It’s been out there for a bit already, but we finally have a minute to celebrate the release of Dime #71.
Since the magazine hit newsstands right around that space before the basketball world really ramps up heading into the NBA season, this issue has always been our opportunity to do something a little different with our covers and content. In the past we’ve used this issue’s cover to shine a light on high school players before their ascendence to household names (Tyreke Evans and O.J. Mayo come to mind), or to take on a set theme.
This time around, we decided to take a look at basketball through the lens of this century. Specifically, who are the players and what are the trends that have most influenced basketball and its culture since the year 2000?
My Letter from the Editor for this issue sets it up:
Here are the facts: If you are reading this magazine, I am likely older than you. I don’t think that I am “old” per se – aged just 35 years – but in the grand scheme of our brand’s core demographic, I am certainly skirting the outer reaches of what research tells us about the age of Dime Magazine’s readership.
It wasn’t always this way. When we first launched this magazine (11 years ago now), we were the generation of “now” for basketball. Players like Allen Iverson embodied how the game and its culture had dramatically shifted from the world of Larry, Magic and Michael, to A.I., Baron Davis and T-Mac. We even published an early issue that featured a posturing
Iverson, complete in doo-rag and sunglasses, the only copy on the entire cover reading “Allen Iverson: The Definition of Now.” At the time, it was entirely true.Along the way, as is always the case, we were replaced. Allen and his peers, despite dramatically changing the game forever, slowly transitioned into the rearview mirror, their meaning and impact faded, ghostly memories to new generations of basketball fans brought up smack in the center of the LeBron James Era of the game. So what does this have to do with this issue?
Everything.
For the first decade of this magazine’s life, we approached the game through the lens of the “Dime Generation,” a time that began roughly 20-25 years ago and stretched to what naïve part of us felt would always be “present day.” This is no longer the case. As I am sure you are aware, the game and it’s culture are officially being piloted by a new generation of
players, personalities and trends. After much unscientific debate, we decided to take a new look at basketball in hyper-current terms, focusing on the best the game has had to offer from the year 2000 and on. Looking at players, sneakers, commercials, and more, this issue ranks the best that this century has had to offer; its creation driven by young guns
steadfastly rooted in the prime of this new breed, led by Senior Editor Sean Sweeney.We love how this issue has turned out, and now we can focus on looking forward. We can’t wait to see what comes next.
— Patrick Cassidy, Co-founder, Dime Magazine
Now that the issue’s been out there, we can start posting pieces of content – specifically some of the Top 10 Lists that dominate the issue. Look out for those on the site tomorrow morning, we can’t wait to debate those rankings with our readers.
What do you think of the cover?
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