HBO and HBO Max may have easily dominated the 2022 Primetime Emmy nominations Tuesday morning with a combined 140, but one of its most-hyped series was nearly snubbed completely. Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty earned just a single nomination in one of the technical categories. The series is a dramatization of the Los Angeles Lakers during the 1980s and became controversial when Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabar called out the show for historical inaccuracies. Jerry West threatened to sue HBO for defamation over his portrayal.
Winning Time‘s only nomination came for Outstanding Cinematography For A Single-Camera Series (One Hour). The nomination cites Director of Photography Todd Banhazl’s work on the fifth episode, “Pieces of a Man.” Euphoria, Loki, Ozark, Squid Game, and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel were also nominated in the category.
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Euphoria and Succession were the two HBO/HBO Max shows to make the cut in the Outstanding Drama Series category. Better Call Saul (AMC), Ozark (Netflix), Severance (Apple TV+), Squid Game (Netflix), Stranger Things (Netflix), and Yellowjackets (Showtime) were also nominated for the top drama prize.
Winning Time was created by Max Borenstein and Jim Hecht, and is inspired by Jeff Pearlman’s book Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley, and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s. Adam McKay (The Big Short) directed the pilot, while actor Jonah Hill directed the second episode. The ensemble cast includes John C. Reilly as Jerry Buss, Quincy Isaiah as Johnson, Jason Clarke as West, Adrien Brody as Pat Riley, Solon Hughes as Abdul-Jabbar, and Rob Morgan as Johnson’s father Earvin Johnson Sr. The show was picked up for a second season in April.
While the series earned mostly positive reviews from critics, Johnson and Abdul-Jabar publicly criticized the series. In his review of the series, Abdul-Jabar wrote that he felt the series was boring and filled with “bland” characterizations of the real people involved. “Jerry Buss is Egomaniac Entrepreneur, Jerry West is Crazed Coach, Magic Johnson is Sexual Simpleton, I’m Pompous Prick,” Abdul-Jabar wrote in an April blog post. “They are caricatures, not characters. Amusement park portraits that emphasize one physical feature to amplify your appearance – but never touching the essence.”
Abdul-Jabar also said it was a “shame” how West was portrayed, noting that the former Lakers general manager has openly discussed his struggle with depression and mental health. West’s lawyers called his portrayal “baseless and malicious” against his character. The nine-time NBA Finals champion wanted HBO to retract the series within two weeks. “The series made us all [the Lakers] look like cartoon characters,” West told the Los Angeles Times. “They belittled something good. If I have to, I will take this all the way to the Supreme Court.”
HBO did not remove the series, which is still available to stream on HBO Max. “Winning Time is not a documentary and has not been presented as such,” HBO said in response to West’s comments. “However, the series and its depictions are based on extensive factual research and reliable sourcing, and HBO stands resolutely behind our talented creators and cast who have brought a dramatization of this epic chapter in basketball history to the screen.”
