Winning Time: How HBO’s Miniseries Goes Beyond Basketball

HBO’s ten-episode miniseries, Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty, is an entertaining and nostalgic reflection upon the transformation of the Los Angeles Lakers from a nearly bankrupt, middling basketball team, to the historied and respected basketball franchise that erupted in popularity during the 80s' “Showtime” era. The show opens as eager businessman Jerry Buss (John C. Reilly) is set to initiate a new entertainment-focused mindset to the game of basketball; alongside Buss, the audience is introduced to a myriad of interesting characters, perilous relationships, and issues that highlight the toxicity of 80s culture.

Using basketball and the institutional mechanisms that elevate it to entertainment experience, Winning Time is a commentary on American society, values, and injustices that plagued the 70s and 80s, but remain relevant to this day. Adam McKay, director and executive producer of the show, highlights “the detail of these characters, the depth, the dynamics of that time, which are so different than how we live now, yet in a lot of ways, the same,” as major takeaways from the show’s explorations of professional athletes, NBA staff, and corporate executives. However, Winning Time is also fun, comedic, and refreshingly unique in its storytelling, camera techniques, and editing; it’s unlike any sports-based TV show or movie in the best way possible. Here’s how Winning Time goes beyond basketball to tell important off-the-court stories.

Systemic Racism’s Intergenerational Impact

Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty — HBO

The Lakers “Showtime” dynasty is synonymous with Magic Johnson who led the team to 5 NBA Titles throughout the 80s. Winning Time takes a microscopic focus on the former MVP’s transition from hometown college star at Michigan State to the face of Hollywood sports. Amongst other difficulties, Magic, played brilliantly by newcomer Quincy Isaiah, must overcome racism associated with the objectification of athletes, class disparity, and cultural difference.

Episode One (“The Swan”) features an interaction between Magic, his father, Earvin Johnson Sr. (Rob Morgan), Jerry Buss, and previous Lakers owner, Jack Kent Cooke. At one point during the dinner, Cooke refers to Magic as a thoroughbred, an analogy to the owner-and-“property” relationship that some beleaguered sports executives believe as fact. In the aftermath of this incident, the miniseries highlights the intergenerational impact of racism and the differences that divide one generation from the next. Where Earvin Sr. is accustomed to keeping his head down and playing cool through racist interactions, Magic is bolder and unwilling to acquiesce to the injustice they both face. In a character-defining scene, Earvin Sr. says, “Do you know how many times I went left when I should have gone right? Smiled when there was nothing funny, took less than I deserved, but bowed my head and said thank you sir?” — and, still, Magic is unable to relate to his father’s experience with the subtleties and constant weight of racism. But as the show will further explore, it takes discomfort and people like Magic, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Dr. Jerry Buss to push the boundaries of society and create even bigger change for future generations.

Women in Entertainment

Winning Time’s portrayal of women is referential to the 80s: crude, unabashed, and sometimes hard to watch. In the opening sequence alone, as the audience is introduced to Dr. Buss, we see him in the aftermath of a massive orgy with far-too-young women at the infamous Playboy Mansion — though these theatrics are common throughout stories of Hollywood and the entertainment industry. More revealing, as outlined by an article in Men's Health, is the workplace dynamics of former Lakers General Manager and revolutionary for women in sports, Claire Rothman (Gabby Hoffman).

Under Jack Kent Cooke, Claire is objectified and used as eye-candy for executive meetings and tough negotiations. However, she has different plans for her career and role in The Lakers organization; instead, opting to work for Dr. Buss, she forces her way into bolstering The Forum’s entertainment booking and revenue streams to dig the team out of bankruptcy. Alongside Claire is eager-to-learn intern and “owners’ daughter,” Jeanie Buss (Hadley Robinson). Her character serves as an image of hope and triumph for women in sports, as Jeanie Buss is the current owner and president of the Lakers since her father passed away in 2013.

Pressure and its Effects on Mental Health

Pressure is a well-known phenomenon in sports but is usually discussed in derogatory commentary about players or coaches’ inability to perform in high-stress situations. Winning Time flips the narrative on pressure and reveals its consequences on highly revered players like Jerry West (Jason Clarke). West was a phenomenal player, the NBA even adopting his silhouette as its official logo to date; however, throughout the show, we see he is constantly haunted by his shortcomings in the NBA Finals as a player and this effects his ability to coach, to be a husband, and to maintain relationships with Lakers players, staff, and management.

Rodney Barnes, Writer and Producer of Winning Time, says of his show, “we got an opportunity to really get into the nuance of the human part of being a professional athlete,” and no storyline is more indicative of that struggle than Jerry West’s. His battle with the pressures of coaching, his inability to affect the game beyond screaming from the sidelines, and his pessimism that somehow, someway things would go wrong, are byproducts of the critical eyes of sports fans and media. Because of this pressure, West resigned as head coach just before the 1979 season, making way for another former-player plagued by mental health issues, Pat Riley (Adrien Brody).

Riley’s introduction in episode three (“The Best Is Yet to Come”) sees him desperately searching for purpose after retiring from the NBA. His relationship with pressure is rooted in the memory of his father’s struggle to cope with his failed baseball career (it’s all coming full circle). Riley hopes his mediocre NBA career is not the end of his capabilities in the basketball world, he also refuses to “become his old man,” and wallow in the shortcomings of his past. Where Jerry West fails to overcome certain pressures, Pat Riley faces them head on and chooses the route he envisions for himself. Winning Time is full of these juxtapositions and there’s sure to be plenty interesting discussions of crucial issues as the season moves forward.