dominoes, which might be the game Jimmy is best at (including the one he’s famous for). “He’s a top-five, top-10 dominoes player in the world,” claims Chris Brickley, Butler’s trainer. “I know this because he and [Colombian singer] J Balvin have flown in the top dominoes players in the world, like, world champions. And he’s beat them.”

“That’s some Jimmy shit,” Martin remarks with a laugh. He and his twin brother, Cody, are a rare duo that have actually beat Jimmy in dominoes. “And we ain’t played since,” Martin says. “On and off the court, he doesn’t like to lose. He’s ducking me, for sure. Ever since we played him, he tells me and my brother, ‘Y’all are The Funky Brothers.’ Me and Cody play funky, so it messes him up.”

Butler brings that same competitive mindset to his brand, BIGFACE, which he is very dedicated to building. Along with the BIGFACE team, he has visited Colombia and Ecuador on a quest to find the best coffee. He is even trying to master latte art and how to make the perfect cappuccino. 

“People can see this on the court as well—his dedication to something and to knowing everything there is to know about it translates from basketball to coffee,” says Britt Berg, Chief Operating Officer at BIGFACE. She and Butler text about coffee almost every day. 

BIGFACE is set to open its first brick-and-mortar shop in Miami later this year, a milestone that Jimmy is eagerly awaiting. “When I’m not practicing, when I’m not with my kids, when I’m not in a game, I can tell you where I’m gonna be, and that’s in this coffee shop, meeting all the fans of myself and of coffee,” he says. “Because I do love coffee, I do want to bring the best coffee to Miami. I don’t think there’s a spot like that here yet, and I want the first BIGFACE café to be that, so that’s where I’m gonna be. And we need that. Miami needs that…along with a championship!”

Ah, yes. We should probably talk a bit about basketball. It’s mid-March when we shoot this cover—or, as Butler calls it, “that time.”

Allow him to elaborate: “It’s the time where people really gotta think about going up against the Miami Heat and myself. I know what I’m capable of. I know what my squad is capable of. And don’t nobody want to see us in a seven-game series anyways. We know that.”

We do.

Miami finished eighth in the Eastern Conference with a 46-36 record. But, then again, the Heat entered last year’s playoffs as the No. 8 seed before going on an epic run to the Finals. In 2019-20, the League’s bubble season, Miami reached the Finals as the No. 5 seed.

“Nobody can tell you anything right now,” Jimmy says. “There are three things that you gotta have in order to win a championship: you’ve gotta be playing your best basketball at the right time, you gotta be healthy, and you gotta be lucky. That’s just the way that it is. So can’t nobody tell right now who’s going to have all three of those things.”

Butler quietly had another stellar year, posting 20.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game and shooting a career-high 41.4 percent from behind the arc. Don’t expect him to be launching more threes in the postseason, though. “I just don’t like shooting threes because I want to run into you,” he says. “I want to hit somebody. You can’t hit nobody if you shoot threes. I want to see who’s going to quit first. I’m gonna keep running in there, I’m gonna hit you, and I’m gonna hit you again, and I’m gonna hit you again, and we’re gonna see who’s gonna quit.”

That sounds like something the fabled and fearless “Playoff Jimmy” would say, doesn’t it? Only thing is, Butler continues to deny that Playoff Jimmy exists. 

“That’s not a thing for the hundredth time,” he insists. “Playoff Jimmy is not a thing. Emo Jimmy, thing. Football Jimmy, thing. Tennis Jimmy, thing. Daddy Jimmy, thing. Zaddy Jimmy, thing. But Playoff Jimmy, not so much.”

OK, fair enough. But worth noting: over a four-season stretch, Butler has led Miami to the Eastern Conference Finals three times and to the Finals twice, averaging 24.7 points, 6.8 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.9 steals through 64 playoff games. During the 2020 Finals, he registered two triple-doubles, including just the third 40-point triple-double in Finals history. In Game 6 of the 2022 ECF, he hung 47 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists and 4 steals on the Celtics to force a Game 7 (one of four 40-plus-point performances he had that postseason). He set a franchise playoff record with 56 points in Game 4 of last season’s first-round series against the top-seeded Bucks, then followed it up with 42 points in Game 5 as his team pulled off one of the biggest upsets ever. 

