HBO's Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty episode 6 shifts its attention to Magic Johnson's rising fame and the fallout of Jack McKinney's accident, and here's what it gets right and wrong about the true story. After spending the first half of the season really setting up the new era of the Los Angeles Lakers under Jerry Buss (John C. Reilly), the 2022 HBO Max series is finally exploring the 1979-1980 NBA season. Winning Time episode 5 ended with a big cliffhanger after Jack McKinney (Tracy Letts) crashed his bike just as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Solomon Hughes) and Magic Johnson (Quincy Isaiah) started getting along.
Unsurprisingly, Winning Time episode 6 picks up directly after this incident. A good portion of the episode focuses on Jack McKinney's injuries and Paul Westhead (Jason Segel) becoming the interim coach of the Los Angeles Lakers. The former English teacher with a great knowledge of Shakespeare and other literature seems out of place as the face of the Lakers at this time, especially as he doesn't have full confidence in his ability to replace McKinney. Buss and Jerry West (Jason Clarke) still throw him into the proverbial fire out of necessity, and Westhead winds up getting some helpful advice from Pat Riley (Adrien Brody).
Outside of the tragic event that shaped the Los Angeles Lakers' unfortunate predicament, Winning Time episode 6 also follows Earvin 'Magic' Johnson as he begins to enter the world of endorsements. This primarily revolves around him landing a major shoe deal, but that also dovetails into him beginning to figure out what he really wants in life. Meanwhile, Jerry Buss wines and dines with members of the bank hoping to persuade them into a unique deal to help the Lakers succeed, although Dr. Buss' hopes are complicated by having his mother handle their accounting. Through it all, Winning Time continues to change parts of the true story.
Magic Johnson's Shoe Deal: Who He Signed With (& For How Much)
Magic Johnson's shoe deal gets a lot of attention in Winning Time episode 6, and the series does stick fairly close to the true story based on what is known. Magic is shown meeting with Puma, Adidas, and Converse at the beginning of the episode before Phil Knight from Nike approaches him with an offer. The series relays that Knight offered Magic stock in Nike instead of a usual salary because they were a new company. Winning Time's offer of $1 for every pair of shoes sold and 100,000 shares in stock options that start at $.18 is not confirmed to be what Nike offered Magic. The future Hall of Fame NBA player has confirmed he turned down what can now be viewed as a life-changing deal.
Instead of taking Nike's offer for stocks, Winning Time shows Magic deciding to sign with Converse for $100K each year. The terms of Magic and Converse's deal were never disclosed publically. However, the match did not last. Magic eventually grew disgruntled with Converse - especially as Nike rose to power - and left the deal after 13 years. Converse stated they spent upwards of $35 million for marketing and paying Magic by that point. By the end of the deal, Converse was reportedly paying Magic $2M per year for endorsements. Although Converse proved to still be a good partner for Magic, he lost out on an incredible amount of money - $5.2 Billion according to Winning Time episode 6 - but the true evaluation of what he missed out on is not actually known.
What Shoe Company Did Larry Bird Sign With?
Magic Johnson's rivalry with Larry Bird also comes into play during his search for a shoe deal in Winning Time episode 6, one that ends with both NBA rookies signing with Converse. This is exactly how it played out in real life too. Larry Bird signed with Converse first according to the HBO Max series for a starting salary of $90K per year. He wore the Converse All-Stars throughout the beginning of his playing days and never received a signature shoe due to the company's belief back then that players didn't sell shoes. Considering Larry Bird and Magic Johnson were equally as popular during the 1980s, the Boston Celtics forward likely earned a similar salary as Magic as time went on. Unlike the Los Angeles Lakers guard, though, Larry Bird stayed with Converse.
Did Jack Nicholson Get Free Lakers Tickets?
One strange moment in Winning Time episode 6 comes when Jerry Buss is out to lunch with bankers and Jack Nicholson sends them a fine bottle of bubbly. It is during this moment that Winning Time breaks the fourth wall to have Jerry Buss tell viewers that he had to give Nicholson free season tickets to the Los Angeles Lakers to make that happen. There is no confirmed exchange like this between Nicholson and Buss. Jack Nicholson is a huge Los Angeles Lakers fan and reports state that he had season tickets long before Buss took over the team. In fact, Jack Nicholson continues to have Los Angeles Lakers season tickets to this day and is frequently seen at home games for the team. The true story change is likely due to the show continuing to alter the financial struggles that Jerry Buss went through during the early days of his tenure as Lakers owner.
Did Paul Westhead Start Michael Cooper Over Spencer Haywood?
After Paul Westhead becomes the interim head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, the big decision he's faced with is how to deal with Denver Nuggets forward David Thompson in the team's next game. He goes back and forth between Michael Cooper and Spencer Haywood for the starting spot before settling on the younger Michael Cooper. This is another example of Winning Time episode 6 changing the true story, as neither Michael Cooper nor Spencer Haywood started against the Nuggets. Paul Westhead stuck with the team's usual starting lineup of Magic Johnson, Norm Nixon, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jim Chones, and Jamaal Wilkes. It's unclear why Winning Time's story changes the facts of this event, although it seems not starting could be used to introduce Spencer Haywood's struggles with cocaine.
How Long Jack McKinney Was In A Coma
Another aspect of the true story Winning Time episode 6 appears to have changed is the timeline of Jack McKinney's injury. The show explains that McKinney was in a coma for two weeks after the accident. However, the newly appointed head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers was really only in a coma for three days according to most reports. Although he regained consciousness after only missing the Lakers' game against the Nuggets, he remained unable to coach due to his physical condition in Winning Time's true story. It is not confirmed when he was released from the hospital, although McKinney admitted in a 1985 LA Times profile that he doesn't remember much about what happened in the first month after the accident. Since Winning Time appears to be changing that to make him a bit more lucid after regaining consciousness, perhaps that is why this change was made.
New episodes of Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty release every Sunday on HBO/HBO Max at 9pm EST.