The Donald Sterling NBA controversy has already been foreshadowed in HBO's Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty episode 1. The series mainly focuses on the Los Angeles Lakers taking on a new culture under owner Jerry Buss (John C. Reilly) during the 1980s, as the franchise's future is changed by drafting Earvin 'Magic' Johnson, played by Quincy Isaiah. Although this becomes a very successful era for the Lakers, Winning Time isn't shying away from highlighting some of the controversies that arise in the future.
After kicking off Winning Time episode 1 with a flash-forward to Magic's doctor's appointment in 1991 where he found out he had HIV, the show introduces many prominent figures in NBA history. These range from Los Angeles Lakers stars like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Norm Nixon to rival players in Larry Bird and NBA commissioner Larry O'Brien. There is no shortage of NBA stardom included in Winning Time episode 1, but not all of the individuals have great legacies with the league. The show has already featured future Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling, and his appearance foreshadows one of the NBA's biggest controversies.
Donald Sterling's role in Winning Time episode 1 is very small, as he only appears during a scene where Jerry Buss attends a party. In just a few scenes, though, the show doesn't waste time foreshadowing his bad reputation. His introduction card calls him the second-worst "Donald" of the 80s, and he awkwardly squeezes Magic's muscles upon meeting him. Sterling's interest in owning an NBA team is also made known, although Buss says he's too cheap to ever actually buy one. All of these moments in Winning Time episode 1 foreshadow the Donald Sterling controversy from 2014 where racist remarks by the Clippers owner went public, which became one of the biggest scandals in NBA history.
After buying the Los Angeles Clippers (then located in San Diego) in 1981, Donald Sterling's tenure as owner was filled with disappointment. He spent hundreds of millions of dollars trying to turn the team into a championship contender. It was only after building a talented roster led by Chris Paul and Blake Griffin and coached by Doc Rivers that the true character of Sterling came to light. Reports of his racist remarks and attitude were known within NBA circles for a long time, but TMZ made it public in 2014. The outlet leaked a conversation between Sterling and his mistress, V. Stiviano, where he criticized her for posting a photo with Earvin 'Magic' Johnson and promoting her association with Black people.
This wasn't the first time Sterling's racism surfaced, but this was the incident the media didn't ignore. He was sued in 2006 for racial discrimination in his real-estate businesses, while 2010 saw a former member of the Clippers file a wrongful termination lawsuit that cited Sterling's "plantation mentality." Sterling's racist remarks nearly brought the LA Clippers team to boycott their playoff game that happened the day after the leak. Instead, they wore their shirts inside-out to obscure the team logo, and many other NBA players and teams united in support against Sterling. The end result was NBA commissioner Adam Silver banning Donald Sterling from the NBA for life, fining him $2.5 million, and forcing him to sell the team. While all of these events happen well after Winning Time, the series could continue showing this side of Sterling throughout the 1980s.
New episodes of Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty release every Sunday on HBO/HBO Max at 9 pm EST.