Butler will admit that things “ramp up a notch” this time of year. Amid the last few weeks of the regular season and into the playoffs, he and Brickley start working out the night before every single game. They study the defense Miami is about to face and try to replicate the exact situations Butler will find himself in. What spots on the floor will be open? What shots will be available? What switches might occur? Butler’s basketball IQ is “probably the highest IQ out of any player I’ve worked with,” says Brickley.

Martin, who has been with the Heat since 2021, notices a “mental shift” in Jimmy as the playoffs loom. “I think him having the experience of going through this phase so many times, he knows how to time stuff up with his body, and then [there’s] the mental part of it, too, him just being so steady mentally,” Martin explains. “He’s very strategic. He knows when it’s time to ramp up. He knows what games probably hurt more than others or whatever the case is. Everything he does, he thinks about.”

The added reps in the gym help, as does Butler’s very calculated approach. But if there’s one reason to believe Playoff Jimmy is real, and that other teams should fear his impending arrival, it’s this: Jimmy Butler is fully confident in who he is and what he’s capable of. There’s a comfort in that, a peace. Any feelings of self-doubt and pressure are gone. He doesn’t care one bit what others think about him—what others predict he and his team will or won’t do.

That type of confidence has a way of rubbing off on the people around him: friends, colleagues, teammates. 

“When you have a leader like that, it gives you a sense of confidence in your abilities and what you’re doing,” says Berg.

“The first thing I noticed with Jimmy, he’s very comfortable being in his skin. He doesn’t care what anyone thinks about him,” Cain adds. “Seeing how he carried himself and how confident and comfortable he was in his skin only made me more comfortable being who I am.”

Cain remembers one game day when he and other members of the Heat huddled up to pray before taking the court, as was their ritual, and requested that Jimmy turn down the music he was blasting. “Y’all need to be praying to me!” Butler responded. “He said it in a joking manner, but just the fact that that was the first thing on his mind, I was like, Wow, this is Jimmy in a nutshell,” Cain recalls with a chuckle.

It’s no coincidence that Butler describes the Heat as being “overly confident in a good way.” In large part, that identity stems from him. Despite the ups and downs of the regular season, Butler has no doubt that his team has what it takes to make another deep playoff run. 

Why? 

“We just have a different way of going about things,” he says. “Our coaching staff cares and they’re constantly studying how we can make everybody on our roster stick to their strong suits and stay away from the weak points of their games. Ownership cares—they’re at every practice, they’re on the plane. We’re talking to one another. We really fuck with one another, which is a good thing. And, um…” 

He pauses for a moment and flashes a sly smile. 

“I’m on the team. So, I’m taking my chances every time.” 

Portraits by Alex Subers

The post The Undeniable Realness of Jimmy Butler: Heat Star Talks Leadership, Staying True and the Playoffs appeared first on SLAM.

These guys are friends. 

Sounds obvious, right? For sure. Easy to acknowledge it sounds obvious. But SLAM is celebrating its 30th anniversary. We’ve been around NBA players for a while now. We’ve seen that a ton of them are colleagues, not friends. Ain’t nothing wrong with that. These guys spend months on the road together. Their team responsibilities pull them away from their families. So most players keep it cordial with each other, but in the same way that you leave your work environment, they do, too. 

We’re not here to burst any bubbles. You should still believe in Santa Claus. Hell, hopefully one day the Loch Ness monster and Bigfoot finally emerge. But we regret to inform you that most NBA players don’t kick it with each other outside of practice, even if they make it seem so when they’re in public. 

That’s why the genuine laughter of this trio, all three of them former Villanova Wildcats, was a much welcomed surprise. They seem to be friends off the court. There’s a ton of history between them, which we will get into. But you just never know what’s for the internet and what’s for real. 

SLAM 249 featuring the Knicks is available now. Get your copy here.

Josh pulled up first. He was early. He and one of his agency reps sat in the corner of the gym, with windows displaying the amazing manicured lawns outside the gym. It was the first day of March and the sun was reminding us it existed after a long winter. Finely-kept evergreen trees couldn’t block the natural light, so Josh, with his perfect braids and fresh white Ralphie tee, was illuminated. 

