Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty: Season 1

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Generally favorable reviews based on 29 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 21 Ratings

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6.6	Your Score
6.6	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 21 Ratings

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Winning Time: The Rise Of The Lakers Dynasty: Opening Credits

Now Playing: Winning Time: The Rise Of The Lakers Dynasty: Opening Credits

Season Details & Credits

HBO | Season Premiere Date: March 6, 2022

Summary: The Adam McKay drama series centers on the Los Angeles Lakers during the 1980s when they won five NBA championships.

Creator: Jim Hecht and Max Borenstein

Genre(s): Comedy, Drama, Sports, Documentary

Season 1 Episodes

10
S1:E10. Promised Land
Air Date: May 8, 2022
10
S1:E9. Acceptable Loss
Air Date: May 1, 2022
10
S1:E8. California Dreaming
Air Date: April 24, 2022

See all Seasons and Episodes

Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

Aaron Barnhart

Mar 4, 2022

[Magic and the Lakers] transformed sports in the public’s eye from just a game into show business. You’ll see how in this colorful, explosive, thoroughly entertaining series. Read full review

Dave Nemetz

Mar 7, 2022

It bites off more than it can chew by taking on too many characters. We follow more than a dozen characters through a flurry of flashbacks and strange psychological detours, explaining how this parade of damaged men came to be so damaged. (It’s ten episodes, but it could’ve easily be six, or even four.) Its dynamic style and the intriguing personalities involved help it rise above all of that, though. Read full review

i Ed Power

Mar 29, 2022

If nowhere near as deft as Succession, this depiction of American sport in all its excessive razzmatazz, was nonetheless an absolute ball. Read full review

Richard Roeper

Mar 3, 2022

For all the off-the-court shenanigans, “Winning Time” is primarily about the basketball, and the writers display a keen knowledge of the game whenever McKinney, West, Westhead, Riley, et al., are strategizing. As for practice and game sequences, the actors are convincing enough, with considerable assists from camera angles that make them appear NBA-sized and slick editing that no doubt compensated for shortcomings. Read full review

Jen Chaney

Mar 4, 2022

As it stands, this HBO series tells a messy, pulsating, occasionally problematic, but mostly entertaining version of the molding of a legendary basketball team. It’s not necessarily enlightening, but it is certainly a show. Read full review

The Times Carol Midgley

Mar 29, 2022

It was not at all what I expected, which was a stats and sport-heavy “groin strain” of a drama from which I would frequently zone out like I do whenever someone mentions golf. It was the opposite: flash, brash, blowsy, cheesy, bosomy (literally), vulgar, “fun” — and extremely pleased with itself, the drama equivalent of a loud, busty barmaid in a seaside postcard. Read full review

The Daily Beast Nick Schager

Mar 7, 2022

So awful is Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty that this is the conclusion of my review, and I’ve barely mentioned that its gameplay action is monotonous and phony (it’s all alley-oops and fancy passes), its inter-squad squabbling is pedestrian, and its season-long narrative is distended to such a laughable degree that, after eight episodes, it finishes without even getting to the 1980 NBA Playoffs! Read full review

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User Reviews

geewah

Jun 29, 2022

A thoroughly entertaining ride into the the takeover of the Lakers by Gerry Buss ahead of the 1979-80 season. This show focuses on a bunch of diverse characters thrown together, and tells their story in sharp and compelling manner that puts the game of basketball in the background for large chunks.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

LamontRaymond

Mar 12, 2022

What a snoozefest? How many characters can you have speaking to the camera? And that portrayal of Jerry West is probably actionable. Total b.s.

1 of 9 users found this helpful18