This story first appeared in SLAM 233.
We can’t count on much these days, but in SLAM’s early years you could count on baggy shorts, Shawn Bradley cameos and some beautifully wild cover lines. Issue 25 featured (almost) all of these elements, and while the “Champs by 2001” coverline wasn’t the craziest thing we’ve ever put out there (sorry, Grant Hill), it sure felt bold and somewhat far-fetched in 1998.
The reality was that this young and dynamic Nets squad had pulled together a team with depth and experience. They were a legit playoff bet in an NBA on the brink of change—bracing itself for the dominant Michael Jordan/ Chicago Bulls dynasty to draw to a climactic close, and opening the door for Eastern Conference hopefuls to dream big once again.
The cover line was provocative, and the team pic characterized the playful arrogance of its words perfectly. It was the first time a starting five had collectively hit the cover, capturing a moment which compelled readers to react, preempted the scoffs and demanded that we consider a team that we previously hadn’t.
These Nets weren’t champs by 2001, but hey, a readjusted team made back-to-back NBA finals appearances in ’02 and ’03 and saw multiple All-Stars play some of their best years in Jersey. The Larry O’Brien may not have been lifted, but 1998 was the start of a dope trajectory and—in hindsight—SLAM 25 wasn’t such a questionable cover after all.
Champs by 2021? A new home and an unexpected emergence of a super team in BK had many of us counting on it. It would’ve been dope if SLAM’s prediction was realized a neat 20 years later, but untimely injuries, a two-time League MVP on a championship mission and KD’s “big-ass foot” put it on ice for another year at least.
We may not see so much of Shawn Bradley in our pages these days, even baggy shorts seem to be a thing of the past. But be sure of this: for as long as this magazine exists, we’ll be putting out historic covers and some of the dopest cover lines you’ll ever read. Count on it.
