‘Winning Time’ Season 2 Teaser Sees Magic Johnson and Larry Bird Squaring Off!! Check It Out!!

The first season of HBO sports drama Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty was controversial for its depiction of NBA legends in a way that prompted both Lakers alumnus Jerry West and Magic Johnson to voice their opinions on the show. The show took a humorous, fourth-wall-breaking tone as it dramatized the Los Angeles Lakers during the days when Jerry Buss portrayed by John C. Reilly, purchased the franchise and Johnson (Quincy Isaiah) joined the team at the start of the 1979-1980 season. While the on-screen representation didn’t please the legends, audiences were swept up by the show, and ahead of a new season, HBO has released a new trailer for the second season teeing up a rivalry between the Lakers and the Boston Celtics with the introduction of Larry Bird (Sean Patrick Small).

“My friends. The future of sports is purple and gold.” That statement rings out at the start of the new teaser. The sports drama’s first season had reached a climax with the Lakers’ championship victory over the Julius Erving-led Philadelphia 76ers in six games. That was the laying of the foundation upon which the Lakers dynasty was born. As teased in the new trailer, the second season of Winning Time will pick up soon after the 1979-1980 championship season and will cover the Lakers’ latest battle for supremacy in the NBA. This time around, their rivalry with the Boston Celtics will take center stage, along with their off-court personal lives from 1980 to 1984.

Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty is based on the book Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley, and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s by Jeff Pearlman. There has been a running battle for authenticity at least from some of the individuals featured in the show. West had asked HBO to backtrack on their representation of him, with Johnson deciding to develop his own telling of his life with the upcoming docuseries, They Call Me Magic. In a previous one-on-one interview with Collider, showrunner Max Borenstein was asked what his guide map for the show was. “There are tremendous resources that we were able to draw upon beyond, beyond Jeff [Pearlman]’s book Showtime, which was a great resource,” Borenstein said. “We also spoke to some consultants who were there and who experienced it and had some of the inside stories. We did our best to gather and collect as much information as we possibly could.”

Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty Cast and Crew

Borenstein and Jim Hecht continue as writers and co-creators for the show. Joining the aforementioned cast members, Reilly and Isaiah, the star-studded call sheet for Winning Time season 2 includes Adrien Brody, Jason Clarke, Gaby Hoffmann, Jason Segel, Hadley Robinson, DeVaughn Nixon, Solomon Hughes, Tamera Tomakili, Brett Cullen, Stephen Adly Guirgis, Spencer Garrett, Molly Gordon, Joey Brooks, Delante Desouza, Jimel Atkins, Austin Aaron, McCabe Slye, Thomas Mann, Gillian Jacobs, with Michael Chiklis and Rob Morgan. Executive producers are Adam McKay, Kevin Messick, Scott Stephens, Rodney Barnes, and Jason Shuman. Directing episodes 1, 6, and 7 is Salli Richardson-Whitfield.

Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty Season 2 premieres August 16 on HBO and will be available to stream on Max.