by Matt Lawyue / @mlawyue

As a journalism major about to graduate, there are three for-sure-as-hell lessons I’ve learned about journalism through four years of schooling and a handful of internships:

1. You don’t become a journalist for the money. Hell, there isn’t even any money to go around.

2. Despite the absence of green, there are always perks to working for a publishing company. Translation: free stuff. And if offered to you, you always take it.

3. It’s a shifting industry. Not to get all Romenesko or Carr on you, but print isn’t necessarily dying. It’s evolving. Part of that evolution is the transition to online. It’s the reason one of my first projects as an editorial intern here at SLAM was to complete and update the cover archives for SLAMonline, the best pound-for-pound basketball web site in the game.

So, to the entire SLAM Fam, I present: a complete and updated Cover Archives.

Every Sixth Man, penned of course by the Editor-In-Chief, that has ever been published in a regular ish of SLAM is now online, accompanied by its cover, from 1 to 137.

(This doesn’t include Punks, Kicks, Streetball, or Olympics).

During my travels through SLAM history, from the shelves of skinny Barkley and adolescent KG, I’ve taken notes to share with the Fam:

— There have been five leaders, five Editor-In-Chief’s, to write The Sixth Man:

Issues 1–2, Cory Johnson

Issues 3–38, Tony Gervino

Issues 39–87, Russ Bengtson

Issues 88–105, Ryan Jones

Issues 106–Present, Ben Osborne

— The current leader of cover appearances:

By Player

14 – Kobe Bryant

12 – Allen Iverson

11 – Michael Jordan

11 – Shaquille O’Neal

10 – LeBron James

By Jersey (Team)

19 – L.A. Lakers

13 – Chicago Bulls

10 – Miami Heat

9 – Detroit Pistons

9 – Orlando Magic

— Landmark issues:

Issue 1, May 1994

5th Anniversary Issue, January 1999

50th Issue, April 2001

10th Anniversary Issue, April 2004

100th Issue, August 2006

15th Anniversary Issue, December 2009

— Cover Firsts:

College Player(s) – Issue 9, Allen Iverson with Georgetown or Charles O’Bannon with UCLA

Rookie Class – Issue 15, ’96-97

Team – Issue 25, N.J. Nets

Woman – Issue 29, Chamique Holdsclaw

High School Players – Issue 62, LeBron James with St. Vincent-St. Mary and Sebastian Telfair with Abraham Lincoln

Coach – Issue 137, John Calipari

College Team – Issue 137, University of Kentucky

— Shaq has been on the cover with three of his four younger superstars: Kobe, Wade and LeBron. Sorry, Penny.

— The Atlanta Hawks are the ONLY team to never make the cover.

If you’re looking to add to your collection, hit up SIMBackissues. Unfortunately, every issue pre-2006 is sold out. You’ll have to hunt around eBay to find the earlier ones.

Enjoy.

Knickled & Dimed List

— Issue 4. John Starks. March 1995. This was the first time a Knick appeared on the cover. I’m still waiting for the next one.

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