Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley, and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s Kindle Edition

Out of conflict, strife, and sheer determination, if we’re fortunate, comes greatness. Amongst our finest collections of art, music, and film, we often witness unparalleled beauty emerge from uncompromised will and pressure, like a diamond out of coal or a dynasty out of thin air.This happens in sports as well, for what is sport if not entertainment. Nowhere, and at no time, was this more evident than in Los Angeles back in the early 1980s.At long last, HBO has released its limited series “Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty,” directed by Adam McKay. As of right now, four episodes have been released. It is unclear how long the series will run but this fan says, the more the merrier!The series is based upon the 2014 publication entitled “Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s,” written by Jeff Pearlman. It traces the bizarre and unlikely circumstances that led to the creation of one of the greatest teams in sports history, one that not only changed the NBA but professional sports as we know them.Aware the series was greenlighted, I waited months for its release. I now count down the days to Sunday when each next episode is aired. After hearing the book was even more captivating, I chose to read it while viewing the series. I can confirm that both the series, and the book, are unputdownable.The series traces the determination of one man, the late Dr. Jerry Buss, as he is set upon buying the Los Angeles Lakers and turning them into a championship franchise, using his own personal flair and vision. Buss was unlike any character in a town full of them, a fresh, rebellious face amongst NBA owners. Philandering yet not misogynistic, egotistical yet generous to a fault, Buss put the pieces in place and became the financial force behind the Lakers dynasty. He bought the team at a time when the league went unwatched, yet he saw something others didn’t: potential. Buss is played brilliantly by John C. Reilly. So brilliantly, in fact, that it led to a riff between director Adam McKay and comedian/actor Will Ferrell, who desperately wanted the role. Reilly, however, was the man for the job. His performance is so strong, he convinces you he’s Buss, with the all too familiar combover, the buttoned-down shirts and the win-at-any-cost attitude.Buss came along at the ideal time for another man, about to turn pro, would change the sport as we know it. As you’ll find out by watching the series, reading the book (or as I recommend, both), Buss was dead set on drafting Magic Johnson, even though the Lakers already had a point guard in Norm Nixon. Both book and series elaborate on the strife between Johnson and Nixon as they battled for the same position, until the choice became clear, even to Nixon.McKay (and Pearlman) develop other unforgettable, integral characters, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Pat Riley (played by Adrian Brody), Paul Westhead (played by Jason Segel), Buss’ daughter Jeanie (who now owns the team), I could go on but no spoilers here.Okay, a few. You’ll watch (or read) stories previously untold of dead bodies found in trunks of cars, life-threatening bicycle accidents, Fonzarelli-like polaroid albums of scantily clad women and copious amounts of career-threatening cocaine.A self-professed basketball historian, Pearlman (and the series) uncover things even I didn’t know: Jerry West’s erratic temper, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s sour attitude for all things he didn’t trust and Pat Riley’s deep-rooted depression as he looked to psychologically rebound from being the most famous guy on an all-white Kentucky team that lost to Texas Western, the first college team to ever start five black players. The book is beautifully written, as it’s a beautiful story to tell. Similarly, the series is beautifully acted and directed.The forgotten man in all this, who perhaps inspired Pearlman to write the book, and McKay to recreate it in series form, was Jack McKinney, who Pearlman points out most basketball outsiders had never heard of. McKinney was the mastermind behind the fastbreak offense. Although he wasn’t flashy (Buss initially opposed the McKinney hire), his offense was. No isolation, constant movement, no winding down of the shot clock, basketball in one fluid motion. The team would be better conditioned than any other and their offense would dare you to stop it. Magic Johnson, portrayed eerily and just as charismatically by Quincy Isaiah, was the man designed to run the point and play the part, despite the irony of his last name. After this role, it will be hard to see Isaiah in anything else and not think Magic Johnson.Thanks to Buss, Magic, and several other real-life characters in both the book and series, the franchise, and the NBA, was forever changed. Sports became entertainment and the league went prime time. Thanks in large part to Magic, and his forever-linked rival Larry Bird, the NBA salvaged its image and became must-see TV. They became household names and the most recognizable athletes in the world.I am smack dab in the middle of both the series and the book and thoroughly enjoying both. Even the most ardent basketball purist will enjoy the series, renamed from Showtime (the book’s name and team’s persona) to Winning Time (as Showtime is the name of HBO’s long-time rival).McKay, as usual, is brilliant. The series is gritty, sexy, edgy, informative, and filmed in a way that takes you back in time to unravel one of the greatest sports stories we never knew. Watch Winning Time. Read Showtime. And if you have the inclination, do so simultaneously in surround sound for full effect. Its Magic is infectious.

