In the summertime of 2018, a silent time bomb detonated within the SLAM kingdom. Maya Moore claimed a historic spot on a three-part cowl sequence that accomplished the difficulty 217 set. Considerably, she was solely the second feminine to take action. The primary was once we requested the NBA in the event that they had been prepared for Chamique Holdsclaw again in ’98. (They weren’t–neither had been our readers, apparently). However the place our efforts to problem the established order with Chamique had kicked a crack within the glass ceiling–Maya smashed the entire thing clear off.
Seeing Moore grace the entrance web page of SLAM 217 had me scrambling, the issue was, I couldn’t discover her cowl wherever. Bought out on SLAM Items, not a sniff of it on eBay. It was trying as if anybody fortunate sufficient to seize that coveted first retail run was holding onto it tight… and with good motive.
To say that Maya Moore is without doubt one of the best feminine gamers ever witnessed shouldn’t be an announcement that’s thought little of. She has been a champion at each degree potential. From Excessive College to School to the WNBA, even on the Olympic stage–titles had been secured. Not solely that, however the listing of accolades that accompanied these championships and medals is nearly unimaginable. She’s an undisputed Corridor of Famer, and in case you’re taking her as your basketball GOAT, I’d be reluctant to argue.
There was one thing extra to Maya Moore’s sport than {hardware}, although. Much less tangible than trophies, however with extra impression, in some way. A trait not really easy to explain. Whereas she was fierce on the boards and had palms so fast that steals felt like digicam methods, her model of play and scoring skill possessed an imposing high quality. A magic. The ‘poetry in movement’ sort of magic. The sort that offers you goosebumps and watery eyes when replayed in slow-mo. The type that reminds us of the fantastic thing about the sport that we as soon as fell in love with.
As MJ is one in every of a handful to have had this impact on us beforehand, it was becoming that Maya could be picked up by Jordan Model earlier than she even stepped foot on a WNBA court docket – and when she walked away from it in 2018, she did so in a pair of signature Jordan 10s, and as an icon of the Jordan Household.
Stepping away from the sport in her prime was removed from insignificant, and wasn’t with out goal. Other than basketball, Moore had been combating for social justice lengthy earlier than cries for freedom had been allowed to be printed on workforce uniforms. She was a voice for a struggling neighborhood throughout a time when disciplinary motion was taken in the direction of gamers who refused to be silent of their political beliefs. It was her particular dedication to reform within the felony justice system that noticed her forego the 2019 and 2020 WNBA seasons, and in the end retire in early 2023. If latest historical past has taught us something, it’s that some issues are greater than basketball.
In some methods, Maya Moore’s presence on concern 217 was greater than SLAM. It burst open the floodgates, with a flurry of feminine hoopers subsequently hitting the duvet, and catapulted our protection of Girls’s Basketball into a brand new period. A number of the dopest covers we’ve dropped since have featured the likes of Candace Parker, Sabrina Ionescu, Paige Bueckers and Angel Reese. We’ve additionally seen three rounds of WSLAM specials. Every drop factors us again to Maya Moore’s Mona Lisa smile, quietly assured, affecting change with out breaking character.
As a SLAM fanatic with a deep admiration of Moore’s journey each on and off the court docket, it was paramount that I added her cowl to my assortment in some way. It might appease the innate notion we’ve as people to in some way align ourselves with these whom we respect – like signed autobiographies, game-worn jerseys and signature footwear – this may show my allegiance to her trigger. Ultimately, I went in-house, with a member of the SLAM fam (shout out to Peter Walsh) hooking me up with a private copy. For me, this might by no means simply exist as one other backbone on a shelf. It needed to be framed and positioned in a main place. It’s to be noticed, mentioned and remembered… and when the inevitable Maya Moore life-story film is launched sometime sooner or later, I’ll proudly level to Maya on SLAM 217 and can let or not it’s identified, similar to any true SLAM-head ought to, that I’ve been down since day one.
Photographs through Getty Photos.
