Controversy with the series “Lakers: Time to Win”: An NBA legend demanded an apology for a “false characterization” of his character

After the success generated by The Last Dance, the 10-part documentary that showed the journey of Michael Jordan and his historic Chicago Bulls in the 1990s in the NBA, now added a new hit for basketball fans. The series “Lakers: Time to Win”, which is broadcast on HBO, portrays how the dynasty originated that led the Los Angeles franchise to win five league titles in the 80s by Magic Johnson.

One of the characters that has the most presence in history is Jerry West, an NBA legend, the man who shaped the logo of the best basketball competition in the world and who played nine finals becoming champion in 1972. After walking away as coach of the team, The Logo became something of an advisor to owner Jerry Buss, someone who helped with his knowledge to the success of the franchise.

But after seeing how they personified their role in the series, West complained and asked for a rectification and an apology. According to ESPN, the legal representatives of the historic No. 44 of the Lakers targeted those responsible for the platform and Adam McKay, producer and director of the series.

The remembered player, who was chosen 14 times for the All-Star and is the only player in NBA history to be elected MVP of the Finals (1969) without having taken the ring that year, is characterized as a man with serious problems controlling his anger, unable to overcome the frustrations he went through on the team in his time as a player and also as a coach.

“The portrait of NBA and Lakers icon Jerry West in 'Winning Time' is a fiction that is intended to be factual, a deliberately false characterization that has caused great distress to Jerry and his family,” says the letter released by his lawyers.

“Contrary to the unfounded portrait of the HBO series, Jerry had nothing but love and harmony with the Lakers and, in particular, with its owner, Jerry Buss, during a time when he assembled one of the best teams in NBA history,” the report adds.

In the statement, West's legal representatives state that the series highlights the role played by Jason Clarke as a person “out of control” and a “rageaholic” (“anger junkie”). In the writing, they indicate that this image “bears no resemblance to the real person”.

“Jerry West was an integral part of the success of the Lakers and the NBA,” says the report presented by the former player who recruited Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, strongholds of another golden age in Los Angeles, among other great players. Finally, they regret that the series deviated from the book “Showtime” by Jeff Pearlman, on which the novel was based.

The one who supported this measure was none other than Kareem Abdul Jabbar, another of the best 75 players in NBA history and part of the dynasty that was forged in the 1980s in the franchise. “It's a shame the way they treat Jerry West, who has spoken openly about his fight against mental health, especially depression. Instead of exploring his problems with compassion as a way to better understand man, they turn him into a cartoon of Wile E. Coyote for laughs,” said the top scorer in the league's history in a column he wrote on his personal site.

“He never broke golf clubs, he didn't throw his trophy out the window. Of course, those actions create dramatic moments, but they reek of an easy exploitation of man rather than an exploration of the character,” said Kareem of some of the moments seen in the series and in which he shows West's supposed difficult character.

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