The Fate of HBO’s Winning Time Revealed

Based on the book Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s by Jeff Pearlman, the first season of the show will barely scratch the surface of the Lakers in the ’80s. Their first NBA Finals berth of the era doesn’t happen until the ’83-’84 season, so there’s plenty of purple-and-gold drama ahead.

The series, from executive producer Adam McKay (Don’t Look Up, The Big Short) has its detractors—including two of the biggest names being depicted on the show.

“First of all, you can’t do a story about the Lakers without the Lakers,” Magic Johnson told Variety in an April 5 interview. “The real Lakers. You gotta have the guys.”  

Johnson, the crown jewel of the ’80s Lakers, said he refuses to watch the show because nobody from the squad itself was asked to participate.