Winning Time shows the glory of the the LA Lakers; Credits: Paste Magazine

The NBA is one of the biggest legacy game associations around the world and has been often connected with celebrities and Hollywood fame. The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the NBA teams to command considerable respect in the association, forming a formidable team and a gaming group that rose in power in the 1980s.

The team led the "Showtime" era under the command of Magic Johnson and went on to name spectacular victories. The team's glorious era has now been undertaken for the making of a series Winning Time. 

Produced by HBO, Winning Time is a series on the gameplay by the Lakers. It was created by the team of Rodney Barnes and will begin from the first time when the team was bought by Dr. Jerry Buss and employed Johnson to take it to new heights. 

The creator of the show recently had a talk with Screen Rant, where he shared how he created the series. The creator also works as the executive producer and the writer on the show. In fact, he also has an acting debut as the Head of Laker Security. 

The creator explained that he worked on the series along with showrunner Max Bornstein. The two have led a creative team together through a decade and when Barnes was approached by Bornstein to collaborate on Winning Time, he grabbed onto the chance. 

Explaining why the Lakers still continue to be one of the most widely popular NBA teams, Barnes shared that there is no other gaming dynasty that could compare to it. The team has established its worth over the four decades that it has managed to command until now. 

Beginning with why Winning Time brought forward another gaming series when many already exist, he shared that most sports-themed series back in the time did not play the game, or the actors did not represent the game as well as they could have. 

Yet, with Winning Time, the creators made sure that the actors and the players were given much depth, along with adding multiple aspects of owners, coaches, and everyone who makes a game worth watching. Not only do the creators want to shine a light on the glory of the era that Lakers once commanded but also want to show how great they stand even today. 

Doing his research, Barnes found many interesting details about the Lakers from back then. For instance, he helps bring the story of Jack McKinney and shows him as the innovator of the game, a fact not many know. He can be credited for making Basketball the fun, exciting, and energetic game it is today. 

McKinney brought together the game of the court with the fast-paced basketball game guys would play on streets and made a game that is worthy of a show. The Lakers have been honoring the tradition until now with respect to McKinney. 

Similarly, there was Spencer Haywood who "started free agency" giving the players the chance to shift from team to team. Hence, we have players like LeBron, and Kevin Durant, who have changed teams quite some times. If it were not for Haywood, basketball might not have allowed the particular liberty. 

Previously, there existed teams like the Bullets and the Wizards. Once a player would join this team, they would play around with the same team until the time they retired. However, the new traditions of the NBA allow the basketball business to be conducted in a modern way. 

Barnes also detailed that bringing together the cast of the Winning Time was not an easy task. The series is now home to cast members that have won the prestigious Oscar Award and needed to celebrate the legacy figures of the Lakers like Adrian Brody, Sally Field, and John C. 

The task was to bring in good actors who could beautifully portray the characters but also weave magic on the court as basketball players. It would have only done justice if the actors were essentially the embodiment of the NBA players. 

Hence, Barnes found Quincy Isaiah, who works great with the ball and is also just as great a person as Johnson, whom he plays in the series. The actor is always optimistic and just the right choice to play Magic johnson. 

Then there is Dr. Solomon Hughes. He plays Kareem Abdul-Jabbar whom he takes after in his seven feet tall build, loves playing basketball, and also looks like Abdul-Jabbar. The series is nicely blessed when it comes to casting just the amazing actors that they managed to secure. 

Winning Time premiers each Sunday on HBO and HBO Max, beginning from  March 6 to May 8.