Quincy Isaiah, who portrays Lakers legend Magic Johnson on HBO’s Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty, says that there’s “no malice” behind the series. The show follows the professional and personal lives of several players on the Lakers in the 1980s.
“I mean, I understand where they coming from because it’s a story about their lives,” Isaiah told TMZ when the outlet caught up with him at LAX, this week. “So, it’s tough. But I really feel like we did a really good job of showing humans and showing a full version of who we at least perceive them to be.”
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“At the beginning and end of every episode, it says ‘this is a dramatization,’” Isaiah said. “We take real facts that happen, and we make it good for TV.”
As for Johnson’s criticism of the show, Isaiah said that he’s got nothing but respect for the Hall of Famer.
“Magic, man, I love you dude,” Isaiah said. “You literally lived an incredible life so that I could—I’m getting into an Escalade because he lived an incredible life. I have nothing but love and respect for that man,”
He added that he doesn’t think there’s any beef between the two of them, explaining that Johnson “understands I’m an actor.”
Check out Isaiah’s comments below.
[Via]