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'Winning Time': Why was Lakers head coach Jerry West against drafting Magic Johnson?

In the show, West was shown to have been keen on drafting Sidney Moncrief as their No 1 pick since the sharpshooter was a better scorer in his opinion

One of the key storylines in HBO's 'Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty' was that of Los Angeles Lakers' former head coach, Jerry West (Jason Clarke) strongly against drafting rookie Earvin 'Magic' Johnson during the NBA 1979 Draft. The former superstar who was a legend himself was dead against the idea of having Michigan's point guard on his side and had his reasons for it. 

In the show, West was shown to have been keen on drafting Sidney Moncrief as their No 1 pick since he was a better scorer in his opinion. Then there was also the issue of Johnson being too tall and that would mean a disadvantage. At 6 ft. 9 in, the kid was too tall to be a PG and West even had doubts about his shooting. There was also that quip about "he smiles too much" and is soft. Whether that was an issue that West had or not remains to be seen, but the world loved Johnson the player and Johnson the man with a wide grin.

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The series opener explored the story of Jerry Buss (Pat C Reily) acquiring the Lakers for $67.5 million and keen on picking Johnson during the NBA 1979 Draft. It wasn't all hunky-dory as the PG had plans to leave after being humiliated by Norman Nixon during a party and it took some magic from Buss to get him to stay. The story of West's reluctance to sign Johnson was also a topic of discussion on social media with fans praising Clarke's portrayal of the character.

"Jerry west really didn’t want to draft Magic Johnson 🥴 #WinningTime," one of the comments read. "Was Jerry West really hating on Magic like that?! #WinningTime," a fan asked. "20 mins into #winningtime . Holy hell is Jerry West actor incredible. @jeffpearlman," a tweet said. "If you a Lakers fan this a must watch, i never knew jerry west was such a hater lmao #WinningTime," a comment said. "Jerry West was my favorite player when I first became an NBA and Lakers fan. It’s amazing what you learn about the person from biographies and working for teams. #WinningTime," a fan remarked.

'Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty' airs Sunday nights at 9 pm ET on HBO.