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Abstract

window after Magic Johnson’s first press conference.</p><p id="acae">We also get a glimpse of Magic’s Michigan home life and how strict his mother is.</p><blockquote id="46f6"><p>“Momma would scare Jesus off the cross. She’s a Seventh Day Adventist. She says Magic is the devil’s work, but the devil hasn’t seen anybody move like me before.” — Magic Johnson</p></blockquote><p id="9793">The Lakers had to flip a coin just to get the rights to draft Magic, and humorously no one can find a coin to flip in the dingy Manhatten NBA office. Luckily, the Chicago Bulls called tails and lost.</p><p id="8447"><b>Nixon not interested</b></p><p id="c96a">Veteran point guard Norm Nixon (DeVaughn Nixon) didn’t like the idea of the flashy, slender star from Michigan State coming in to run the show.</p><p id="6d87">In one funny scene, Nixon goes to the temperamental <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kareem_Abdul-Jabbar">Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s</a> (Dr. Solomon Hughes) movie trailer to complain. Abdul-Jabbar has headphones on, removes them, and says, “You know what I’m going to tell you right?” And Nixon responds, “F — off.” And Abdul-Jabbar puts his headphones back on.</p><p id="30be">Nixon later meets Magic Johnson at Donald Sterling’s (yes, the racist former Clipper owner) mansion where is dressed all in white — even the funkadelic basketball court is all white. Did executive producer Adam McKay do this on purpose or did racist Sterling really do this?</p><p id="b2ec">Nixon tries to coax Magic out of playing for the Lakers, practically begging him to stay in school another year. In a dramatic one-one competition, Nixon does a slick crossover that lands Magic on his butt, and makes him contemplate if he is ready for the pressure, competition, and big lights of Los Angeles.</p><p id="78fd"><b>Buss understood Magic</b></p><p id="15ad">In one scene, Buss and Jack Kent Cooke (the former Laker owner) take Magic to a fancy restaurant with extravagant seafood, and Magic asked if he can just have a hamburger, so Buss joins him and orders him one.</p><p id="56bc">I loved the connection Buss has with Magic. He knew what he would mean to the organization, and how he’d bring in fans, revolutionize the game, and eventually win multiple championships.</p><p id="0c22">Another great scene is when Buss takes Magic out for shakes and burgers and tells him how he used to be a doctor of physical chemistry, but realized he wanted to build things instead, then says, “I want to build something special with this team, Magic.”</p><p id="6e05">Magic is still on the fence about becoming a Laker when

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Buss leaves Magic to ponder his decision in the empty Laker locker room. Magic eyes Abdul-Jabbar’s goggles, then see his shiny yellow number 32 jerseys hanging in a stall. He touches it and sees his name on the back.</p><p id="cf14">Minutes later, he’s on the floor at the Forum — an odd, awkward red and yellow court for some reason — dribbling, spinning, driving to the bucket, and announcing himself scoring points for the Lakers, as Buss, his daughter Jeannie (Hadley Robinson) and eventual Forum president Claire Rothman (Gaby Hoffmann) look on with giant smiles.</p><p id="58ab">That final scene and the first episode left me with a giant smile, reminiscing about the beginning of Showtime.</p><p id="1860">And left me excited for next Sunday’s episode 2 and the introduction of Pat Riley played by Adrien Brody.</p><p id="a233"><b>Thanks for reading.</b></p><p id="6e43">Tagging my basketball peeps: <a href="undefined">Scot Butwell</a>, <a href="undefined">Deborah Camp</a>, <a href="undefined">Scott Younkin</a>, <a href="undefined">Jameson Steward</a>, <a href="undefined">Sreese</a>, <a href="undefined">Lisa's Desk Chat</a>, <a href="undefined">MarkfromBoston 🐾🍻</a>, <a href="undefined">Gerald Sturgill</a>.</p><p id="8f37">You might also enjoy:</p><div id="0fb1" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/top-10-hoop-movies-to-get-you-in-the-mood-for-march-madness-4faccb78b7d6"> <div> <div> <h2>Top 10 Hoop Movies to Get You in the Mood for March Madness</h2> <div><h3>These are must-watch before NCAA Tournament tips off</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*roJ2dBNKvLRwGVRxt81b2w.jpeg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><div id="50f1" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/uninvited-to-buddys-wedding-we-tailgated-and-wedding-crashed-ab978daf40e"> <div> <div> <h2>Uninvited to Buddy’s Wedding? We Tailgated and Wedding Crashed</h2> <div><h3>Fireball-shooting groomsmen, deep conversations, and Nurse Ratched</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*yrpHYLFvPZYAYLLZZMXjOQ.jpeg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div></article></body>

‘Winnin’ Time’ Brings Back Best of Laker Showtime Memories

John C. Reilly steals the show, an intense Jerry West, episode 1 centers on Magic

If you are a Los Angeles Laker fan or an NBA fan you’re going to love “Winning Time,” a series on HBO Max based on the 1980s Showtime Lakers.

