Slam

the sixth man

“Momma, I made it!”According to one of his agency reps, D’Angelo Russell said exactly that when he learned he’d be on the next cover of SLAM. We’ve covered D-Lo for a minute now—his stacked high school team at Montverde, college days at Ohio State, early years with the Lakers and of course his big breakout in Brooklyn. He earned our front page with his play, with the way he’s captured the attention of Nets fans and with the undeniable fact that his future is bright as hell. It might seem like D has been around for a minute, but at just 23 and with an All-Star Game and a SLAM cover now under his belt, he’s officially made it. The contract he gets this summer will prove it, too.This month…

slam

2019 VOL.26 NO.3PUBLISHER Dennis S. PageEXECUTIVE PUBLISHER David SchnurHEAD OF CONTENT/EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Adam FigmanCREATIVE DIRECTOR Michael WilsonEDITORIALMANAGING EDITOR Susan Price ThomasSENIOR EDITOR Ryne NelsonSOCIAL MEDIA EDITORS Arvind Pitchai, Joseph L. ShermanASSOCIATE EDITORS Franklyn Calle, Max Resetar, Alex SquadronASSOCIATE SOCIAL MEDIA EDITORS Ian Pierno, Drew RuizNEWS EDITOR Marcel MutoniEDITORIAL ASSISTANTS Rajah Allarey, Habeeba HusainCONTRIBUTING EDITORS Ryan Jones, Abe Schwadron, Tzvi TwerskyBASKETBALL EVANGELIST Rick TelanderCONTRIBUTORS Ben Collins, Matthew Foley, Howard MegdalARTDESIGNER Lester PadillaJUNIOR DESIGNER Andy HanCONTRIBUTORS Justin Borucki, Atiba Jefferson, Ben Rollins, Jeffery Salter, Diwang ValdezVIDEOEXECUTIVE PRODUCER James CorbettASSOCIATE VIDEO DIRECTOR, HS Bryan LaRussaASSOCIATE VIDEO EDITOR/SHOOTERS Sean Edwards, Ciara Ingram, Christian QuezadaADVERTISING & MARKETINGSENIOR DIRECTOR, NATIONAL SALES Jesse GoldsteinVP, DIGITAL MARKETING Jake SilverADVERTISING DIRECTOR Michael YaariJUNIOR CONTROLLER Jake VitalianoMVP Spiro MaroulisMARKETING & SALES ASSOCIATE Josh FrohlingerFor all advertising inquiries, email advertising@slammediainc.comSLAM MEDIA INC.CHAIRMAN…

trash talk

I haven’t been down since Day 1, although I remember my first issue. Dad came home with Derrick Rose “No Bull” (No. 143). How seldom do we see promise fulfilled, especially after it appears on a magazine cover?That was almost a decade ago. Since then, I’ve received many issues, copped or back-ordered (most of) the special ones (SLAM 500 still holds an honored place in my library of oft-revisited basketball titles, along with FreeDarko’s two seminal works—thanks for introducing me to them, BTW), and—except for the playoffs—lost track of pro ball for a few years (started college, unsubscribed) and found it again (finished college, re-subscribed).I got SLAM 220 in the mail today (Valentine’s Day). Eight years ago, D Rose showed us his supreme love of the game through his MVP…

hype

How many times have you seen it? A close game is moving along, and then in a flurry of long-distance shots raining from the sky one team is abruptly ahead by so much that the score looks rigged. Or maybe this: Your team is ahead by a bundle with not much time left and suddenly the foes do a deep-fire air bombardment and you lose by a point as the last three-pointer whizzes through the net.It’s simply the way the game has developed as the three-pointer has trumped all else. It took a while, but global hoops coaches, general managers and players themselves figured out that a shot, that in places is just a fraction longer than the standard 2-point shot, is nevertheless worth 50 percent more. The math was…

waves become tsunamis season

Kyle KuzmaShouts out to the outdoors. Kuz rocked a zebra-print Ovadia & Sons jacket with jungle cat-print Atmos x Nike AM1s in Charlotte.D’Angelo RussellD-Lo is a straight up hooper for always rocking Nike socks with every fit.Kevin LoveK. Love stayed comfy in a calm Kith hoodie and Off-White Nike Blazers.Chris PaulCP3 laced up his Travis Scott AJ1s to match the pink in his Hebru Brantley “Buy Art, Not Drugs” hoodie. Major coordination points.Draymond GreenDray made a statement in his Museum bomber jacket and rare Oregon Ducks feets.Dennis SchroderStraight up steez from Dennis, who has brought his fit game to another level since moving to OKC.Kemba WalkerGotta show out when you’re the party host, and Kemba did just that during All-Star Weekend in Queen City.Russell WestbrookBrodie, a UCLA alum, made sure…

arike ogunbowale

Wearing No. 24 after Kobe Bryant, her favorite player growing up, Arike Ogunbowale shares some of the Mamba DNA. Within the span of 48 hours last April, Ogunbowale drained two game-winning shots to give Notre Dame their first National Championship since 2001.But there wouldn’t be any rest for the 2018 NCAA Tournament MOP. After she cut down the nets, Ogunbowale was practicing three-to-four hours a day for Dancing with the Stars and taking red-eye flights to and from Los Angeles. All before her final exams were over.“I really wasn’t playing basketball for about a month as much as I wanted,” says the 5-8 guard. “Right after the season, I was dancing, which is kind of crazy.”Back for her final season in South Bend, Ogunbowale has picked up right where she…