HBO 'Winning Time' portrayal of Jerry West 'unfair' says J.A. Adande | Brother from Another

[@kennethrobinson6738]

Winning Time is a joy to watch. Loving the acting, the story lines, and the flashback to that beautiful era of basketball, meaning the rise of the Lakers.

[@uncletony6210]

but you probably wouldn't like it if you were portrayed in every episode you as a maniac.

[@jcpepper5848]

@@uncletony6210 he its not a maniac hahahahaha you are all overacting

[@uncletony6210]

@@jcpepper5848 Breaking windows? Throwing golf clubs? Telling inanimate objects to F off? That's not maniacal??

[@ericthomas917]

The Laker players all say it isn't accurate

[@vision-gc4hy]

@@ericthomas917 It just needs to be enjoyable, which it is.

[@jclemons121384]

I'm glad the producers didn't have to clear this with anybody before putting this out, because I'm sure this series wouldn't have never aired.

[@caomhan84]

The problem is, even though they are technically operating within the limits of artistic license, whenever you are dealing with people that are still alive you have to make sure that you don't cross any lines. What they're doing with Jerry West is dangerously close to besmirching his character. I don't think he would have had a problem if they had just toned it down. But his characterization is so over the top that I don't blame him for being upset. Now, that being said, I do enjoy the Jerry West character on the show. But I wondered what I would feel if it had been me. Or if a show was made that represented me in such a wildly inaccurate way, and I was alive and watching it. To be honest I would probably be upset too. Not that they take some dramatic license, but that they just take that license and run with it to the point of beyond the pale.

[@marcomartinez8608]

Jerry West is not portrayed as a monster. I see a great divide here between the audience watching the show and the folks in the sports world.

[@ayeepexxtv5854]

I don't think he is either he comes off as somebody that would do anything for the lakers

[@kingmerlyn4615]

They are buddies that's why.

[@ericthomas917]

The Laker players say the show isn't accurate at all

[@marcomartinez8608]

@@ericthomas917 it's not meant to be.

[@TrueProphit]

Right it makes me wonder have they seen it, jerry himself said he was in a dark place.

[@FuzzyStayBuzzin183]

This man is the logo enough said

[@supanerd1554]

1. 'Winning Time' is AWESOME 2. It is NOT a documentary, it is a dramatization. The Lakers story is a backdrop for explaining other theme 3. You're missing out on the dramatic range of his story arch. I think they are overplaying the frustration of Jerry feeling tormented as a person that only got 1 ring vs where he is having growth as a person, GM, and influence to help his 2nd story as an NBA executive.

[@County_da_kang]

Jerry has a right to be mad. It's his life and he can have an opinion on how it gets portrayed.That being said I like the show and don't feel the show's portrayal is disrespectful at all.

[@thelyric8266]

Look at sport century doc n watch this show you'll see..he said he was depressed from losing to bill in his own documentary bruh...it was true he didn't want magic...it's true he won final mvp n still lose .n keep it imagine scoring 40 per game n still lost to bill the 4th straight time...warriors had every Allstars and lebro was still piss when he take an L

[@uncletony6210]

easy for you to say. but if someone made a film about your life and portrayed you as a psycho I'm guessing you might call it disrespectful...at minimum.

[@louis7777]

Jerry West is a basketball savant the most successful GM in the NBA a gentleman an LA icon, why would anyone disrespect him this way its such a travesty and it pains all Laker fans.

[@thelyric8266]

He wasn't disrespected watch the show. ..it just show how piss he is that he keep losing to boston..which in his sports century documentary its true

[@apierre6]

I'm a Lakers fan and it doesn't pain me one bit. It's meant to be a dramatization like any television show based on true events. The Crown on Netflix based on the Royal family, the dropout based on the theranos founder, Wecrashed based on the wework founders, etc.

[@nysockexchange2204]

The way Jerry West is portrayed in Winning Time is exactly how was feeling internally according to his own words. It's very difficult (if not impossible) to portray someone's inner feelings in a TV program so they had to externalize these feelings in to properly build his character. Also consider Jerry was only in his late 30s in 1980 and is a very different, more mature man today. I have a feeling we'll see a more refined Jerry West when they cover the Kobe/Shaq years.

