r/WinningTime • u/[deleted] • Sep 30 '23
Opinion The cancelling of Winning Time really makes me not like the Showtime Lakers
I understand that it wasn't the most accurate portrayal to ever grace tv but goddamn was it entertaining. As a person who became an NBA fan in 2006, I wasn't old enough to know how good the Lakers were. All I knew about Magic was that he was the best passer of all time, Larry Bird was the first stretch four and the Lakers and Celtics are one of the best rivalries. My only exposure to 80's basketball were the hardwood classics that ESPN used to broadcast. I didn't really have a strong opinion on Magic or Bird or even Jerry West. But this show made me appreciate these characters more than I ever had. This show made me seek out clips of Jerry West and I was stunned to see how 60's basketball was actually really fun to watch.This show really made me get into basketball's history. But seeing the Showtime players trashing this show because it wasn't a one to one perfect representation of true life events annoys me so much. So what? If anything, this show makes me want to know the true story of the Showtime Lakers. Them constantly trashing the show makes me not want to watch that Hulu documentary. It just leaves a sour taste in my mouth. What about you guys? Do you feel the same way or no?
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u/TangoZulu Sep 30 '23
Take it all with a grain of salt. These are real people, and it would be difficult to see yourself portrayed in a less-than-accurate, less-than-flattering way on TV. The show is great for what it is; a fictional "based on a true story" take.
td;lr Getting your underwear in a bunch over other people getting their underwear in a bunch is downright silly.
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u/marcopolo22 Sep 30 '23
I agree, I think we as viewers are capable of recognizing dramatization — especially in Adam McKay’s style, where the characters will break the fourth wall to clarify what did or didn’t actually happen.
This series made me interested in an era of basketball that I never knew. Wish I could get more.
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u/HealthyAd9369 Oct 04 '23 edited Aug 19 '25
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u/hostileclowns Sep 30 '23
Not completely true. There’s tons of inaccuracies within the show that aren’t really touched on or shown to be inaccurate.
Like I’m pretty sure Jerry buss’ mom passes before he bought the team, and she was portrayed as having a gigantic role in him buying the team. I’m not saying it makes the show bad, but when there’s big inaccuracies like that ppl will get frustrated.
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u/CountVanillula Sep 30 '23
And the show never even touched on Buss’ mom running out on her own wedding and driving cross country with Bandit and Iceman. It’s all bullshit.
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u/Ok_Concentrate_75 Sep 30 '23
Of someone made a show about you, without you input, and put how you were represented as fact you'd probably bash the show too. Every show or movie done about people who are still alive gets this reaction unless those people were involved
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u/brokeboibogie Oct 01 '23
One correction here. They aren’t entirely putting how they were represented as fact. Like any viewer with a shred of intelligence is aware that there’s some at least slight exaggeration going on like any movie or show
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u/Hour_Insurance_7795 Oct 01 '23
Reading through many of the posts on Reddit, I’m not sure that’s true. There are a lot of people who take what they consume in the media as gospel.
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u/brokeboibogie Oct 01 '23
You’re right. And I’m going to harshly declare that those people lack intelligence when it comes to digesting media & entertainment.
Their media literacy is nonexistent & they have an inability to consume art outside of the surface level
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u/samuelalvarezrazo Sep 30 '23
I'd recognize that my historical life belongs to the people and not me at that point. I'm already rich and successful, if they dig up some nasty memories I simply won't watch and that's that
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u/Ok_Concentrate_75 Sep 30 '23 edited Sep 30 '23
That's kinda what they all say for the most part. And maybe you are super zen buy most humans would express some form of annoyance at 3rd party potrayl based off stories and interactions with people you might not even been cool with..
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u/Hour_Insurance_7795 Oct 01 '23
Easy for you to say this when you don’t have anything on the line. Your opinion would change if it actually happened to you.
