Showtime Lakers author Jeff Pearlman pushes back against complaints Winning Time is inaccurate: "the show is f*cking brilliant"

Barrett Sports Media

Boston Globe sports columnist Bob Ryan, who covered the Boston Celtics during the Showtime Lakers era, recently said of Winning Time on Colin Cowherd’s podcast: "I will need a barf bucket before it’s over. I think the only thing that’s true that they based it on was that it’s about the Lakers. About everything else is fantasy.” He added: “I don’t know what Jerry West ever did to  Adam McKay to be portrayed in such an unflattering light, an unrealistic light, an embarrassing light, and that’s just for openers.” Pearlman, whose Showtime book provided the source material for Winning Time, tweeted in response: "It's NOT a documentary; B. I interviewed 350 people for Showtime, and Winning Time creators were incredibly detailed, precise, honoring of the source material; C. It's no different than Remember the Titans, 42, We Are Marshall, The Express, Rudy —ANY sports movie/TV show inspired by true events. Zero percent different. It's not dishonoring anyone. A-n-y-o-n-e. Truth be told, the show is reminding people of Showtime's greatness, and evoking rich memories of a glorious time in NBA history. Are the characters exact fits? No. They're (wait for it) actors using (wait for it) scripts written by (wait for it) writers. And the writing is insanely sharp, smart, cool. When I saw the saga of Jack McKinney on screen, I nearly wept tears of joy. When I see Mark Landsberger, Jim Chones, Ron Boone, etc—same. So much of this material had turned history's ghost. So, no, it's not a documentary. Yes, leaps and flourishes are taken. But the show is f*cking brilliant, and I'm a VERY proud author."