[@skylimitkt]

Winning Time is amazing. It will become a classic just based on the fact none of the lakers seem to like the show or want to see it. Even Magic was quoted to saying he wasn’t going to watch. Jeanie Buss also has a doc or a show coming to HBO about the lakers, the ratings are going to be even better partly because of Winning Time!

[@jingqi9106]

Winning Time was ridiculous, inaccurate in many ways, and definitely insulting. 👎

[@yao052]

@@jingqi9106 no one cares

[@stevewise1656]

You're an idiot! It's mostly fact free. As someone who's met him and been a Lakers fan since I was a kid, the show is BS. Jerry always said don't ever make an emotional decision and he was the best GM in all of sports, period. He built the Showtime Lakers and the Shaq and Kobe team.

[@stevewise1656]

Jerry West wasn't the man they described. In fact, he always said, "Never make an emotional business decision." That's always been something something in the back of my mind since owning my first business at 21.

[@ericthomas917]

@@yao052 the Laker players care

[@lion-o6821]

Carrying yourself well doesn't mean you don't explode from time to time.

[@soda8736]

Damn wanted to hear why Adonde wasn't buying Magic

[@muscle3kr]

Jerry West character is a hit in the show. I be looking for his opinion to pop up and let people have it. 😂

[@frankenviews4069]

The show lazily reduces people into a single trait. Jerry West is a no nonsense fierce competitor. The writers show this through loud violent over the top public out bursts of anger. Unfortunately for the showrunners, the real West is an no nonsense fierce competitive introvert. For the real story, watch "They Call Me Magic". A four part documentary with the actual people, not actors.

[@805fillmore]

Dude that’s like saying goodfellas sucks because all the facts aren’t correct

[@dbc7772011]

I love the West character. Early episodes were maybe a bit harsh on him, kicking MVP trophy through window. But his character is wise, intense, no nonsense, hard core, to the point and one of my favorites. Buss is also badass! West’s advice to Magic re Wilt and Russell and Magic and Dr. J was brilliant! West’s decision and reasoning to Buss re coaching decision is also brilliant. Bottom line excellent entertainment.

[@vision-gc4hy]

The West character is pretty phenomenal. They're not addressing the quality of the narrative. Because they're offended, they can't appreciate the quality of the production. They keep giving their advice about how the series "could have" portrayed itself, but what do they know about how to tell a story?

[@DrJohnnyJ]

But not West. Not at all. He internalized everything.

[@vision-gc4hy]

@@DrJohnnyJ That’s kinda “his” problem. For us viewers, we get to enjoy a more entertaining character. He’s still my 4th favorite Laker,

[@a27dub]

Now I would hope they would do their diligence and talk to jerry. But I also know they don't just use the persons account of everything. There are other people around the situation who are interviewed and that is taken into account too. He may perceive himself one way and others may not. But he has a point.....

[@veerchasm1]

I never found the show’s depiction of Jerry as believable. It’s fiction

[@xxphactor]

Got dammit Holly! When JA said he didn't buy the Magic character, and you went off on some damm tangent! That was the perspective that I wanted to hear about the most!

[@iiRolltide]

I’ve seen a few people make the argument that the true story is entertaining enough to make a show or movie out of and it is to people like us, watching shows like this. But the overwhelming majority of the world don’t care about sports. The goal is to make an entertaining show to get people to sign up to hbo max. And I’ve seen people who’ve never seen a basketball game talk about how much they like this show. So they’ve done their job. It’s not a documentary. It’s not show friends it’s show business. People need to stop taking themselves so seriously. You know the truth about yourself so why care about how a studio portrays you in a show where they tell at the start that it’s not all real?

[@Primenumber19]

He has depression and admitted he wouldn’t speak or come out of his room for days. He has publicly stated he hated winning finals mvp for a losing team. He has admitted he couldn’t watch the games live because he got too emotional. His wife said he maybe only says I love you once a year. What’s the issue here?

[@wilkic2]

The issue is that they showed him as an raging alcoholic, which is what his abusive father was and what he strived to never be. They didn't show his mental health issues, they showed the exact opposite for laughs.

