'Winning Time' Episode 8: Did Spencer Haywood's cocaine addiction end his Lakers career?
'Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty' Episode 8 shows Spencer Haywood inviting the team to his house to watch the All-Star game, and while there's that verbal skirmish between him and Pat Riley (Adrien Brody), there's a pivotal scene that actually explains his career trajectory. Haywood is seen digging out some cocaine from his shoe and safe to say, in the book, 'Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley, and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s,' by Jeff Pearlman, the Lakers star was called a "cocaine addict".
In the book, Haywood confesses to 80% of the NBA stars in the 80s used cocaine. Even Jeanie Buss agreed that "Cocaine was the perfect Los Angeles Drug". While the purposes bordered between recreational and dangerous, it was the former for Haywood as he went from being one of Jack McKinney's stars to being benched by Paul Westhead despite being called a "Monster" power forward by George McGinnis, a PF who played for Indiana, Philly, and Denver.
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Did Spencer Haywood's cocaine addiction end his Lakers career?
Pearlman documents Spencer Haywood's cocaine addiction in detail. His family had issues with alcohol. Haywood's sister and brother were what he described to the author as "functioning alcoholics". His first tryst with cocaine began in 1978 while he was playing for the New York Knicks. However, he vowed he would do better after joining the purple and gold. However, the intent and the hard yards he put in prior to the start of the pre-season games diminished when he took a hit from the pipe, so much so that he spent a major chunk of his NBA earnings on drugs.
The book said that he reportedly spent $300 per week on drugs, although much of it, by his own admission was free. To quash the high he would experience after using the drug, he would pop a few Quaaludes to bring him back to normal. But he overdosed on the pill once and passed out on the bathroom floor. Over the course of the season when Paul Westhead took over in McKinney's absence, Haywood's playing time took a hit and his interactions with the team became more of a stress point.
He was kicked off the team during the championship series against the Philadelphia 76ers which featured the classic contest of Magic Johnson versus Dr J. He had fallen asleep during practice. The next season Haywood played in Italy for Reyer Venezia Mestre before returning to the NBA to play for the Washington Bullets. While Episode 8 just hints at his drug use, perhaps the future episodes deal with his cocaine addiction.
Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty' airs Sundays at 9 pm ET on HBO.