Though there are quite a few talented players introduced in Winning Time: Rise of the Lakers Dynasty episode 1, it's Jeanie Buss who was always the Lakers' secret weapon. Winning Time focuses on the "Showtime" era of Los Angeles Lakers basketball in the 1980s that began after Jerry Buss bought the team and Earvin "Magic" Johnson was drafted by Los Angeles. Jeanie, the daughter of Jerry, will prove to be an integral part of the organization in the future.
Jeanie (played by Hadley Robinson of Utopia and Little Women) is introduced early on in Winning Time episode 1. She asks Jerry (John C. Reilly) for a job, which sets her on her future path of success in the Lakers organization. Though Jeanie starts the series as an intern in Jerry’s office, she has big dreams that are going to end up coming true, if the comparisons to real-life Jeanie Buss, the current owner of the Lakers, are any indication.
In a recent interview, Robinson says about Jeanie, “She really has this drive to prove herself. She has her folder with all her ideas in it, she's done all this work…She's doing it because I think deep down she's just as passionate about it all as her dad. She's got these dreams that she wants to bring into fruition and it does happen." (via POPSUGAR) Though Winning Time is still in its early days, it’s already clear that Jeanie is a determined woman who is very knowledgeable and passionate about the game of basketball, an interest she probably adopted from her dad. These traits are assets that will definitely be a help to the Lakers down the road, especially in the Showtime era, where the Lakers defeated their rivals, the Boston Celtics, and their star player, Larry Bird, twice.
The real Jeanie Buss's career trajectory has been fascinating. At the age of 19, while Buss was studying business at the University of Southern California, Jerry appointed her as the general manager of the Los Angeles Strings, the team tennis franchise he owned. The Strings won two championships (in 1981 and 1990) before folding in 1993. After the Strings, Buss became the owner of the Los Angeles Blades, a professional roller hockey team. For four years, she served as president of the Great Western Forum (now known as The Forum), which was then the Lakers' home arena, and had an increased role with the team. After Jerry Buss died in 2013, Jeanie became the president of the Lakers, and in 2020 she became the first female controlling owner to lead her team to an NBA championship.
Jeanie Buss has been intertwined with the Lakers since her father bought the team 43 years ago and in the decades since then, she's become their secret weapon. She is a smart and resourceful businesswoman and hopefully, that side of her will be showcased in upcoming episodes of Winning Time. Buss isn't a major player in the show at this point, but if Winning Time is given more seasons and time to tell more stories, Buss's rise in the Lakers organization will be fun to watch, especially since she's a woman in a male-dominated environment.
New episodes of Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty are released Sundays on HBO/HBO Max.