MVP Magazine Issue 1 Out October 4th

Who else would be on the cover of Issue 1 of MVP!?

Some of you may have seen or heard the murmurs of a brand new basketball magazine for us UK hoop fans. That magazine, MVP, will see it’s official UK launch next Monday October 4th, to coincide with the NBA Europe Live game at the O2.

What does the new magazine have in store? Editor Greg Tanner gave Hoopsfix the lowdown:

“Print-wise we’re coming with in-depth features about everything – BBL, Team GB, NBA, streetball. We talk to the players and people who really matter…and get insights into stories you simply won’t find anywhere else. In issue one, for example, we’ve got a piece on Devon Van Oostrum. Everyone is talking about this kid – but have you ever heard a quote from him? Well, we’ve interviewed him about his whole rise to the top. We’ve also got an in-depth interview with Yorick Williams. This is a guy with a serious reputation, but is still something of an enigma. Mark gets inside his mind. And if you like freebies – we’ve got a double-sided pull out poster (Pops on one side, Andre Iguodala on the other), and a competition to win the Midnight Madness DVD.”

Jake Green, the creative head behind the mag also chimed in:

“I’m really hyped about MVP, we’re gonna take it to a whole new level… The mag is thicker, better quality and with some really exciting stories, all of which are exclusive to MVP.”

To run alongside the magazine, the team behind MVP also have a website that is regularly updated with exclusive content. Greg breaks it down:

“In terms of the website (MVP247.com) we are literally knocking out exclusive stories and videos on a daily basis. In the last month we’ve had video interviews with the head of FIBA, Lamar Odom, Rajon Rondo and loads of others. Today we have an exclusive text interview with Pops about how things are going with the Hornets. We’re currently giving away tickets to the Lakers v T-Wolves games next week. Whilst the print mag gives us time to be more featurey and considered, MVP247.com gives us the chance to break the news as it happens – and keep British basketball fans up to date with all the latest news.”

And what happened to Fadeaway magazine?

“FadeAway was a great product – and got amazing feedback – but we had some behind-the-scenes personnel issues. As a result, myself, Jake Green (the creative director) and Harry Adams (the designer) had to move away and start a new mag. Meanwhile, I had to leave Basketball 24/7 for similar reasons. But what it has allowed us to do is create a fresh print and online entity, with all the talents of FadeAway and then some – Mark Woods has come on board as assistant editor. I’m very excited about it all.”

MVP will be available at around 40 WHSmith stores up and down the UK with a retail price of £3.50 (expect the full list of store locations on their website asap) and with a feature article on Ryan Richards from yours truly make sure you get yours! You can also order/pre-order/subscribe to MVP at SwishBasketball.net.

Make sure you Like MVP Magazine on Facebook, follow them on Twitter and subscribe on Youtube! As a teaser for the first issue, check out this behind the scenes footage of their sneaker photoshoot-