NBA All-Star Weekend is over and about four weeks away from March Madness starting. So, with this relative lull in between major basketball events, it’s not surprising that HBO has decided to debut its ambitious new basketball series right in between. And while still embargoed from sharing thoughts on the program, we can guarantee you that “Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty” is going to create a tremendous amount of buzz not only with Laker fans but for anyone who follows NBA (and perhaps the league offices as well).
READ MORE: “Winning Time” Trailer: New HBO Max series focuses on the Lakers legacy
Based on Jeff Pearlman‘s non-fiction novel, “Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley, and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s,” “Winning Time” follows a number of historical figures connected to the Lakers beginning in 1979 when Dr. Jerry Buss (John C. Reilly) bought the Lakers from its previous owner, Jack Kent Cooke. That also conveniently liked up with the Lakers landing the no. 1 pick in the 1979 NBA draft where they picked Earvin “Magic” Johnson (Quincy Isaiah), who would go on to lead the team to five NBA championships and become a seminal figure in American history.
When Buss took charge the was being coached by one of its greatest players, Jerry West (Jason Clarke), and, at that time, was led by five-time league MVP, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Solomon Hughes). Despite a winning record, however, the Lakers were not selling out their home arena, The Forum. That’s where Buss’ grand ideas and the skill of Claire Rothman (Gabby Hoffman), eventual General Manager of the facility, implemented changes that would make the Lakers the “Showtime” envy of the league and propel it to global prominence (for a time, at least).
During a virtual press conference last week, Reilly, Hoffman, Hughes, Clarke, and Isaiah were joined by co-star Adam Brody (portraying eventual Lakers championship coach Pat Riley) as well as series co-creator Max Borenstein and executive producers Rodney Barnes and Adam McKay. The latter directed the pilot episode and spoke about what appealed to him about the project.
“I think with Magic what was so amazing about him was that he was this blend of joy and skill and winning that up until that point, you had the Red Auerbach era of the NBA in the 60s. And there was this idea, that kind of Bobby Knight, sort of three passes before you shoot was the answer,” McKay says “And what’s so amazing about Magic, we know the smile, we know the incredible creativity, but he was a winner. And I think that’s what’s so exciting about this story was you really saw this style that previously people would have rolled their eyes at become the dominant style of the NBA. And I think it’s one of the reasons that Max, Rodney, myself, Jim Hecht were drawn to Jeff Pearlman’s story is because it was this integration of a lot of different cultures into this amazing thing that became the NBA.”
Capturing the genuine intensity and skill of NBA or even college players is difficult in any narrative medium, but it was even tougher when you are telling the story of figures whose unique basketball skills and flair are engrained in the minds of people all over the globe. Imagine trying to find someone to play Michael Jordan or LeBron James in a TV series. You can easily argue casting Magic and Kareem would be just as difficult.
“Someone who might be able to play, look right for the part, but both those guys are such iconic personalities and figures,” Borenstein says. “Kareem is such a mountain like Solomon is saying, an intellectual and Magic has got movie-star charisma, and there aren’t that many movie stars with movie star charisma. Finding someone who could fit the bill as Magic Johnson and exude that energy was not easy.”
McKay Adds, “It was the single hardest casting challenge I’ve ever encountered, and our casting director, Francine Maisler, would tell you the same thing. It was crazy, and to this day, I can’t believe Quincy and Dr. Hughes came our way. I mean it’s unbelievable. These guys can play ball, and they’re really talented actors, and they’re thoughtful, and they were collaborators. I’ve never experienced anything like it in all the years I’ve been doing it, and that goes for this whole cast. The whole cast is so unique. I mean DeVaughn [Nixon] is incredible. Tamera [Tomakili], amazing. Across the board, it was so cool to see how this cast just fell in line because the story of the Showtime Lakers involves so many different people and so many different points of view and backgrounds. I mean that’s why we were drawn to it.”
“Of course! I’m playing an icon,” Isaiah says. “Me? My first love was basketball. That’s what I wanted to be, so for me to portray one of the greatest basketball players in the history of the game is incredible.”
Quincy says his first love was basketball and to be able to play one of the greatest of all time was “incredible.”
“For me, like, one of the biggest things it’s a basketball show,” Isaiah says. “So, just trying to make sure that any basketball is on point and making sure that that’s something I can lean back on and be like, ‘I did solid in this way. If nothing else, I looked like him on the court.’ And, again, Magic is Magic, and Kareem, I’m guessing you going to speak to [Solomon] but they’re icons for a reason. It’s hard to emulate that but we can get a little taste, a little essence of who they are on the court. I feel like that goes a long way.”
Hughes notes, “I totally agree. There was the acting component, and then there was the physical component of trying to become a silhouette of these mountains of men. And so I think the advantage I felt like we had in this age of information is YouTube. There’s lots of game footage, etc. So, just watching just how they move on the court, etc. Obviously, that was a big part of this but there was also the freedom of knowing no one can shoot a sky hook like Kareem. So, I’m going to give it my best shot and just leave it there.”
Brody may have grown up in New York City but he admits he’s probably been to more Lakers games in his life than any other team. And while he didn’t speak to Riley before playing him, he says the current Miami Heat president knows he’s a big fan.
“Pat Riley, he has such a complex, wonderful life,” Brody says. “And so much of that I think we all feel that we know who Pat is because he’s left such an indelible place in our hearts and minds. And he’s such a leader, not only in this sport but of men, and he carries so much authority with that. He’s written several books, and Jeff Pearlman’s book is a wonderful resource, as well, for all sorts of details and the relationships of the characters within this story. And that’s all been very helpful. And there’s been a lot of ammunition for me, and I have tremendous admiration for him. So, you know, hope to do him some justice.”
While there haven’t been any public statements, word has leaked that both the Lakers and the NBA are not thrilled with what they have heard about the show so far. We asked Bornstein if he was concerned about, well, their concern.
“Well, I mean I think I speak for all of us,” Borenstein says. “We made this show as fans with a tremendous amount of respect and love for all of these characters, for the NBA, for the Lakers, and I think it hopefully shows on screen. So, I can only imagine how strange it must be to have a movie made about your life or a show made about any aspect of your life, so I would never presume what people will or won’t do but I know it’d be weird for me but on our end, this was made as fans with great love and appreciation.”
“A deep sense of appreciation,” Barnes says.
One portrayal that it will be hard for the surviving Buss family to find fault with is that of Reilly as their esteemed patriarch. Buss was known for his playboy lifestyle, many would say it was part of his charm, but the general thrust of the series is his dream of turning the Lakers into a must-see show in Los Angeles. Oh, and coming for Red Auerbach (Michael Chiklis) and the Boston Celtics’ league-leading (again, at the time) 13 NBA championships.
“In terms of the hedonistic stuff that we get into with Jerry is really, to me, just a feature of the time, you know. The late ‘70s, that was the scene among a man of his age, for the most part, certainly in Los Angeles,” Reilly says. “To accurately portray a guy who liked to date, let’s say. He was a confirmed bachelor. After he got divorced he dated a lot, so we definitely wanted to be truthful about that part of it, but I think you’ll agree when you see the whole series that that’s just one small facet of Jerry’s life. The truth is it’s one of the greatest American stories I’ve ever come across. What he did, where he came from in Wyoming, and where he ended up here in Los Angeles can only happen in this country. I’ll just I’ll leave it at that.”
“Winning Time” debuts on HBO and HBO Max on March 6.