Magic Johnson is not surprised the unauthorized television series on the 1980s Los Angeles Lakers dynasty was canceled since he and other franchise alums never supported it.
The season two finale of HBO’s Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty was the last fans will get. Its end was no shocker to one Laker great who believes the show was based more on fiction than fact.
“Well, I never watched it because nobody in this world can tell the Lakers story [like it needed to be told]. The Showtime story? Nobody! Dr. Buss was way ahead of his time as an owner. Our team? Unbelievable! The Laker girls with Paula Abdul? Unbelievable! Nobody can tell that story,” Johnson told The Hollywood Reporter at the Elizabeth Taylor Ball to End AIDS on Thursday, September 28.
“So, none of us watched it because it was fictional. You just can’t tell that story. But, hey, that’s on them.”
Johnson was a key player of the Lakers’ five championship teams in the 1980s. Actor Quincy Isaiah portrayed Johnson in the series based on Jeff Pearlman’s book, Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley, and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s.
Chronicling the professional and personal lives of the 1980s Lakers, the series highlighted one of sports’ most revered and dominant dynasties in history. While Johnson didn’t support the show, he still has a story to tell that he’ll be ready to share one day.
“If I do, I got two of the biggest friends in the business, [Denzel Washington and Samuel L. Jackson],” Johnson said alongside Jackson. “So, if I ever do it, it would be with one of my friends because they already know me. We’ll see.”
Some of Johnson’s story was already the subject of a four-part Apple TV+ documentary series, They Call Me Magic.
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