He deserves some of the spotlight. He’s the one who does the dirty work for Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau. Deflections, switches, backside call-outs all fall under his list of responsibilities. He also plays a lot of minutes. Like, a lot. As we go to press, he’s averaging 41 minutes a game over his last 22 contests. He even played the entire 48 against the Golden State Warriors on March 18. Hart’s role increased when the Knicks suffered injuries to two of their best players; he was called on to essentially be a 6-4 power forward. He has to get bruised up down low, fly around on rotations, jet back down to the paint and then grab rebounds. Over that same 22-game stretch, he pulled down an average of 11.3 boards a contest, way up from his career average of 6.5. Recently, his rebounding numbers have been major. In a stretch from late February to mid-March, he’s had one game of 18 rebounds and two with 19. And to make those two 19-board moments even more impressive, they were both part of triple-double performances. Triple-doubles are portraits of desire and technique—they require reading the game on a serious level. Hart has had five triple-doubles in his seven-year career. They’ve all happened in this current season. 

Hart’s a serious competitor on the court, which, according to Brunson, is the only time he’s ever serious at all. The two were roommates at Villanova and know each other very, very well. For example, Hart knows that Brunson’s favorite childhood player was Steve Nash. Brunson can counter that knowledge by adding that Mike and Ike is Hart’s favorite candy. Brunson, who was named an All-Star this season, says plainly that besides being about his business in basketball, Hart loves to joke around. There’s no arguing from Hart. In fact, Brunson and Hart only communicate in one way throughout the entire shoot.  

Brunson and DiVincenzo arrived together at the gym in Connecticut. It was starting to get dark when they walked in. No more individual spotlight on Hart. Instead, the three of them were the center of attention. Right from the jump, Brunson and Hart speak to each other through veiled inside jokes and outright insults. Sly smiles followed everything they said. Whenever Hart did or said something ridiculous, Brunson would look around helplessly, praying somebody else noticed the insanity. DiVincenzo, the youngest of the trio, consistently cracked up with laughter no matter what. 

DiVincenzo has had a winding road since making it to the League in 2018. The Bucks picked him 17th overall, but he didn’t get a ton of burn in that first season. To go from the height of winning the 2018 NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player to only appearing in 27 games (a nagging heel injury can be blamed, too) is a fall off that would take the heart of most. That speed bump, however, gave us the first look at DiVincenzo’s resiliency. He came back the next season, played 66 games and averaged 9.2 ppg. The following season, he started every game he appeared in and upped his points average yet again. He would have been a huge part of the Bucks’ NBA Finals-winning group if not for an ankle injury that needed to be surgically repaired. 

Still, he has a ring. 

The Bucks traded him to the Kings in February ’22, where he suited up in only 25 games for then-coach Alvin Gentry. His next stop, the Warriors, reminded the NBA of how he plays when healthy. More resiliency. After fighting back from injury, he showed that he can run the 1 or play the 2. The Dubs had him dishing the ball to their Hall of Fame shooting duo. They had him filling the slots on cuts. He was one of the very few guards in the NBA allowed to crash the offensive glass (in this age of otherworldly athleticism and aerial acrobats, most teams prefer to send guys back for transition defense). When given the opportunity, he showed the ability to create his own shot off the bounce. 

He’s doing all of that now for the Knicks. This season, his three ball goes down nearly 40 percent of the time, above the League average. He has four games of more than 30 points this year, too. He had never had a 30-point game in his NBA career before this season. In his last 21 games, he’s going for 20.8 per. Big jump. Big, big jump. 

As most basketball players know, being on the same team as your friends usually increases production. There’s a foundational layer of trust that underlies everything when hooping with the bros. A portion of the stresses that come from playing with strangers get replaced by the fun of running around with your boys. Taking crazy shots or throwing stupid passes are usually followed by choice words from teammates. But sometimes those bad shots or wild passes result in strokes of genius. Genius is more likely to happen with brothers than it is with strangers, when people trust in those choices, when you really know the guy who has something to say after those shots and passes. And defensively, that trust shows up in the form of big rotational swings—a gamble in the passing lane getting covered by that dude who really enjoys Mike and Ike. 

Playing alongside friends is a treat. Winning alongside friends is a special privilege from the basketball heavens. 

These guys won together on the biggest collegiate stage. 

Hart was a junior by the time DiVincenzo and Brunson got to Nova. Though DiVincenzo didn’t play much in that 2015-16 season, Hart and Brunson were two of the Wildcats’ leaders. Along with Kris Jenkins and Ryan Arcidiacono, they guided the Wildcats to the 2016 national championship. They conquered close games, raced back from big deficits and survived the gauntlet together. Together is the key here. 

It’s a fact that the bonds we as humans form get deepened by stressful environments and heightened situations. When you’re 18-21 years old and the entire nation is watching your every step, giving you all their opinions, placing their hopes on your shoulders, that’s a stressful environment and a heightened situation. 