[@Primenumber19]

@@wilkic2 they very clearly reference his mental health issues multiple times in interactions with his wife, and they make one reference to him drinking too much, and while being a bit rage filled he is never shown being violent or threatening violence towards anyone.

[@JK-br1mu]

The issue is he wasn't a raving lunatic anger-man. None of what you said addressed that in any way. Glad we could clear that up.

[@ayeepexxtv5854]

@@JK-br1mu he's not a raving lunatic stop overreacting

[@Primenumber19]

@@JK-br1mu by his own account his over emotional nature put him in the hospital and he said himself he didn’t calm down until he left the lakers

[@millionaire313scott6]

But how do we know he didn’t do any of this back in the day?

[@randyjames693]

What did his own autobiography say?

[@howardpritchardjr7488]

Some people are saying this is a matter of opinion. Some say it's just for entertainment purposes. But, the problem is the series is a huge contradiction compared to the book it's based off of. And in many ways it pokes jokes at who these men really are. People that don't know the history of these players believe half what they see. And what we're all seeing is really 96% not true. To sell a series is a lame excuse for just flat out lying about people's life stories. The series is so well casted it could have been a hit with real life stories. Hell, that's what made "Narcos" a hit series. They hyped up some parts, but it was still based off 85% true story. Why are people cool with seeing a re-write of history anyway??? Instead of promoting this as drama series, they should of said it's a parody based off the book.

[@Bey11ktb]

Can't wait for glory days and party nights of the Dallas cowboys

[@meatballsportstalk6297]

Show is hella entertaining

[@mexia23]

show is great i know they dont like they portrayal but i think its some true to it thats why they mad

[@dennyb8442]

JA adande doesn’t want to mess up his money. That’s all this is. You know he’s loving the series like the rest of us.

[@theman1412]

His character's rant for winning the NBA Finals MVP Trophy (even though he lost that Finals)

[@stevewise1656]

Why did they choose to portray West in such a non factual way. No need.

[@teddybrukshot1801]

Brothers been portrayed all of the world as violent and angry since cinematography!! And Jerry west has the right to be angry 🤦🏿‍♂️

[@skylimitkt]

The difference between the OJ series and winning time, is that you know the people off the court with the lakers show. With the OJ series you don’t know any of them outside of the OJ Simpson trial, so with the OJ show you don’t know what parts are over dramatic.

[@erickennedy8534]

Read Jerry West book , the man is bitter person. What read in his book , I think HBO almost got him right , expect little entertainment expectations.

[@nemospodcast6766]

Jerry West is the best part of the show Jason Clark did incredible job. He’s so fu#king funny.

[@kilkongarlla]

It's a comedy, it's boring what your saying

[@wilkic2]

You lack empathy

[@TrueProphit]

You was 9 years old when this took place, it was b4 jerry got help.

[@themoviefan9990]

Stop complaining

[@dcwSentinal]

It’s a fictional show about real ppl and they act like it’s a documentary instead of a show

[@harrisongelles685]

It’s not all Fictional! There is much of it that’s factual and they get details right on many things, but then portrays a real person in a fictional way. Did you listen to the interview?

[@pluturner893]

Ummmm that Kareem story is true tho

[@OntarioAndrews415]

HBO's 'Winning Time' has my full attention. I do get what these two are saying, but they are close to the in-the-know crowd. Anyone can nick-pick a show if they know the players personally. I'm listening to these two and I think if they were in charge of creating Winning Time then the show would be a big fail.

[@thelyric8266]

Not gon lie people make this too much of a big deal .they act lik jerry west ain't human gettin his ass woop by Bill Russell lik it's not a rivalry. ...I even see the movie negative shii I see a jerry west who cares for his team he trippen

[@discernment8963]

It's just what HBO and the ilk do. Even though Jerry West isn't political figure per se, he achieved his respect the traditional way. He earned every bit of it. As opposed to being "granted" it by an agenda that's calling shots. That's what this boils down to.

[@dbryant415]

As a diehard Celtic fan, I see no problems with the series; I love it!! 🤥🤭

[@deanackerman6664]

Unfortunately, many of these sports movies or TV series projects take odd artistic license with real life characters. The Ford VS. Ferrari movie (starring Matt Damon & Christian Bale) turned a top Ford executive into an awful villain. The problem, like with Jerry West in 'Winning Time' it was Hollywood BS.