It starts on November 5, 1991, with Magic Johnson at the hospital finding out he’s tested positive for HIV. It’s a sad scene as the usually always smiling Johnson has a somber look as do all others he encounters.

Then faster than a Magic behind-the-back pass to Kareem, a montage of 80s scenes appears, then another camera cuts to Dr. Jerry Buss (John C. Reilly) lying in bed with a naked woman draped around him, saying, “Basketball is like great sex with all the movement and rhythm … If there are two things that make me believe in God it’s sex and basketball.”

Reilly steals the show whether he is exiting the Playboy Mansion with naked women sprawled out everywhere or discussing how he plans to buy the Lakers when he doesn’t have the money.

The first episode focuses on two things: Buss’s pursuit of the Lakers and Magic Johnson (Quincy Isaiah) becoming a Laker, which wasn’t a slam dunk (pardon the pun).

Here are the three pivotal scenes about Magic’s decision:

Jerry West had doubts

We’re first introduced to the NBA logo Jerry West (Jason Clarke) at a golf outing with Buss and another executive.

It’s clear right away, West is not interested in drafting Magic. “Guards are 6-foot-1 or 6-foot-2. He’s too tall. Also, he’s a showboat.”

I knew of West’s intensity but not his temper and Clarke’s performance brings it to a whole new level, constantly dropping f-bombs, angered over losing to the Celtics in the NBA finals six times, and in a climactic scene hurling his 1969 NBA Finals MVP trophy — the only player to win in for a losing team through his office window after Magic Johnson’s first press conference.

We also get a glimpse of Magic’s Michigan home life and how strict his mother is.

“Momma would scare Jesus off the cross. She’s a Seventh Day Adventist. She says Magic is the devil’s work, but the devil hasn’t seen anybody move like me before.” — Magic Johnson

The Lakers had to flip a coin just to get the rights to draft Magic, and humorously no one can find a coin to flip in the dingy Manhatten NBA office. Luckily, the Chicago Bulls called tails and lost.

Nixon not interested

Veteran point guard Norm Nixon (DeVaughn Nixon) didn’t like the idea of the flashy, slender star from Michigan State coming in to run the show.

In one funny scene, Nixon goes to the temperamental Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s (Dr. Solomon Hughes) movie trailer to complain. Abdul-Jabbar has headphones on, removes them, and says, “You know what I’m going to tell you right?” And Nixon responds, “F — off.” And Abdul-Jabbar puts his headphones back on.

Nixon later meets Magic Johnson at Donald Sterling’s (yes, the racist former Clipper owner) mansion where is dressed all in white — even the funkadelic basketball court is all white. Did executive producer Adam McKay do this on purpose or did racist Sterling really do this?

Nixon tries to coax Magic out of playing for the Lakers, practically begging him to stay in school another year. In a dramatic one-one competition, Nixon does a slick crossover that lands Magic on his butt, and makes him contemplate if he is ready for the pressure, competition, and big lights of Los Angeles.

Buss understood Magic

In one scene, Buss and Jack Kent Cooke (the former Laker owner) take Magic to a fancy restaurant with extravagant seafood, and Magic asked if he can just have a hamburger, so Buss joins him and orders him one.

I loved the connection Buss has with Magic. He knew what he would mean to the organization, and how he’d bring in fans, revolutionize the game, and eventually win multiple championships.

Another great scene is when Buss takes Magic out for shakes and burgers and tells him how he used to be a doctor of physical chemistry, but realized he wanted to build things instead, then says, “I want to build something special with this team, Magic.”

Magic is still on the fence about becoming a Laker when Buss leaves Magic to ponder his decision in the empty Laker locker room. Magic eyes Abdul-Jabbar’s goggles, then see his shiny yellow number 32 jerseys hanging in a stall. He touches it and sees his name on the back.

Minutes later, he’s on the floor at the Forum — an odd, awkward red and yellow court for some reason — dribbling, spinning, driving to the bucket, and announcing himself scoring points for the Lakers, as Buss, his daughter Jeannie (Hadley Robinson) and eventual Forum president Claire Rothman (Gaby Hoffmann) look on with giant smiles.

That final scene and the first episode left me with a giant smile, reminiscing about the beginning of Showtime.

And left me excited for next Sunday’s episode 2 and the introduction of Pat Riley played by Adrien Brody.

Thanks for reading.

Tagging my basketball peeps: Scot Butwell, Deborah Camp, Scott Younkin, Jameson Steward, Sreese, Lisa's Desk Chat, MarkfromBoston 🐾🍻, Gerald Sturgill.