Then when Hart was playing for the Lakers in 2018, Brunson and DiVincenzo won the natty again. More stressful environments and heightened situations. 

So, of course these guys are actually friends. Their bond began in college, where young minds are shaped and formed without nationally-televised basketball games. Add in the games on TV, the thousands of screaming fans, the legacy of a Hall of Fame coach and that would’ve made for a deeper bond together. Now fast forward a few years and add the layer of Madison Square Garden, the generations-deep Knicks fandom and the pressure of possibly playing in May or June…that’s a lifelong bond. 

The three of them hit the bathroom together to change into their uniforms at our shoot. When they come back to the gym, Brunson’s no longer wearing DiVincenzo’s jersey. But they’re all still laughing. And they continue laughing. Hart is the ringleader. Brunson is the seemingly-innocent-but-actually- devilish instigator. And DiVincenzo uncontrollably laughs at it all. 

None of this happens without Brunson, by the way. He’s the All-Star, he’s the Knicks’ best player. He’s their floor general. He’s their clutch scorer. He’s the heartbeat of the Garden. All the numbers point to this being his best season yet. Those numbers actually become redundant because they all make it clear that he’s an elite player. One number, however, sums it up. Five. 

He’s fifth in the NBA in scoring, as of this writing. 

Nobody thought that the 33rd overall pick in the 2018 Draft would one day lead the Knicks’ franchise revival, be an All-Star or be near the top of the League in scoring. But the game is easy when playing with friends. 

Especially with friends who love to compete. All three of these guys are physical. They hustle hard. Hart hits the glass, DiVincenzo recovers from injury after injury and Brunson goes down into the land of trees despite his height. They relish the big moments. They love the challenge. It’s obvious they love playing together because they play together. 

Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau spoke about them after a big road win over the Golden State Warriors in March.

“Josh’s role expanded,” Thibs said at his postgame press conference. “Donte’s role expanded. And Jalen just keeps rolling. It’s a team, and that’s what we prioritize. We want guys to sacrifice and put the team first, but there has to be that belief. I think when your best players have that belief, then your entire team ends up having that belief.”

Even when they’re making fun of each other and laughing at each other, they do it together. After about an hour in front of our cameras in that Connecticut gym, they leave, together. 

Portraits by Marcus Stevens.

The post The Reunion of Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and Donte DiVincenzo appeared first on SLAM.

For the next 30 days—Monday through Friday— we’ll be unveiling the full list here. We’ve also got an exclusive retro collegiate collection, out now, that pays homage to each squad’s threads. Shop here.

“Swagger” may be an overused term, but there isn’t a more perfect way to describe the style of play that encapsulated the 2018-19 Murray State Racers. Mid-major program? Who gave a damn. 

Led by head honcho Matt McMahon, the leaders of the Ohio Valley Conference sent a message to America with every dub: “we’ll see y’all in March.” 

A big reason why was because of a tatted standout with freeform dreads, a taper fade and had an unrelenting athletic ability. Ja Morant was simply “The One” down in Calloway County. As a sophomore, he had one of the greatest individual seasons in program history. But it was the national stage where Morant’s legend grew. 

He was the first player to average 20 points and 10 assists in the modern era, dropping 24.5 points and 10 dimes a night. He racked up the sixth-most assists in NCAA history for a single season. He recorded the ninth-ever triple-double in NCAA Tournament history. He had 14 contests with 20 and 10, with a career-high 18 dots in a win over UT Martin. The man was straight filthy–Xxplosive like Dr. Dre’s cut off The Chronic. 

Behind the back snatch then reassess. In-and-out cross into a hanging lay while drawing the contact. And-one. Cradle the baby. Flying to the rim as fast as he flew off of it. Hard to predict, nearly impossible to contain. Lobs came from anywhere and everywhere; halfcourt, baseline out of bounds, in the fastbreak. Backscratchers, reverse alleys and tomahawk posters galore, with air guitar cellys following suit. Opponents spent more time looking up at the rafters than they did tracking the midsection of their opponents’ threads. 

But then came Morant’s single-handed demolition of UT Martin. After hitting a back-door cut from the baseline, Morant received the ball, and without taking a dribble, immediately rose up over a defender—who attempted a wildly ill-advised charge on the bounciest player in the world—and slammed it home while nearly clearing the defender with his legs spread like MJ. The highlight would introduce millions upon millions to the name of Temetrius “Ja” Morant and the high-flying Murray State Racers. 

