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 collection 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 anyplace. Bought out on SLAM Items, not a sniff of it on eBay. It was wanting as if anybody fortunate sufficient to seize that coveted first retail run was holding onto it tight… and with good cause.
To say that Maya Moore is among the best feminine gamers ever witnessed shouldn’t be an announcement that’s thought little of. She has been a champion at each stage attainable. From Excessive Faculty to Faculty to the WNBA, even on the Olympic stage–titles had been secured. Not solely that, however the checklist of accolades that accompanied these championships and medals is sort of unimaginable. She’s an undisputed Corridor of Famer, and if you happen to’re taking her as your basketball GOAT, I’d be reluctant to argue.
There was one thing extra to Maya Moore’s recreation than {hardware}, although. Much less tangible than trophies, however with extra influence, one way or the other. A trait not really easy to explain. Whereas she was fierce on the boards and had fingers so fast that steals felt like digicam methods, her type of play and scoring capacity possessed an impressive 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 great 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 courtroom – 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 objective. Except for basketball, Moore had been combating for social justice lengthy earlier than cries for freedom had been allowed to be printed on staff uniforms. She was a voice for a struggling group throughout a time when disciplinary motion was taken in direction of gamers who refused to be silent of their political opinions. It was her particular dedication to reform within the prison justice system that noticed her forego the 2019 and 2020 WNBA seasons, and finally retire in early 2023. If current historical past has taught us something, it’s that some issues are larger than basketball.
In some methods, Maya Moore’s presence on challenge 217 was larger than SLAM. It burst open the floodgates, with a flurry of feminine hoopers subsequently hitting the quilt, and catapulted our protection of Girls’s Basketball into a brand new period. A few 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 courtroom, it was paramount that I added her cowl to my assortment one way or the other. It will appease the innate notion we’ve got as people to one way or the other align ourselves with these whom we respect – like signed autobiographies, game-worn jerseys and signature sneakers – this could exhibit my allegiance to her trigger. Finally, 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 chief 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 it’s recognized, similar to any true SLAM-head ought to, that I’ve been down since day one.
Pictures through Getty Pictures.
