Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson are preferring not to watch the HBO Original drama series “Winning Time” which is based on their “Showtime Lakers”.
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The much talked about HBO’s “Winning Time” is based on Jeff Pearlman’s book. The 10-episode first season stars John C. Reilly as former Lakers owner Dr. Jerry Buss, with newcomer Quincy Isaiah playing Earvin “Magic” Johnson and former Harlem Globetrotter Solomon Hughes portraying Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Johnson recently explained to TMZ Sports that he was “not looking forward” to the premiere of the HBO drama series and is instead focusing on his own upcoming four-part Apple TV+ docuseries, “They Call Me Magic.”
Johnson said, “I’m not gonna watch. Now, if the Lakers or myself or some Lakers have something to do with it, then I would, but it’s just, you can’t copy that, it’s just too much.”
His teammate Abdul-Jabbar though did set out to watch it but couldn’t even complete the very first episode.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar disgusted by Winning Time just after watching half of the first episode
Kareem, the 5x NBA champ with Magic and the Lakers believes those who actually lived through it can actually best tell the story of the Showtime Lakers. But he still ended up giving the series a shot, and successfully wasted his precious time.
“Winning Time” creator Adam McKay assured, “We’re coming at this with good intentions, but these guys don’t know that. They’re used to a certain degree of media that’s always going after them, and if I could talk to them, I’d say, ‘No, no, don’t worry, we’re going to paint the whole picture,’ but I get it, they don’t know me or [showrunner] Max Borenstein, and it’s their right to really not like it.”
With the Showtime Lakers’ biggest stars publicly avoiding and critiquing the series, there are pretty low chances of it becoming a success. Meanwhile, both Kareem and Magic are participating in a “Lakers-sanctioned” Hulu docuseries that is going to release in late 2022.