I started reading this book because I saw the first part of the HBO series ("Winning Time ..."), which is based on this book, and I was disappointed that the HBO "dramatization" took so many liberties with the truth (e.g. making Jerry West look bad). So I switched to this book and it turned out to be a lot more satisfying because this book stayed much closer to reality, as far as I can tell. And the reality of the Showtime Lakers was very entertaining. The story does not need "dramatization". As an amateur basketball player myself and a Laker fan, reading this book was a little nostalgic for me because I am the same age as Magic Johnson, I watched his games, and I was fascinated by him, Kareem and others of that era. This was simply a fun book to relax to for a "would-be baller" like me, now grown old. Great stuff.

The history of the Showtime era is fully formed here. Magic and Kareem learning to work together. Riley being the head coach.

This was an outstanding history of the 1980's Showtime Los Angeles Lakers, complete with detailed, player-provided personal profiles of Magic, or "Buck", Kareem, or " Cap", and Head Coach, Pat Riley, or as Kareem called him, "Norman Bates".While this book was full of surprising and/or forgotten information, none was more important than the resurrection of Jack McKinney as the Laker head coach who originally created Showtime, the explanation of why Pat Riley was fired after a 63-win season, and how Lakers team turned on an unproductive Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, right before he retired.While HBO's " Winning Time" was certainly fictionalized, and way over-the-top, Jeff Pearlman's "Showtime" is proof that, based on the interpretation of actors.....it was fundamentally based on fact!!!

I'd read Pearlman's Three-Ring Circus because, although it was about the Lakers, it promised to depict the long-running feud between Shaq and Kobe -- and did it ever! Just very honest, very thorough reporting that revealed every bit of Bryant's immaturity and bad judgment and Shaq's (and everyone else's) agony at having to live through it. So even though this book is about the Lakers' glory years, there was reason to believe it wouldn't sugar-coach things -- and it doesn't.If you're a Lakers fan, here's really thorough reporting about what was going on with your team. And if you're not a Lakers fan, here's unstinting reporting about the Showtime era, all the good and the bad, unvarnished. Like the fact that the rest of the team hated Kareem, that Riley's success transformed him into a lunatic, and that the Forum Club gave the Lakers a constant home-court advantage because so many players on other teams came to LA focused not on the game but on the women they'd pick up afterward.I can't recommend this book highly enough. You won't be disappointed!

I loved the book.I got it because I was watching 'Winning Time' on HBO and wanted more about the Lakers. I really enjoyed the book because it gave me greater insight into some of the greatest basketball icons of all time like Magic, Kareem, Riley, and Jerry West.The difference between a book and a show is the depth and that's what you get with the book. You can see where West was tortured and how losing really ate away at him. With Riley, you saw how much of an impact his wife had on him and how a few decisions could have made him something else entirely.Kareem comes to life in a way that we might have only seen over the last few years as his writing has become even more popular.Really a worthwhile read if you are into basketball.

Good easy read.

I remember when Magic and Larry played on the title game…& remember the amazing 80’s basketball and finally, Magic walking away. I loved this book! I couldn’t put it down.

Great detail and behind the scene anecdotes. Well written and an entertaining read. I recommend this book for all Laker fans who remember "Showtime"

From 1979 when Dr. Jerry Buss ( he held a PhD in Chemistry) bought the Los Angeles Lakers and drafted Earvin "Magic" Johnson, until 1991, the Lakers were the preeminent team in basketball, playing in nine championship series, winning five. This is the inside story of that team, nicknamed "Showtime" and the central characters involved.The owner, Jerry Buss, who loved the ladies and built the Forum Club, which became the hot spot for players, celebrities and invited guests, featuring food, drinks, women and drugs.The GM, Jerry West, keen spotter of talent and a "win at all cost" attitude.The coach, Pat Riley, a coaching genius whose ego overtook him.The players, featuring Kareem Abdul-Jabber, the game`s best center and all time scoring leader, but a thoroughly unlikeable person off the floor, Magic Johnson, who ran the team, James Worthy, All Star forward, who wasn`t the family man he appeared to be and the surrounding cast which included genuine talent, kooks, misfits and short lived stars.Described are the key games over the decade, the relationship and rivalry between Magic and Bird; Magic and Isiah Thomas, and what goes into building and maintaining a championship team.This is a championship book.

Solita scrittura fluida, divertende. Ricostruzione storica impeccabile. Pearlman è una garanzia.

I've been an NBA fan since i was a kid. Jordan was at his peak and helped me fall in love with the game. Since then I've tried to catch up on the history of the game and some of the best teams/players. I'm not a Lakers fan at all (blame Kobe) but this book is great!I already knew some history of the showtime Lakers, but this was a really fun read filled with great anecdotes and a nice prospective of the ups and downs of a legendary team.Highly recommend if you are a basketball fan.

Amazing inside look at the team of the 80's, thoroughly enjoyed it! Many player interviews done recently some 25 years or longer later made it quite interesting reading.