[@SmartDave60]

You honestly think a viewer would think that’s true portrayal of Jerry West?

[@deanackerman6664]

@@SmartDave60 yes I do. Sadly people believe movies & TV shows over actual history. I know a lot of people that know nothing about racing & thought the "evil Ford executive" was 100% accurate. It was as exaggerated / fictionalized as the 'Jerry West' character in this HBO series.

[@SmartDave60]

@@deanackerman6664 so the solution is what?

[@pycellesbeard9728]

@@SmartDave60 There is no solution because there is no real issue, Film making is art and this is just another example of snowflakes wanting to censor art. Best thing to do is let them continue to whine, they'll be off on their next crusade soon enough.

[@creativereality4212]

@@SmartDave60 are you reading the comments on here? Unfortunately, there’s a lot of low IQ people on this thread who think winning time is an accurate portrayal.

[@tylergrant82]

adande didn’t spend time w jerry west during th showtime era

[@joecostigan6348]

Bruh sports journalists know nothing about entertainment

[@DLloyd-bb4wk]

They fabricated the games too. So I’m not shocked that so many other things weren’t true.

[@dinewalton]

I don't know why anybody gets mad about Jerry West and Winning Time. After watching Winning Time, Jerry West now looks more likeable and a cooler guy to me.

[@seanmcginn4669]

Winning Time is an awful joke, I watch with my finger on the fast forward button.

[@anthonytaylor7928]

Dude so you're saying hes not like that but yet u say he wrote about it also dude u wasn't even around the organization back then so how do u really know

[@geno816]

It's a show for goodness sake.

[@CarlosFernandez-r8o]

Everybody with half a brain knows it was unfair.

[@anthonytaylor7928]

I believe all of it is true on winning time all of it Jerry magic and Kareem are trying to protect their brand

[@mauricescribner7025]

So the Easter Bunny is asking about whether you are real

[@creativereality4212]

Read the book that is the source material. You will find that there are significant divergences

[@anthonytaylor7928]

@@creativereality4212 so what I still believe most of it

[@brockgeorge777]

Unfortunately the Buss portrayal is relatively fair. He was a debaucherous hedonist of the first order.

[@ИвайлоДимитров-ж4ы]

It's just a movie and the character they build is great, hopefully nobody with his right mind believe it is true

[@darenroth7390]

I think west is halarious

[@SmartDave60]

Adande has lost his mind. This is clearly a comedy and NOT authentic.

[@Themoomabides]

Winning Time is myth building and myth breaking. It’s everything I wanted it to be!

[@Stephenwhite013]

Funny now that jerry west said something everyone is surprisingly mad. We’re 7 weeks in on the series and none of y’all have spoken up. If you really felt that way maybe you should’ve said something earlier

[@BuddhaLove77]

I will refuse to watch the series because of what they did to Jerry West!

[@colinforsecs3393]

HIm getting angry over this actually proves the portrayal right

[@colinforsecs3393]

@SuperPunch76 It doesn't make any sense? Sure it does...There's nothing in that show that should be offensive. What it really is, is these grown ass men don't wanna answer for the sh!t they did in the 80's. They wanna be portrayed as Gods and Saints and there were far from it. Sure it's hollywood, it's overly dramatic. Some of the facts or incorrect, but it never claimed to 100 percent accurate. West, Magic are big babys...

[@crungefactory]

West has every right to be pissed off. He's a man of high character. He's been portrayed unfairly. Period

[@colinforsecs3393]

@@crungefactory Let's just angry over everything and rush the stage because as a society we can't handle a joke, or an opinion on someone's past..LOL, ok

[@creativereality4212]

@@colinforsecs3393 so if we decide to make a series about your life and we just decided to make a bunch of things up, are you telling me you would not be upset? Did you even watch the video? As they discussed, Jerry west has been very open about some of the demons he has had to battle. They didn’t need to invent any new ones.

