I
am writing this on June 27, 2019, likely a few weeks before you’re reading it. A
couple weeks ago, the Toronto Raptors (shockingly) won the NBA Finals, and exactly
a week ago the New Orleans Pelicans (not shockingly) selected Zion Williamson with
the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft.
In a few days, free agency will begin, and the entire landscape of the League will turn
on its head. Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson, Kemba Walker,
Khris Middleton (idk what’s up with the Ks this year), Jimmy Butler, D’Angelo Russell and
a bunch more guys will make decisions that could change everything, or nothing. But it’ll
almost definitely be everything. Because things change a lot in this business.
It’s one of the reasons I still enjoy all of this. Come August 1, I’ll have been in this busi-
ness nine years, and with the exception of a short agency gig in mid-2016, I’ve spent the
entirety of that time working in some capacity at SLAM. One of the questions I always
get is if it gets boring, and if it doesn’t...how TF not? Nine years?!
There are a few tricks to keeping things fun—surround yourself with the right people,
challenge yourself to think up absurd ideas, blast music you love multiple times a day—
but the fact of the matter is any job can get stale, no matter how cool it may seem to be.
I’m lucky because the two industries I work within—basketball and media—are, if nothing
else, never, ever boring.
On the media side, the changes hit so hard and so fast that if you’re not constantly on
your toes strategizing for the future, you’ll get swept away faster than you can post an IG
Story. I won’t bother you with all that, though. It’s the basketball side that’s remodeling
itself in one swoop this very month.
I feel like I write this every year around this time, but this month (or last, depending on
how quickly you picked up this issue) a whole bunch of free agency moves are changing
the teams that we’ll be watching and the narratives that we’ll pay constant attention to
for the next 12 months. I love it. Change is good, because it keeps the fans engaged in an
era when engagement is more difficult and more competitive than ever before. Combine
that with all that we have going on over here at SLAM (and truthfully it’s so much stuff
that there isn’t even the space here to explain it all), and boredom isn’t really a threat, or
an option. Thank the Basketball Gods for that.Peace,Adam FigmanPS—Oh right, the covers. Kawhi wins the Larry O.B., Lou Will is a GOAT and Liz and A’ja
are ready to shine under Vegas’ bright lights. Cop all three!The Sixth Man
Born and raised in Cambridge, MA, Senior Video Producer Eli Selva de-
veloped his love for the game in high school while attending Patrick Ew-
ing’s alma mater, Cambridge Rindge and Latin School. Upon graduating
from the University of Michigan, he moved to NYC where he began his
career in documentary filmmaking. Eli’s passion for storytelling has led
him on shoots around the world, including 50-mile ultramarathons in the
canyons of Mexico and soccer trick shots in the glaciers of Iceland, but
he’s happy to be back covering the world’s best sport. In his free time,
you can catch him routinely missing bunnies at Tompkins Square Park.
Printed in U.S.A.
Copyright © 2019 by
SL AM Media Inc.
All rights reser ved.2019 VOL.26 NO.PUBLISHER
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