Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty

"Winning Time" Isn’t Just Deliberately Dishonest, It’s Drearily Dull

by Kareem

 

Agree with him or not, you can be almost 100% certain this was actually written by Kareem, and not the PR-type people who write the apology statements, etc., released by athletes, or by someone on an "as told to" basis.

 

He’s the GOAT

 

Kareem's article is really, really well-written. I'm glad he wrote it.

As much as I enjoy the "dessert" that is Winning Time, the maddening part is just how loose they are with the facts vs. being that technically correct on the visuals (courts, players, uniforms, crowds).

 

I don't think he has any legal grounds, but maybe HBO will do something with the disclaimer to appease him.


Jerry West demands retraction of his 'cruel' portrayal in 'Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty'

 

It’s the difference in the kind of people responsible for those tasks.

McKay is who he is. He trades in parody and he’s full of himself even for Hollywood standards.

 

The whole fictionalizing of reality for the movies is an interesting question. In Rudy, if the script doesn't turn Dan Devine into a villain (which he apparently agreed to and then regretted) the movie never gets made. With Hoosiers, except for the "small school winning it all on a big last shot" thing, that movie is mostly fiction (the coach wasn't new, etc.) But these are some of the most beloved sports movies ever.

 

I hope West does get his retraction. What I don't understand with McKay doing this with the Jerry West character is that I don't think West dropping f-bombs, screwing a woman he met in a hotel bar in 1973 or throwing a trophy through an office window advances the story at all. That's what puzzles me.

Do things for shock value if they advance the plot.

That being said, Winning Time is the highlight on my Sunday night. Especially without the Laz-E-Boy... or the woman who was part of it for years and years.

 

The "reality universe" version, "They Call Me Magic," has dropped on Apple+ TV. This one does purport to be an
actual documentary, but of course acknowledges it is fully authorized by Magic himself, so brutal impartiality is not what it's about.

Covers a lot of the same ground, with a lot of interviews with Cookie Johnson replacing some of the down and dirty sex stuff in the HBO show. The most extensive on camera comments I've ever seen from his mother.

And Jerry West comes off as a wise and level headed senior presence. No drunken trophy throwing on screen.

One thing I did notice: neither the HBO or the Apple shows mention -- AT ALL -- the knee injury which knocked Magic out for most of his second season and allowed Larry Bird and the Celtics to storm into the championship ring. In both shows, it's kind of implied that the Lakers walked straight off the title podium and overnight Paul Westhead decided to go to a grind it out offense.

 

Hoosiers is different because it was not presented even as a dramatization of the true Milan story.

 

Winning Time is in the middle of January 1980 -- why would it bring up an injury that doesn't happen for another 11 months?

 

This is Bill Plaschke's take on the wrong-headed characterization of West.

Plaschke: HBO’s ‘Winning Time’ gets some things about Showtime era right — but not Jerry West

I was a big fan of West during his playing days, and my one experience of him as a Lakers executive made me even more of one. So, I agree with Abdul-Jabbar's and Plaschke's opinions of the former Laker great's portrayal.

My later, professional interaction with West went like this:

I was a young reporter, in my first job, as an intern at a small So Cal community newspaper. There was a pretty good Division III college basketball player in the area who was invited to try out for the Lakers as a free agent. The guy was a good shooter and a hard worker who was just being given a big chance, and I was to do a feature on him and his experience.

Mindful of my sports hero, who had been the one to invite the local player to try out, I put in a phone call to West at the Lakers' offices one morning to talk about him. Disappointingly, I didn't reach West at the time, instead getting his secretary, who asked if she could take a message. Conscious of the small-time paper I was calling from and my own newness in the job, and maybe a little intimidated and obviously afraid of being big-timed, I blurted out doubtfully, "Well, would he call me back?"

The secretary assured me, "Oh, yes, absolutely. He returns every phone call he gets."

I still doubted that, but went ahead and left my information, and said that if he could call back as soon as possible, I'd appreciate it, as I worked at an afternoon paper with a noon deadline for copy.

I continued with my reporting and writing of the story, not counting on anything from West. But, a half-hour later, true to the secretary's words, my desk phone rang, and I was thrilled to recognize West's nasal-twanged voice on the other end.

He ended up spending a good 45 minutes on the phone with me, only furthering his legend, as far as this cub reporter was concerned.