words, photography & design // Nick DePaula
Ever since he was a teenager, LaMelo Ball has been SLAM Fam.
He was doing full-scale SLAM photoshoots with his brothers throughout his high school run at Chino Hills in California. First covered at just 13-years-old, his starpower and basketball journey have taken him around the globe ever since, even before entering the NBA in 2020.
“I felt like I could play in the League when I was 14, 15,” Ball told SLAM years back. “I probably couldn’t have, but that’s just how I thought.”
After his Rookie of the Year start in the League, the face of Puma Hoops saw the launch of his first signature shoe coincide with his first All-Star Game appearance the following season in early 2022.
It was on Issue #237 that he pulled up for his SLAM cover shoot in his unlaced infrared MB.01s, hitting the league’s longtime logo pose in a custom LaFrance jersey from his own clothing line.
“It’s a little bit of a reach to say he’s already achieved ‘NBA Logo’ face-of-the-League status, but he’s on his way there, and we’re not afraid of a bold call,” SLAM Ed. Adam Figman wrote at the time. “Consider this our prediction that one day we’ll all look back and realize that this cover made perfect sense.”
As we continue to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of SLAM this year and look even just a few years back — it did make perfect sense.
Highlighting the most iconic covers, players and sneakers over the last 30 years to tell the story of SLAM’s impact on the basketball world, we teamed up with PUMA for this special edition pair of LaMelo’s latest signature shoe, the MB.04.
In a loud infrared and metallic silver upper inspired by that Issue #237 cover and his “Out Of This World” game, Melo’s 4th signature model features blue accents throughout, and custom SLAM logos along the heel and tongue label.
It was in that cover shoot that Melo debuted his iced out UFO chain, with the graphic coming to life once again here on the insoles of each shoe, and on the bottom of the MB.04 model.
The packaging itself is crazy, featuring a SLAM cover-inspired outer sleeve with a portrait from that 2022 photoshoot, along with custom logos along the metallic shoe box. These joints are as loud as it gets — pure Melo. As he’s shown over the years, being subtle is never his style.
“From the beginning, I always felt like no one was really fucking with me,” Ball said in the cover story. “I just always had that attitude.”
As SLAM continues to celebrate its 30th anniversary, the magazine has been there for every step of LaMelo Ball’s rise. Now, it’s only right that SLAM is officially teaming up with Melo to bring things full circle.
This limited edition SLAM x PUMA MB.04 will be dropping in exclusive quantities on both SLAMgoods.com and puma.com this Friday, December 27 at 10 AM EST.
