Uploaded March 2025 | Updated September 2026, 23 hours ago

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“All those surgeries and blood transfusions, it made me question whether it was worth going through it... just kill me.”

We talked to Lavar Ball about fighting for his life during 1-month hospital stay in his first interview since the amputation of his foot.

Read the SLAM 255 cover story: slam.ly/lavar-story

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Welcome to SLAM. We've been the Basketball Bible since 1994, when we started as a hoops-loving magazine in New York City. We're now a multimedia company that has earned its way to the Naismith Basketball Memorial Hall of Fame. We're obsessed with hoops in all forms--from men's and women's in the pros, to the up-and-coming stars of high school and college, to the overseas players making waves. Basketball culture touches sneakers, fashion, music and so much more and we're there to cover it all. SLAM is for the real heads.

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