“Downtown” Tevin Brown lit up Racer Arena with nearly three trey balls a game while Leroy Buchanon cemented the Racer’s otherworldly backcourt. In the paint, Darnell Cowert resided with sheer force. The former JUCO product quickly found his footing in the OVC, utilizing his graceful footwork to dance around defenders for 10.3 points and 6.5 boards a game. 

Two non-conference losses left the Racers with an early indication of their postseason success, with respective games against Alabama and No. 7 Auburn providing down-to-the-wire tests in late November and December. The Racers would sprint their way through the OVC, collecting a 16-2 conference record on the way to their second-straight conference championship and NCAA Tournament berth.

After cementing their staying power in a 20-point beatdown over Marquette, the Racers fell in the Round of 32 to No. 10 Florida State, but not before enacting enough jaw-dropping displays to craft their own “One Shining Moments” reel. The Racers weren’t just the Cinderella team of the 2019 tournament, they recaptured the magic that’s cooked up in mid-major programs across the country. 

Photos via Getty Images.

The post The 30 Most Influential NCAA MBB Teams of SLAM’s 30 Years: 2019 Murray State appeared first on SLAM.

For the next 30 days—Monday through Friday— we’ll be unveiling the full list here. We’ve also got an exclusive retro collegiate collection, out now, that pays homage to each squad’s threads. Shop here.

With the hardwood as their canvas, the 2019 Duke Blue Devils painted a masterpiece that will be remembered for generations to come. 

Legendary head coach Mike Krzyzewski and his staff painted the first stroke by recruiting one of college basketball’s greatest freshman classes; No. 1 RJ Barrett, No. 2 Zion Williamson, No. 3 Cam Reddish, No. 17 Tre Jones and No. 41 Joey Baker. As soon as the five top-ranked 18-year-olds stepped foot on campus, the entirety of the basketball ecosystem zoomed in on Durham. 

Under the leadership of Coach K, the Blue Devils were loved and feared. They would rip teams apart inside the storied Cameron Indoor Stadium, where it was standing room only and thousands of blue-painted ‘Cameron Crazies’ would scream, jump and chant endlessly. And when they went on the road, the squad always dressed for the occasion in their all-black unis, a nod to the opposing team’s ensuing “funeral”. Every possession was an opportunity for showtime, with high-flying, thunderous dunks and defense-freezing dimes becoming the norm rather than the exception. 

And for much of the season, Duke prevailed: they finished their campaign with 32 wins and just six losses, though their championship hopes were squashed by Michigan State in the Elite Eight. 

Williamson was the main star who adorned the vast Durham sky. The freshman forward was a force of nature whose gravity-defying athleticism and boundless energy transcended the sport itself and left Twitter spinning with highlights. The Salisbury, N.C. native’s mere presence was enough to elevate Duke to new heights, bringing an unseen national spotlight down onto Tobacco Road. 

But Duke was far from a one-man show. Alongside him stood RJ Barrett, a lefty Canadian sensation whose silky-smooth scoring touch and explosiveness made him one of the nation’s most exciting prospects. Together, they formed one of Coach K’s best tandems that brought nothing but hope to the legions of Duke faithful. 

Reddish dazzled with his shot-creating prowess, while Tre Jones anchored the backcourt with his poise and playmaking ability. Meanwhile, Javin LeLaurier often sent shots flying to the third row on one end and cleaned up dump-offs in the paint on the other. 

Together, this cohort of bucket-getting artists produced scenes that have been stamped in the minds of basketball aficionados. Mesmerizing—Williamson bolted and elevated to send De’Andre Hunter’s corner three deep into a sea of staggered Virginia fans. Breathtaking—Barrett finds Reddish between the legs for a triple to tie the game against Louisville after being down by 23 points. Picturesque—Williamson spins 360 degrees in the air and hammers it home, everyone around freezing still. 

Duke’s 2019 squad exemplified what Duke basketball has come to mean—a cultural phenomenon, an eternal love-or-hate relationship. But this season was also unique: every game felt like an ethereal experience, the truest showing of pure talent and unrivaled chemistry, all backed by arguably the greatest basketball coach of all time. This squad, in all its glories and shortcomings, might have been the ‘Dukest’ Duke team to date. 

Five years since 2019, the tears, screams and memories have yet to fully escape the creaking wooden doors of Cameron Indoor Stadium. And much like the most beautiful and coveted of paintings, the 2018-19 Blue Devils’ story perhaps will remain timeless.

