Cheer up, every Los Angeles Lakers fan, there’s something to look forward to. No, not the playoffs, but Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty, the HBO Max series about the NBA-dominating Showtime-era Lakers. On second thought, maybe being reminded of a better period in the team’s history won’t make you feel better. Ah well.
Co-created by Max Borenstein and Jim Hecht and directed by Adam McKay (Step Brothers, Anchorman, and Succession), Winning Time stars John C. Reilly as Lakers owner Jerry Buss, Solomon Hughes as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Quincy Isaiah as Magic Johnson, Sally Field as Jessie Buss, Rob Morgan as Earvin Johnson Sr, Hadley Robinson as Jeanie Buss, Jason Segel as Paul Westhead, Sean Patrick Small as Larry Bird, Michael Chiklis as Boston Celtics coach Red Auerbach, and Adrien Brody as Lakers coach Pat Riley, seen here with a fantastic mustache.
Here’s the official plot summary:
Welcome to the hottest show in town. It’s gonna be exciting. From Adam McKay, director of The Big Short and Vice, comes a story about the rise of basketball Hall Of Famer Magic Johnson (Quincy Isaiah) and the lengths one man (John C. Reilly) will go in pursuit of securing a basketball dynasty.
Winning Time premieres on March 6 on HBO Max.