Since I was 10 or 11 years old, there’s been one publication I turn to for basketball news - SLAM Magazine. I remember reading it as a kid and thinking I could relate to the people writing it. It spoke the same language my friends and I did. It wasn’t the New Yorker or Sports Illustrated, nor did it want to be. It was a mag for true basketball fans.

SLAM was founded in New York City in 1994 by Dennis Page. Coined as being, “The In Your Face Basketball Magazine,” it blended a New York voice with news on the NBA. It was like reading The Source except I was being updated on John Starks rather than Tony Stark. Their covers feature some of the most iconic photos of the sport’s greatest players. If a player was on a SLAM cover, you knew they were important.

Their approach to photography and storytelling has left an imprint on the culture that still serves as a reference point today. The images above are my favorite Knicks covers over the years. I’m looking forward to sharing the next one…