Mar 26, 1985; Portland, OR, USA: FILE PHOTO; Los Angeles Lakers center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (33) and Magic Johnson (32) on the bench against the Portland Trail Blazers at Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Imagn Images Imagn Images

"Showtime" Author Offers Deeper Look Into Kareem, Magic Los Angeles Lakers

Originally posted on Back in the Day NBA on SI
By Shandel Richardson | Last updated Mar 10, 2025 8:34 PM ET

Author Jeff Pearlman wants to get one thing straight.

In 2014, he wrote a book called "Showtime" about the 1980s Los Angeles Lakers. Nearly a decade later, there was a television series released named "Winning Time" that had some questioning the facts.

They weren't the same, so Pearlman is once again explaining the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson Lakers on his YouTube channel to clear the air for those who thought the television show had some false parts.

"They were talking about the TV show, they weren't talking about the book," Pearlman said in an interview with Back In The Day Hoops On SI. "The book, I never had a single complaint about anything being wrong. The TV show is an adaptation of the book. I'm not really a Hollywood guy but they exaggerate and they elongate and they stretch. That's kind of what the medium is ... It's a dramatic retelling of a book."

Author Reveals More Details About The Showtime Lakers

Pearlman researched the Showtime Era during the 1980s with Pat Riley, James Worthy, Johnson and Jabbar for months. The rendition of book was made into a Hollywood version, but the YouTube channel takes a deeper dive into those teams.

"This is my first book that was actually turned into something," Pearlman said. "It's an absolute joy ... Like from Remember The Titans to We Are Marshall to Rudy. In Moneyball, I covered the A's. They never mentioned the A's had three of the five best starting pitchers in baseball. They never mentioned Eric Chavez at third and Miguel Tejada at short. It's a dramatic interpretation of someone's book."

This article first appeared on Back in the Day NBA on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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