Review of Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty

This series is fun. But don't kid yourself. It's not history. It's not really even all that close. For one thing, there are many absurdities in the portrayals of historical figures (Jack Kent Cooke, Larry Bird, Jerry West). But if you want proof that a lot of the story is a total fabrication, just go watch the actual footage of the Celtics-Lakers regular season matchup at the Garden on YouTube. The game was nothing like what is depicted in the series in episode 7. It wasn't the brawling carnival that the show producers have made it out to be and the refs weren't "in the bag" for the Celtics. The Lakers weren't getting pummeled to the floor on every play. In fact, if anything, they dealt more of the punishment than they took. Sure, the NBA had problems with fighting in the 70s but they'd already gone a long way toward cleaning that up by the 1979-80 season. Not only that, the Lakers defeated both the Pacers and the Pistons but the show has them getting blown out. I guess I don't really get why the show's providers felt it necessary to change the history to the point of rewriting the outcomes of the games themselves.

The show styles itself as a sort of historical drama, a documentary that fudges the truth here and there. In reality, it deviates wildly and this leads me to wonder how much of any of this is representative of what actually happened. I started watching the show because I love basketball, I love John C. Reilly and Adrian Brody, and I was interested in learning more about the Lakers rise to dominance in the 80s. I guess I'll have to look elsewhere if I want to actually learn anything about what really happened.