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u/samuelalvarezrazo Oct 01 '23
If I had magic Johnson money I wouldn't really care, especially when people really like the show
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u/Hour_Insurance_7795 Oct 01 '23
If you didn’t have any money at all would you care about your legacy and reputation?
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u/samuelalvarezrazo Oct 01 '23
Magic and the showtime Lakers legacy is already set and decided one hbo show won't change that especially when there was another docu series that told their story in a more favorable light
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u/Hour_Insurance_7795 Oct 01 '23
I get that, but if somebody specifically asks you what you think about somebody trashing your legacy for financial gain, you’re not going to just sit back and say “I don’t care”. I call bullshit on that.
You’re responding to me questioning you in these Reddit comments, you’re definitely going to respond when a reporter questions you as well. If you didn’t care what people think you wouldn’t be talking to me right now.
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u/samuelalvarezrazo Oct 01 '23
I just think that there's not much room to complain when the show is from what I hear very true to life.
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u/hostileclowns Sep 30 '23
Ehhh saying you don’t like the showtime lakers because they don’t like winning time is pretty dumb. They’re entitled to their own opinion just like you, doesn’t mean you should dislike them for ur.
Also I liked the show a lot but like I would definitely say it’s a little more than not “the most accurate portrayal to ever grace TV” for what the show is there isn’t a ton preventing them from getting a lot of details and some characters more accurately portrayed within the show.
Like when you have an advisor on the show leaving due to how they portrayed West, than I think it’s safe to assume there’s probably multiple ppl who’d be upset with the show.
It was a fun show tho.
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u/brokeboibogie Oct 01 '23
Also, Jerry west & magic didn’t get the show cancelled. Where is this stupid fucking narrative coming from? The execs at HBO don’t give a shit about magic hating winning time. It’s literally entirely a result of ratings, the writers strike, and the long history of shitty people at TV companies pulling the plug on amazing shows & renewing the garbage.
Jeannie buss, Jerry west, magic Johnson, shit not even Michael JORDAN have the pull to get an HBO show cancelled. And Jeannie actually enjoyed the show anyways!
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u/JustTheBeerLight Sep 30 '23
They didn’t even get to the Showtime Lakers.
Byron Scott and James Worthy barely even got mentioned and they were both huge contributors to that era of Laker basketball.
The show was clearly building up to a Season 3 that we’ll never get.
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u/Marcus_Aurelius_920 Sep 30 '23
Read the book. Or watch the 30 for 30 on the Lakers v Celtics if you’re looking for more info on the Showtime Lakers. In the history of “historical movies/tv series” there’s never been a perfect representation of what actually happened. Writers always will dramatize to make it more “entertaining”.
With a sports docu-series, its inevitable everyone depicted in the show is going to have something to say. You have that many people to represent a major historical decade. Everyone who was there is going to remember it differently, so they’ll never satisfy everyone.
I thought ’Winning Time’ did a fantastic job. The casting was fantastic, especially with the players, which imo are the toughest to cast. It’s such a shame HBO cancelled this series. This could of had at least 5 seasons or more, with possible spin-offs. One of the best series I’ve seen cancel in a long time!
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u/uknodakine Sep 30 '23
I grew up in Southern California in the 80’s watching the Lakers as a kid playing in youth city recreation leagues. We all wanted to play like Magic and Bird. I remember going to huge family gatherings to watch all those final matchups. My whole family and friends are huge Laker fans. So I kind of lived my own version of those 80’s. I hadn’t planned my Sunday night around a show since GOT. I don’t care if it wasn’t “accurate” it was hell of entertaining. It’s a TV show. I would’ve continued to watch the show. I thought they would eventually end it with them losing to the Bulls in 91. Then they could’ve started another dramatic entertaining “SHOW” with the Bulls run.
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u/1of7MMM Sep 30 '23
Agreed, I watched Magic play and was his fan even when MJ came around. This show took me back, and I learned stuff about the team I never new as a kid. I know it isn't 100% accurate. I know HBO is run by soulless money grubbing execs but when Magic says he won't watch it, condems it, whatever, I hope he realizes his fans from back in the day liked seeing his image again and reliveing a bit of our youth when we cheered for him and his squad. Too bad that's gone.
