About 20 years ago, a showed called Playmakers debuted on ESPN. The drama series, which depicted a professional football league similar to the NFL, gained immense popularity and critical acclaim. But the show was so revealing that it caused a bit of a rift between the NFL and the worldwide leader in sports. This ultimately led to the cancellation of the popular show after just one season. Fast-forward to the year 2022, where HBO recently rolled out a revealing drama of its own about the way in which the beloved "Showtime" Lakers of the 1980s were orchestrated.

The new series, Winning Time, primarily focuses on the lives of Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Pat Riley, Jerry West, and the mastermind behind the flashy operation, Jerry Buss. It's already being heralded as a must-watch by several American sports media personalities such as Colin Cowherd, and Max Kellerman.

Quincy Isaiah, the actor who portrays Magic Johnson in the series, is being called a breakout star in the making. Nevertheless, because the show is based on real-life events, many of the former Lakers who are depicted in the show have voiced their displeasure with the fact that their personal lives are being retold in a comedic fashion without their consent. The subject was recently brought to the attention of Quincy Isaiah when a camera operator from TMZ approached him about the pushback that Winning Time has been getting from the subjects that the story is actually based on.

“I mean, I understand where they coming from because it’s a story about their lives,” Isaiah said. “So, it’s tough. But I really feel like we did a really good job of showing humans and showing a full version of who we at least perceive them to be. There’s no malice behind it.”

When Magic Johnson was asked about the show last year, he responded to TMZ by stating, "Hmm, no. I'm not looking forward to it. I'll leave it at that."

After explaining that the show is a dramatization, Isaiah expressed his gratitude toward Johnson and said, "Magic, man, I love you dude. You literally lived an incredible life so that I could -- I'm getting into an Escalade because he lived an incredible life. I have nothing but love and respect for that man."

Last week, HBO announced Winning Time: The Rise Of The Lakers Dynasty was renewed for a second season.

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Source: TMZ