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is anyone else watching "Winning Time" the LA Lakers "Showtime" Series on HBO by Adam Mckay?

bumpskierbumpskier Posts: 65 ✭✭
in Sports Talk

I have watched the first three episodes on this new HBO Series and I think it is far better and more interesting than the Michael Jordan/Chicago Bulls ESPN "Last Dance" Documentary from early 2020 that everyone was watching during the beginning of COVID with no sports being played. I think the casting was excellent. Quincy Isiah plays Magic Johnson and he does a great job and looks likes and captures the speech and charisma of Magic. John C Reilly does a good job as Dr. Buss and shows his risk taking and corrupt characteristics. I love Sally Field since she was in Smokey and the Bandit and she is good as Dr. Buss mother, although at first I thought it was Ann Margaret playing that role. Since it is on HBO "Winnning Time' has some qualities of the Sopranos to me with its nudity and sex scenes and Dr. Buss has some Tony Soprano qualities with his risk taking, sleeping with any young girl he can find, deceitful and lying stories and his ability to charm people with his lies and exaggerations.

Maybe the show speaks to me since I am a child of the 1970's and I grew up in Detroit. I saw Magic Johnson first play in 1975 at St. Ceciia in Detroit which were the best amateur and pro players would play in Detroit. (similiar to Rucker park In NYC or the Drew league in LA where all the best pro and college players would play during the summer. I watched Magic's 1977 Lansing Everitt's High School team beat Brother Rice for the Michigan State basketball title on the PBS station that carried the game and knew he would have a good career at Michigan State. I was in summer school at UCLA in 1983 and we had a tour of the Lakers facilities at the Forum and I met Jerry West. On the way home from LA to fly back to Detroit, I was at LAX and Magic was there walking around aimlessly probably waiting to pick someone up. I ran over and asked to take a picture with him and talked to him for 15 -20 seconds and he was incredibly generous and charismatic and gladly took 4-6 pictures with me and my friends. I have met quite a few celebrities over the years, but few have been more friendly or nice than Magic. So I have great affection for him.

As compared to the "Last Dance" that docuseries focused mostly on Jordan and Pippen and their hatred of Jerry Krause and Jerry Reinsdorf. Michael Jordan in order to motivate himself needs to create enemies or people who he thinks disrespected him, but I thought he came off as childish and petulant. Most people have had bosses they hate and can't quit a job right away because they need the job/money or it is a great company and maybe they can switch to another division or get a new boss. "Winning Time" has about 20 to 30 interesting characters from Pat Riley to Jerry West to Kareem to Magic to Norm Nixon to Jerry Tarkanian etc. to The Last Dance's only three interesting characters in Jordan, Pippen and Krause. I didn't find Rodman interesting in the "Last Dance"

Thoughts?

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