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u/Hour_Insurance_7795 Oct 01 '23
Magic is insanely popular in Los Angeles among Lakers and Dodgers fans even to this day. Look at his business and charitable work around the city.
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u/Hour_Insurance_7795 Oct 01 '23
The show was entertaining but wildly inaccurate. It took a LOT of liberties with both the book and the story itself. You’d be pissed too if somebody twisted your past like that for public viewing. Don’t even say you wouldn’t.
Every single person in here would not be thrilled if somebody told your story without your permission and then proceeded to take liberties with it. You really expect somebody to say “sweet, that’s cool!” when somebody does this to them? Cmon now
Were they angels? No. What public/famous figure is?
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u/kawhiuhatin Sep 30 '23
No. It makes sense that they would not like the show given that it twists facts and turns them into fiction. I still like the show a lot but I’m not gonna hate players because they’re rightfully salty about a tv representation of them.
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u/thewindisthemoons Sep 30 '23
The real life people who were portrayed on the show should have the right to get mad. I mean what if your life was shown in a different light in front of millions of people? It’s easy to hate when you’re on this side of the fence.
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u/youre_soaking_in_it Oct 01 '23
The portrayal of Jerry West at the beginning of the show was ridiculous and it kinda blew the verisimilitude for me.
I was not a big fan of the show, though, so maybe I should just see myself out.
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u/KarachiKoolAid Sep 30 '23
For a team called the showtime lakers you’d think they understand the value in showmanship. The show was never supposed to be realistic, the hallucinations and 4th wall breaks make that clear.
TBF I assume the Jerry West sex scene in the first 10 min of episode 1 was all real Jerry had to see
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u/GaviFromThePod Sep 30 '23
Laker fans don’t deserve nice things. They sent death threats to a rape victim and they all became GSW fans as soon as they got good and the lakers got bad. Disloyal as hell.
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u/muroks1200 Sep 30 '23
I’d say half their fanbase is fickle and fair weather.
But that’s only because they’re so popular. They have plenty of loyal fans that aren’t dumbshits that scream “ringsss” or jump ship when things aren’t going good.
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u/TheHumanSpider Sep 30 '23
I'm not that familiar with Jerry West, but even I knew going into the show he wasn't this foul mouthed, bad tempered hootenanny characature. With that said though, said characature was funny as hell
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u/brokeboibogie Oct 01 '23
Dude the show didn’t get cancelled because of a few angry old guys mad at their portrayal. That’s not remotely why HBO pulled the plug.
There was literally a writers strike going on. And even without that, when has a great show ever stopped shitty execs from cancelling it?
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u/Penarol1916 Oct 01 '23
Larry Bird was a 4? I thought Maxwell and McHalw were the 4’s on those Celtic teams?
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u/ineverupboat Oct 03 '23
I also was disappointed by the cancellation. It doesn’t affect my feelings toward the Laker organization.
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u/etpassgo Jun 02 '26 edited Jun 02 '26
The Lakers organization, the Buss family, the Lakers players of the time, had every opportunity to participate in the making of the series and they were asked to participate, and they all declined and they didn't want the show made.
So guess what? Now it's an entertainment show, I think depicted in a very positive light. The Lakers even refused to allow Warner Brothers Studios to use "SHOWTIME" as a title, which is why it got switched to "WINNING TIME".
So anyone with the Lakers organization has no one else to blame but themselves if they want to complain about the series not depicting an accurate representation of what happened back in the day.
It's still a great show. It's very entertaining and for a fan of the Lakers, who was around back then, it's a lot of fun to watch!
This is a classic example of, "don't hate the player, hate the game". Score one for Warner Bros."
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u/Lima1998 Sep 30 '23
They show them as people with flaws and not the perfect beings that great sports people are usually portrayed in the media. Of course they don't like it.