Recently, it was announced that HBO had canceled the popular series “Winning Time,” which focused on a fictionalized account of the Los Angeles Lakers during the 1980s glory days of Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and others. Although several fans loved the series' chronicles of the Showtime Lakers, it does not appear that Johnson himself will miss anything about the show.
Johnson recently spoke with The Hollywood Reporter about the cancellation and why it isn't bothering him in the slightest.
“Well, I never watched it because nobody in this world can tell the Lakers story [like it needed to be told],” said Johnson, per Chris Gardner of The Hollywood Reporter. “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.”
Although fans and critics alike have lauded the show, many former players and coaches, including Johnson himself and fellow Lakers icons Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Jerry West, have criticized the series for deliberately fictionalizing certain aspects of that Lakers team and at times blatantly making up certain storylines.
HBO has always reiterated that the series is a dramatization.
Winning Time premiered in March of 2022 and was renewed for a second season, which aired in August of this year. However, in September of this year, HBO announced that the series would not be renewed for a third season.
Evidently, if Magic Johnson never watched the show to begin with, he won't be missing much.