[@colinforsecs3393]

@@creativereality4212 Sure, but I wouldn't throw a fit about it to this level.. If he's as well respected as everyone says he is, what's it really hurt'n

[@wobblertv8083]

Very entertaining show but a lot of artistic licence taken with the portrayal of Jerry west .He was nothing like the erratic character he is shown to be here .He was scarred man, After all those horrendous loses to the Celtics.But always had a great dignity about him .

[@teddybrukshot1801]

Can't lie love Jerry west character! And chick Hearn watch the fist

[@jingqi9106]

I had to stop watching "Winning Time" after ONE episode because it was absolutely ridiculous. Their portrayal of West was almost laughable and definitely insulting and inaccurate. I will never watch any more of that drivel of a show. Fail. 👎

[@anthonytaylor7928]

How do u know it's inaccurate were u in the lakers organization?

[@anthonytaylor7928]

J .A u were only ten years old in 1980 so how in the hell do u know what went on shut it up

[@kenneyoakwood1293]

So what....get over it

[@billyjenkins3672]

Whatever! I believe it, and it’s a great damn show!

[@mauricescribner7025]

Santa Claus says you owe him from last Christmas for gifts and toys

[@mariojune1084]

Sooo.. what were his "demons" ? Was he a drinker, did he have a quick temper?

[@wilkic2]

No… he was abused by his father and he was traumatized by his brother dying in Korea. He was chronically depressed and had suicidal thoughts

[@thelonewolf4288]

I love the girl who plays young Jeannie 😍❤ Wess gave us 2 dominant era's we were the best franchise i can only hope to have a gm like Wess now because Pelinka is a yess man to Lebron and really messed up with the Westbrook trade i never wanted him we shoulded traded for Beal who can atcually shoot but who am i right? Its a fictional show for most parts but its great to watch as a Lakerfan and i like Wess carachter in the show shure he's troubled but he knows what it takes to win and he will always be a Laker to me he had the toughest time playing getting beat year after year by those damn celtics but he won one with Chamberlain and is still the logo got to respect that you cant take a show as reality

[@JORE4203]

JA isn’t a good guest

[@danschriver75]

Idk if I wanna watch it. cuz I love jerry west and I don't want see him portrayed as a piece of shit. I understand the show is a dramatization based on a book but that's still fucked up. unless the show has a "although this show is based on real people events and blah blah have been exaggerated for dramatic purposes" title screen I'm not gunna watch it.

[@rebelmetal4233]

It is a horrible show...they took a great idea and turned it into a cartoon...childish and silly.

[@timbrown9796]

I never seen this much crying over a show WTF. Y'all feel some way cuz they know some stuff was goin on.

[@theesotaricitalian6338]

3 championships the heat won only 3 and Lebron only one 2. Jerry West was also not an alcoholic but he was an insane sex addict, he said so in his autobiography.

[@curtis2609]

Lol

[@albertdoil2659]

Growth is a beautiful thing how do we know Jerry wasn't really a maniac 40 years, and chick hern wasn't a racist, we don't know ,alot of us wasn't even born, Love this show can't wait for next episode 😁👍

[@ayeepexxtv5854]

A monster? Y'all really overreacting lol

[@kingmerlyn4615]

Jerry west threatening to sue kinda says he maybe was like that a little. I actually like him on the show. He's human. They show good in him to. People only want to be known as role models. But we wrongly assume that we can't learn from the bad.

[@julianisaac6004]

A homeless man once told me that if someone says something about you and it makes you mad, it probably is right. While it may be an extreme characterization it is likely somewhat true.

[@zacukleya7562]

I loved jerry west in the show. He stole the screen every time he was on it. It might have been a complete mischaracterization but damn it was fun to watch

[@RA-zc3ep]

It's disgusting that now, publishing companies have stoop to the same low ball steer up controversy that is just as degrading as the Hip Hop industry. We saw with Scottie Pippin,now we are seeing it with the Show Time book. I'm not buying the book, clearly because I'm not feeding that ISH into my head. Jerry West clearly,stated he would watch games from home because of his emotional involvement with wanting to see his teams win. Is that a crime??? No players in West's playing days,his brief stint coaching or during his time as Lakers GM said the ugly portrayal about West that this scum wrote in his book.

[@mrc302]

The book is nothing like the show.