Photos via Getty Images.

The post The 30 Most Influential NCAA MBB Teams of SLAM’s 30 Years: 2019 Duke  appeared first on SLAM.

For the next 30 days—Monday through Friday— we’ll be unveiling the full list here. We’ve also got an exclusive retro collegiate collection, out now, that pays homage to each squad’s threads. Shop here.

There’s a reason why we called him the “greatest show in hoops” back then. Long before the lore of Ice Trae sent shivers down the backs of everyone in Madison Square Garden during the playoffs, Trae Young was silencing the doubters in the Lloyd Noble Center, too. 

The 2017-18 Oklahoma Sooners didn’t just have a star freshman, they had a rebel. He simply couldn’t be held to the limits of the three-point line, or held back by the opinions of others about his size or potential. As we wrote in our SLAM 214 cover story of him, “not only has he completely rearranged mock draft orders and the itineraries of NBA scouts, he’s also rearranged the media coverage of college basketball—this publication included.” 

Young’s destiny in Norman, the same city where he grew up and went to high school, was written long before he rocked crimson and cream. He was the ball boy for the men’s team back in ‘06, and the Young family lived less than 15 minutes from the campus.

“With me having the opportunity to play for a [future] Hall of Fame coach and play in my backyard and represent my city and state—it was something that I wanted to do and to take a different route was something that I took as a challenge,” Young told us in 2018. 

He was set to join a team that had an 11-20 record the year prior in 2016-17, and his arrival meant helping carry the team that was full of talent and had some experience, junior Christian James was the team’s second-leading scorer with 11.9 points, the Sooners would catch the attention of the world. As Trae hit mid range floaters and shots from the logo, his teammates held their own alongside him. Between November and January, the Sooners even posted a ten-game winning streak. 

Despite a season full of ups and downs, the 2017-18 Sooners ended their season with defeats by Oklahoma State and Rhode Island, but ultimately, the show they put on that year was bigger than the final box score. And as for Young, well, it was only the beginning…

Photos via Getty Images.

The post The 30 Most Influential NCAA MBB Teams of SLAM’s 30 Years: 2018 Oklahoma   appeared first on SLAM.

For the next 30 days—Monday through Friday— we’ll be unveiling the full list here. We’ve also got an exclusive retro collegiate collection, out now, that pays homage to each squad’s threads. Shop here.

The Villanova Wildcats entered the 2017-18 season as that team. They’d just won the National Championship the season prior in historic fashion when then-senior forward Kris Jenkins hit a buzzer-beater shot against UNC that left the entire college basketball world shook. It was, and still is, one of the greatest moments in the history of college hoops. It set the precedence for what would come next. 

So, how exactly did Jay Wright’s squad run it back? One of the brilliant minds in the game knew exactly how to coach a hungry, fundamentally-sound squad that included Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, Donte DiVincenzo, Eric Paschall and Phil Booth. Brunson is the type of player that, since childhood, has credited his success to his work ethic, and while at ‘Nova, he’d put together a list of goals, individual and team-oriented, that he wanted to accomplish and tape it in his dorm room. That included:

Graduating in the summer of 2018. 

Making the All-American, Big East and Big Five Academic teams. 

2018 First-Team All American, All-Big East, All-Big Five.

Conference regular season and tournament champions. 

Winning an NCAA National Championship.

While there’s many, many factors to a team’s success, Brunson’s mental approach to the game, instilled in him by his father, Rick, and then backed by Wright, set the precedent for what he and his squad would achieve. Manifestation is real, and so were the Wildcats: with Brunson’s court vision, Bridges’ defensive prowess, and DiVincenzo’s scoring outbursts, ‘Nova waltzed through the regular season, finishing 14–4 in Big East play.

“I was a version of myself, I guess I technically didn’t know I had,” Brunson told SLAM in 2022 while reflecting on the 2018 season. “I always knew I was good, playing the post, but we really used it as a weapon.” 

All the while, the No. 1 seed in the East region dominated their way to the NCAA tourney, including wins against Radford, Alabama, West Virginia, and Texas Tech. After defeating Kansas in the Final Four, the Wildcats were composed against Michigan in the Championship: they knocked down clutch shots from deep, connected on dimes from Brunson, and took control of the tempo. The final score: 79-62. 

National Champions, check. 

Photos via Getty Images.

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