HBO rolled the dice in 2022 with the release of Winning Time, a series that chronicled the Showtime Lakers and was based on Jeff Pearlman’s book. It featured actors portraying some of the biggest figures in the franchise’s history, including Quincy Isaiah as Magic Johnson, John C. Reilly as team owner Dr. Buss, and Jason Clarke as Jerry West. That last portrayal did not sit too well with Michael Cooper, one of the original members of the squad.
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The show, despite its success, rubbed a lot of people in basketball circles the wrong way, especially the Showtime Lakers themselves. The reason was simple. HBO’s team took plenty of liberties and portrayed events in ways that did not line up with reality. It was all done for dramatic effect, but it left a lot of Lakers genuinely upset.
Cooper was asked about Winning Time during a recent interview on VladTV. When pressed about the show’s accuracy, he did not hold back and openly blasted everyone involved.
“It wasn’t accurate at all,” stated Cooper. “One of the worst things. That was so sad because they could have really did something with that. That show was not accurate. It offended a lot of people.”
Cooper wasn’t not alone in this assessment. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who was portrayed by actor Solomon Hughes in the series, also called out the show while it was airing for straight-up making things up.
Cooper was particularly mad with how HBO decided to portray the symbol of the NBA, Jerry West. “Worst part of that was the way they depicted Jerry West. Jerry West was not like that at all. He wasn’t a curser. He wasn’t walking around offices acting crazy, womanizing,” stated Cooper.
Clarke’s performance drew plenty of praise for being entertaining. But anyone who actually knew West, including Cooper, dismissed it as nowhere near accurate. When VladTV mentioned that they had watched the entire series, the five-time NBA champ was quick to add that Dr. Buss wasn’t portrayed correctly either.
“I can’t watch that, because that’s not who we are and who we were. But that was the worst thing they could have done. And Dr. Buss was not an owner that walked around with his button all the way down to his belly button. That was BS.”
The good news for Cooper and the rest of the Showtime Lakers is that Winning Time did not last. HBO pulled the plug right after the second season. And even though the network made sure to label it as a “dramatization” of the era, it is safe to say that guys like Cooper, Kareem, and plenty of others were not exactly upset to see it end.
It may have been fun for some fans, but for the people who actually lived through those Showtime Lakers years, the liberties taken were a bridge too far. Now that the show is off the air, the real stories and real personalities can finally stand on their own, with no Hollywood embellishments needed.
