The Sports Illustrated invited ten NBA dancers to New York to be photographed and included in the 2009 Sports Illustrated issue.

The dancers in the issue are Alison Preston from the Boston Celtics, Kayla Oberg from the Phoenix Suns, DeLeah Caro form the Dallas Mavericks, Ashley Allen from the Miami Heat, Deanna Clover from the Orlando Magic, Taylor Walker from NJ Nets, Melanie Fitzpatrick from the 76ers, Chelsey Buhler from the Detroit Pistons, Shanon Lersch from the Chicago Bulls and Cheney Larschied from the Cleveland Cavaliers.