Quincy Isaiah Jumps Through More Hoops as Magic Johnson in Season 2 of WINNING TIME: THE RISE OF THE LAKERS DYNASTY

By BILL HARRIS Special to The Lede With HBO’s historical sports drama WINNING TIME: THE RISE OF THE LAKERS DYNASTY entering its second season, the title of the show should be considered in a wider context. Yes, Season 1 was all about “winning time,” and “the rise” of the Los Angeles Lakers, who rebuilt their franchise – energized by a supremely talented and charismatic rookie named Magic Johnson, played here by Quincy Isaiah – and won the NBA title in 1980. And yes, as the name of the show suggests, in hindsight the Lakers did create a dynasty in the ’80s, but there definitely were ups and downs along the way. As Season 2 tips off with a new episode on Sunday, Aug. 6, only on Crave, the plot quickly zeroes in on the fall of 1980, with Magic and the Lakers trying to avoid being overwhelmed by what they’ve achieved, and the glare of the spotlight that is now squarely upon them. For Magic specifically, that means dealing with three major crises: one pertains to an ego clash with a teammate; one has to do with a serious injury; and one is the consequence of some reckless off-court behaviour. The young Magic must come to understand that even though many doors are now open to him due to his celebrity, perhaps it isn’t wise to walk through all of them. In a different way, Isaiah is also enjoying his first burst of professional success, thanks to his acclaimed performance as Magic in WINNING TIME. “Somebody pointed out to me recently, ‘you started out on a show called WINNING TIME – you’re set!’ ” Isaiah said with a chuckle during a visit to Toronto. “That’s a good way of looking at it, and this has all been very positive,” he continued. “There has just been an outpouring, not only about the show, but about my performance, and it’s so good. People are like, ‘we love you in it.’ And to be able to affect that many people on a massive level, it’s crazy to see it, and to feel it. I just hope that we can continue to build on it through Season 2, and that we just keep getting better, not only with the show, but in my career as well.” Isaiah played football as a youngster, although if he had been given the choice – and perhaps a different body shape – he would have picked basketball. “I love basketball – I played football, but basketball was my favourite sport,” he explained. “It was just that my body was built for football better than it was for basketball. So that’s just where people kind of placed me. But basketball was my first love. Honestly, the first thing I ever wanted to be was a basketball player.” Now Isaiah has found a different way to live that dream, although he’s portraying a star basketball player who made his mark more than four decades ago. So has he become a bit of a hoops historian through his role on WINNING TIME? “Yeah, just off the research, right?” Isaiah said. “I have to look at that. I have to know, what were the hot movies? What was the music like? What was the culture at that time? It’s just so that I can immerse myself in it as a character, and I can use that, and play with that. You know, it might not be in the script, but I can pull from that, and maybe even ad-lib a line about something from that time period. I’d rather be more knowledgeable, and more researched, than lacking anything. It adds context. I’d rather be over-prepared.” Sometimes it pays to be over-prepared in sports, too. But even dynasties hit speed bumps, and as Season 2 of WINNING TIME stylishly shows, detours can happen when a team gets too good, too fast.   billharristv@gmail.com @billharris_tv