Jerry West, the former player, coach, and general manager for the Los Angeles Lakers, has sent a letter, which was first obtained by ESPN, via his legal team to HBO, expressing his anger at his portrayal in the network’s new drama series, Winning Time: The Rise Of The Lakers Dynasty, which is based on the book, Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley, and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s, by Jeff Pearlman (Three-Ring Circus: Kobe, Shaq, Phil, and the Crazy Years of the Lakers Dynasty). The letter was also sent to show’s creator, Adam McKay (Don’t Look Up).
West’s attorneys say in the letter that the show “falsely and cruelly portrays Mr. West as an out-of-control, intoxicated rage-aholic. The Jerry West in Winning Time bears no resemblance to the real man.” Jason Clarke (Everest) plays West in the show.
According to ESPN, West’s lawyers also claim in the letter that HBO’s disclaimer that the series is a dramatization does not insulate the network from liability.
The letter also includes statements from other members of the Lakers who are also portrayed in the series, including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the all-star center played by newcomer Solomon Hughes, and Claire Rothman, who ran operations at the Great Western Forum and is played by Gaby Hoffmann (Field Of Dreams).
“Instead of exploring his issues with compassion as a way to better understand the man, they turn him into a Wile E. Coyote cartoon to be laughed at,” Abdul-Jabbar said in his statement, per ESPN. “He never broke golf clubs, he didn’t throw his trophy through the window. Sure, those actions make dramatic moments, but they reek of facile exploitation of the man rather than exploration of character.”
“Jerry treated me and everyone else in the Lakers organization with dignity and respect,” Hoffmann stated, per ESPN. “I never saw Jerry break or throw anything in anger or rage nor did I hear anyone ever say he did such things.”
Abdul-Jabbar has previously been critical of his own portrayal in Winning Time, which he aired out in a Substack blog post.
“I never said ‘f*** off’ to the child actor [Ross Harris] in Airplane!, nor have I ever said that to any child,” Abdul-Jabbar wrote. “I realize this was a shorthand way of showing my perceived aloofness during that time, even though I have often spoken about my intense, almost debilitating shyness. The filmmakers had access to that information, but truth and insight were not on their agenda. Shocking moments were.”
Outside of Clarke, Hughes, and Hoffmann, Winning Time: The Rise Of The Lakers Dynasty stars John C. Reilly (Stepbrothers), Qunicy Isaiah (Corporate Coffee), Hadley Robinson (Little Women), Adrien Brody (The Pianist), and Jason Segel (Forgetting Sarah Marshall). It is executive produced by McKay, Rodney Barnes (Everybody Hates Chris), Max Borenstein (Godzilla), Jim Hecht (Ice Age 2: The Meltdown), Kevin J. Messick (Vice), Jason Shuman (Darkness Falls), and Scott Stephens (True Detective).