Dec 18, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Earvin "Magic" Johnson addresses the Staples Center crowd during a halftime ceremony retiring Kobe Bryant's two uniform numbers. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images

Insider Calls Out NBA World for Not Properly Celebrating LA Great

Originally posted on Los Angeles Lakers on SI
By Alex Kirschenbaum | Last updated Sep 13, 2025 6:30 PM ET

An insider has derided the basketball world for not properly celebrating a Los Angeles Lakers legend — or, at least, the finicky subscribers of HBO and its streaming affiliate, HBO Max.

That's because Josh Eberley of ClutchPoints is convinced that HBO's big-budget Magic Johnson/Kareem Abdul-Jabbar-era Los Angeles Lakers series "Winning Time," which was unfairly canceled after just two seasons, didn't drum up enough fan support.

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Eberley has been ranking the 100 best NBA players in history, and listed Johnson as the sixth-best ever — ahead of fellow Hall of Fame former Lakers Kobe Bryant (No. 7), Shaquille O'Neal (No. 8), and Wilt Chamberlain (No. 9) — and Abdul-Jabbar as the third-best.

Another Lakers champion, 21-time All-NBA forward LeBron James, was ranked as the No. 2-best player in history, too.

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"Magic Johnson’s career, not unlike everyone else in the top 10, is storied and celebrated," Eberley writes. "Albeit, perhaps he isn’t celebrated to the extent he should be, because not nearly enough people watched the now-canceled 'Winning Time.'"

Eberley goes on to recall Johnson's unforgettable 1979-80 rookie season, when the No. 1 pick out of Michigan State guided his club to a championship — the Lakers' first of five with Johnson and Abdul-Jabbar in tow.

"Carrying your team to a title as a rookie and being awarded the Finals MVP after your team loses the regular-season MVP due to injury feels like an HBO storyline more than actual history and yet … that Game 6 of the 1980 NBA Finals is iconic," Eberley adds.

An Unheralded HBO Classic

"Winning Time," based on Jeff Pearlman's book "Showtime," was created by Max Borenstein and Jim Hecht and executive produced by a group led by Adam McKay. It starred John C. Reilly as legendary Lakers owner Dr. Jerry Buss, Quincy Isaiah as Johnson, Jason Clarke as Jerry West, Adrien Brody as Pat Riley, Hadley Robinson as Jeanie Buss, Solomon Hughes as Abdul-Jabbar, Jason Segel as Paul Westhead, Gaby Hoffman as Claire Rothman, and Tracy Letts as Jack McKinney.

Although the show was a spirited, reverent look at one of the great NBA dynasties, Johnson himself apparently refused to watch.