In the locker room, co-coach Pat Riley is given by an assistant the results of Magic Johnson’s losing rookie of the year vote. “He’s there, and I ain’t.” As the Lakers build a lead, commissioner-in-waiting tells Buss he’s leaving to get Commissioner Larry O’Brien to fly in by helicopter and oh, yeah, they’ll have to bring the championship trophy, indication nobody expected the Lakers to be competitive without Abdul-Jabbar. “Shut the f*ck up,” Bird says in quieting a relative who makes a racial comment. Game on.Ĭut to Bird’s home in French Lick, Indiana. “Guess I can’t believe I’m about to take a ring from Dr. “What are you smiling about, young blood,” he asks. Johnson is feeling none of this pressure as he smiles while walking past 76ers superstar Julius Erving.
And high strung Lakers consultant Jerry West hits the bottle – Pepto Bismol - he wanders around the catacombs of the arena in Philly, as he can’t bear to watch in the gym. Says Buss: “isn’t that something? You guys have won everything that doesn’t count.”Ībdul-Jabbar can’t bear to watch the game, but his girlfriend talks him into it. There to greet him is nemesis Red Auerbach of the Celtics, who tells him the Lakers will lose, and that his Celtics player Bird won Rookie of the Year, his coach Bill Fitch won coach of the year and Auerbach won top executive. Buss brings his two sons with him to crappy seats given him by the 76ers. Things might just be okay in Lakers land.ĭr. When Westhead opens the diagram left him by McKinney, the former coach also recommended Magic as center. Until Magic comes aboard with a boom box and brimming with confidence and Kareem’s jersey, as he tells them he’s playing center, despite giving up a half foot to his rival center. On the team plane, the coaches are uptight as are the players. After explaining how Magic’s infectious charms changed an old star’s cynical mindset, he demands that Johnson step up and bring home the title and gives Magic his jersey to rally the team. Next, Abdul-Jabbar (Solomon Hughes) tells Magic (Quincy Isaiah) he won’t be coming back for the rest of the finals. Letts’ performance as the tragic figure of McKinney has been one of the highlights of the season and might well put the playwright/actor in awards contention. While the two men had a falling out when Westhead helped thwart McKinney’s attempt to rush his recovery and take back his coaching job for the playoffs, McKinney gives Westhead the blueprint to beat the Julius Erving Sixers even with Abdul-Jabbar out. Westhead (Jason Segel) is visited by his former best friend Jack McKinney (Tracy Letts), the journeyman coach who choreographed the freewheeling Showtime offense for the Lakers, only to scramble his brains and nearly die from a high speed fall off a bicycle. Sure, the drama has taken creative liberties that raised the ire of the real Abdul-Jabbar and Jerry West, but who would imagine we’d care about a long forgotten season and championship round that didn’t involve Magic’s Lakers and Bird’s Celtics, as Julius Erving’s Philadelphia 76ers upset Boston to make it to the finals? Who knew there was this level of behind the scenes drama in the construction of the Lakers Showtime dynasty? It is just part of the intricate tapestry of a remarkable 10-episode first season.
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