Editor’s note: The below contains spoilers for the Season 2 finale of Winning Time.
Anyone watchingHBO’sWinning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynastythat wasn’t familiar with the true story that the series was based upon likely spent the last few moments of last night’s Season 2 finale “What Is and What Should Never Be” scratching their heads. The entire season had led up to a climactic showdown between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics, and more critically, the head-to-head of Magic Johnson (Quincy Isaiah) and Larry Bird (Sean Patrick Small); instead of seeing the heroic Lakers take home another title championship ring, the characters end the season in the miserable hands of defeat. This was followed by the abrupt news that HBO had canceled the series, leaving anyone who hadn’t kept up with their basketball history on a particularly cruel downbeat note.Winning Timemay be over, but in real life, the 1984 loss was hardly the end of the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty and the “Showtime” era.
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What Happens in the ‘Winning Time’ Series Finale?
Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynastyis based onJeff Pearlman’s nonfiction account of how the California sports team changed basketball forever with its historic run of success in the 1980s; althoughsome of the show’s real-life subjectshave criticized their depictions within the series, the series has stuck close to the facts when detailing the major victories and defeats within the Lakers’ history. The first season of the series focused on the rise of the Lakers’ majority owner Jerry Buss (John C. Reilly), and how his increased showmanship led the team to score a surprise victory at the 1980 NBA finals. Pivotal players like Magic Johnson, Norm Nixon (De Vaughn Nixon), and Kareem Abdul-Jabar (Solomon Hughes) were larger-than-life personalities on the court and became just as compelling characters withinWinning Time’s account of what actually happened.
The Lakers’ 1980 season made up the majority of Season 1, but Season 2 flashed through four chaotic years following the team’s initial victory. The behind-the-scenes drama between Magicand Coach Paul Westhead (Jason Segel)led to a surprise swap in which the assistant coach Pat Riley (Adrien Brody) was promoted during an impromptu press conference. The Lakers are rocked by personal scandals, the burning of Kareem’s home, Buss’ divorce settlement, and drama resulting from Jerry West’s (Jason Clarke) strange advisory role, but it all comes down to a rivalry with the Boston Celtics. Buss and Celtics owner Red Auerbach (Michael Chicklis) spend the majority of the season trading insults until their respective teams face off in the 1984 all-star match-up.
While it may not be the most uplifting ending for those who had invested in the show’s heroic depiction of the Lakers,Winning Time’s Season 2finale can only be faithful to history. After each team had earned three victories ahead of a final match, the Celtics’ increasingly brutal tactics on the court led the team to snatch the championship at the last moment. It becomes a professionally embarrassing moment for Buss, who is in the midst of a major lawsuit pertaining to his marriage; Magic, whose importance to the team had been evident after the renewal of his contract, spends the end of “What Is and What Should Never Be” with his head held low in the locker room.
‘Winning Time’ Didn’t Tell the Full Story
While the dour, downbeat conclusion to the series had been initially planned as the middle chapter in a larger story,Max canceledWinning Timemomentsafter “What Is and What Should Never Be” ended. Varietyreported that the show’s awkward final scene featuring Buss and his daughter Jeanie (Hadley Robinson) was filmed after the series had already been sent out to critics, and was shot to essentially give closure to the show given the lack of a renewal. The final moment shifts dramatically from the somber note that had preceded it. Buss walks his daughter through an empty basketball court, teasing that everything will belong to them in the near future. Buss’ triumphant chuckle is followed by a quick succession of title cards thatexplain the events that occur in the next few years.
The title cards that play afterWinning Time’s finale tease what would have been in store for the show’s characters if the series had continued. It makes notes of various facts and figures from Pearlman’s account; the Lakers would go on to retake the championship from the Celtics the following year, Buss created one of the most profitable sports empires ever, Riley would win several additional championships both with and without the Lakers, Westhead ultimately got to use his controversial “System” in his capacity as a NCAA coach, Kareem held an all-time NBA scoring record that was surpassed by Lebron James in 2023, and Magic Johnson publicly disclosed his diagnosis with HIV-AIDS in 1991. Despite the public rivalry between Magic and Bird thatWinning Timehad been so keen to dramatize, the Celtic all-star player reached out to his former nemesis immediately following Magic’s announcement of illness in 1991.
The cancelation ofWinning Timecomes after Max has spent the majority of 2023 canceling beloved shows; over the course of the year, fans of popular series likePerry Mason, The Idol, The Other Two, Pennyworth, Titans, Doom Patrol, Gossip Girl,andA Black Lady Sketch Showreceived the heartbreaking news that their favorite show had been axed. Whether it’s a result ofDavid Zaslav’s new creative direction for the service orthe ongoing strikes by the Screen Actors Guild and Writer’s Guild, it’s an unfortunate time for fans of shows likeWinning Timethat had real potential.
Winning Time’s cancelation in particular felt very abrupt; the show had been improving in quality and had a natural setup imaginable for a potential third season. While it’s admirable that the show’s creators attempted to mollify the effect of the cancelation by filming an additional scene, the new bonus moment at the end of Season 2 felt like an awkward tonal shift within what would have been a terrific cliffhanger ending for another season to follow up on.
