Truth and the HBO series “Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty” may coexist in a flexible way. The book “Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley, and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s,” written by Jeff Pearlman, served as its basis, however it doesn’t always adhere to the facts.
But even Hollywood’s most inventive writers could not have conjured up a situation as surreal as what happened on November 19, 1981.
Magic Johnson publicly demanded a trade from head coach Paul Westhead early in the 1981–1982 season, which led to Westhead’s dismissal by Lakers owner Jerry Buss. Even though Los Angeles was winning five straight games at the time, it was obvious that something wasn’t right in Laker Land.
Buss couldn’t make a mistake in choosing Westhead’s replacement since he knew he had a championship-caliber team. Buss made a brilliant move when he named Pat Riley, a future Hall of Famer, the Lakers’ next head coach—sort of.
After Magic Johnson publicly requested a trade early in the 1981-82 season because of his dissatisfaction with head coach Paul Westhead, Lakers owner Jerry Buss fired Westhead. Los Angeles was on a five-game winning streak at the time, but it was clear that something was off in Laker Land.
Buss knew that he had a team capable of winning a championship, so he couldn’t miss the mark when it came to selecting Westhead’s replacement. Buss nailed the hire, naming future Hall of Famer Pat Riley the next head coach of the Lakers
- When it was time to officially reveal which candidate would be taking over following Westhead’s departure, Buss left everyone, including Riley, extremely confused.
Ahead of the November press conference, Buss asked Jerry West, who had served as the Lakers’ head coach from 1976-79 before shifting to the front office, to return to his previous role.
Pearlman noted that West’s response to the question changed depending on which person described the meeting, but Los Angeles guard Norm Nixon said, “Considering how much Jerry hated being a coach, I can’t imagine he wanted that job.”
Regardless of what was actually said in the conversation, Buss “came to the conclusion that West not only accepted the position, but did so enthusiastically,” per Pearlman. But Riley later met West, who told Riley that he would be the head coach.
“I’ll help you out as an assistant for as long as you need, but hopefully not too long,” West said. “I know you’re going to do great things.”
And then things got really weird. At the press conference, Buss declared that West would be the offensive coach and Riley would handle the defensive end. Uh, what?
Pearlman provided this perplexing exchange from the press conference transcript:
