Magic Johnson Shares Strong Thoughts on New HBO Series About Showtime Lakers

Magic Johnson has some interesting thoughts on the new HBO series about the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers legend recently spoke to TMZ Sports and was asked about the series, which is called Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty. Johnson told TMZ Sports that it’s not likely he will watch the series that will focus on the Lakers of the 1980s. 

“I’m not really looking forward to it,” Johnson said. “I’m gonna leave it at that.” TMZ Sports then asked Johnson if he was planning to watch the series. “No,” he replied. Johnson then added, “We got different shows coming out. I got one, then you got Jeanie Buss got one on Showtime coming out. Those are the ones I’m looking forward to.”

Johnson isn’t the only Lakers legend who isn’t going to watch. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar recently spoke to Matthew Belloni of Puck and expressed his concerns about the show. He said, “While I respect other artists’ rights to choose their subjects, I think the story of the Showtime Lakers is best told by those who actually lived through it because we know exactly what happened.” Deborah Morales, Abdul-Jabbar’s longtime rep, is also not a fan of the new series. 

“When the guy they cast to play Kareem got the part, he was super excited and reached out to me,” she said to Belloni “I don’t think that he realized the response that he was going to get, which was not very nice!” Morales continued: “I don’t think anybody who has accepted a part playing any of these characters will be embraced by anyone in the NBA or any of the players or any of their friends—and I certainly hope that I never bump into anyone associated with this show.”

Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty stars John C. Reilly as late Lakers owner Jerry Buss. The show also stars Quincy Isaiah, Jason Clarke, Adrien Brody, Gaby Hoffman, Tracy Letts, Jason Segel, Julianne Nicholson, Hadley Robinson, Dr. Solomon Hughes, Tamera Tomakili, Brett Cullen, Stephen Adly Guirgis, Joey Brooks, Sarah Ramos, Spencer Garrett, Molly Gordon, DeVaughn Nixon, Delante Desouza, Jimel Atkins, Austin Aaron, Jon Young with Rob Morgan and Sally Field. The show will premiere on HBO in March.