It took a minute – ten months, actually – but New York put a Knicks player on the cover of SLAM just four issues into the magazine’s history. John Starks appeared in May 1994 and graced the cover of ish No. 4 almost a year later, in March 1995.
Starks was the first player to get a real cover photo session after the first three issues, which all featured in-game photos of Larry Johnson, Shawn Kemp and Shaquille O’Neal. Respect.
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In addition to gracing the cover, Starsky received his own multi-page feature and a mention on the editorial page discussing the cover (side story: Starks beat Chris Webber and Penny Hardaway to win the title in an internal SLAM drawing). There is also another unique article at the back of the print magazine analyzing his signature snapshot.
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Editor-in-chief Tony Gervino was the man assigned to write ish No. 4’s cover story on the Knicks guard, headlined “Starks’ Reality.”
Gervino talks about Stark’s disappointing performance in Game 7 of the 1994 NBA Finals, when he infamously made just 2 of 18 shots in the deciding game against the Houston Rockets. Someone had to take advantage of Mike’s detour, and unfortunately for all of us Knicks fans, it was a team from the other conference. Damn.
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Gervino referred to Stars as “The Man” entering the G7, which made sense considering Starsky had performed masterfully in all finals, scoring 11+ points in all six games prior to that and 19+ points in the five games prior to the decisive seventh game.
“Starks was ‘The Man’ going into the final game in Houston, there’s no doubt about that. Say what you will about Pat Ewing and Derek Harper, but when the Knickerbockers were in the finals and needed a big hit, they went with Starks. They looked for Starks. They went with Starks. And most of the time, he’s proven himself.
“In Game 6, Starks was nothing short of a revelation, scoring 27 points and making four of five 3-pointers in the fourth quarter as his team battled back. Perhaps tellingly, he missed his final shot of the night over the outstretched arms of Hakeem Olajuwon.” – Tony Gervino.
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The article presents this game as a key moment in Starks’ career, as he was at the peak of his talent and had just completed his first All-Star season at the age of 28.
Starks played in the L for the next eight seasons, representing the Warriors (the franchise he originally played for from 1988 to 1989), the Jazz, and the New York Knicks, with whom he won the Sixth Man of the Year award in 1997.
“I’ve never felt so empty after a game as I did after game seven,” Starks said. “I stayed up late for a while and couldn’t sleep much. I had to deal with it.”
“I know I’m a much better player on the pitch than I showed tonight. I’m ready to show it.”
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In the final pages of ish #4, JS4 himself left a few lines analyzing his shooting technique for the SLAM family that reads the magazine and tries to learn from the greatest out there.
“I’ve always loved shooting threes. When I was at Oklahoma State, the three-point line was about 19 feet long. That was really short. I shot a really good percentage, almost 50 percent. But back then, for some reason, it seemed a lot harder. In Tulsa, they shoot a lot of jump shots on the playgrounds. I remember watching those Lamar Mundane commercials where he would rain jump shots from the sky. I loved bombing just like that.
“It’s important to the way I shoot that people are running towards me rather than being completely free. When I’m completely free, I wait for someone to run towards me. I’m a better shooter when I just catch and shoot. When you have too much time, you think too much. It has to happen automatically.
“As I come down the court, I remember to plant my feet (photo 1) and be in the ready position to receive the ball (photo 2). When you receive the ball (photo 3) and are in shooting position, bend your knees (photos 4-5) and keep your eyes on the basket. Remember: you have to plant yourself low (photo 5) to get the lift. Focus your eyes on the basket. Lift the ball high (photo 6). Bring the ball over your head and use your arms to form a window looking at the basket (photo 7). With your feet planted, jump and release the ball (photos 8-11) at the top of the jump. By the time you touch the ground, the ball should already have gone through the basket (photo 12). The most important thing is to follow through. “And you know when you’re missing a shot because if those things aren’t right – like if my elbow isn’t bent or I’ve got the ball too far over my head – then the shot is off.” – John Starks.
Antonio Losada aka Subscribe is a P&T employee, Curtsy Fanatic and SLAM collector who owns all print magazines from #1 to current. All information, quoted words and scans are from Antonio’s own collection. Kudos to SLAM and their dedicated digital archive and website for additional references used in this and/or other stories published at P&T.
