Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Isn’t Impressed By HBO’s “Winning Time” About Lakers Dynasty

Count Kareem Abdul-Jabbar among the several member of the “showtime” Lakers teams who aren’t necessarily impressed with the widely popular docuseries “Winning Time” on HBO.

After the first few episodes, Magic Johnson spoke out on fictionalized version of the Lakers run.

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Magic Johnson Continues to Slam Dunk On HBO’s ‘Winning Time’ https://t.co/PXJmhQG4t8

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Now, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is speaking out against Adam McKay’s interpretation of the Lakers in the 1980s.

Kareem claimed that he wasn’t bothered that some events aren’t exactly factual in the popular TV series. But rather that the show just misses on many different levels.

“The characters are crude stick-figure representations that resemble real people the way Lego Hans Solo resembles Harrison Ford. Each character is reduced to a single bold trait as if the writers were afraid anything more complex would tax the viewers’ comprehension. Jerry Buss is Egomaniac Entrepreneur, Jerry West is Crazed Coach, Magic Johnson is Sexual Simpleton, I’m Pompous Prick. They are caricatures, not characters. Amusement park portraits that emphasize one physical feature to amplify your appearance—but never touching the essence.”

In the series, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar initially doesn’t give full effort until he develops a bond with up-and-coming rookie, Magic Johnson. But while he obviously doesn’t care for being depicted as a bit of a jerk, Kareem broke down more anecdotes that rubbed him the wrong way.

“For years, I have been visiting schools to promote STEM education,” Abdul-Jabbar said. “But when people see this show and come away with an impression that I’m verbally abusive to children, they are less likely to support my foundation. That means fewer kids will be able to partake in the program. So Adam McKay is giving those kids a great big “F—k off!” that lasts a lot longer than the easy laugh he got out of a dishonest joke.”

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar would finish his rant by saying he was far more interested in the documentary coming out on Apple TV, “They Call Me Magic”.

“Yeah, there’s an amazing, compelling, culturally insightful story in there. Winning Time just ain’t that story.”

After watching “Winning Time”, it’s easy to see why Kareem might not be the biggest fan. After all, the first half of the season goes at length to show his lack of leadership skills.

But at the end of the day, Adam McKay is going to walk away with a lot of money due to how popular the show has become nationwide. And I think it’s safe to say that he doesn’t necessarily care if players on the actual team to sign-off on his project.

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