Winning Time Episode 6 True Story: What Really Happened & What Changed

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HBO's Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty episode 6 shifts its attention to Magic Johnson's rising fame and the fallout of Jack McKinney's accident, and here's what it gets right and wrong about the true story. After spending the first half of the season really setting up the new era of the Los Angeles Lakers under Jerry Buss (John C. Reilly), the 2022 HBO Max series is finally exploring the 1979-1980 NBA season. Winning Time episode 5 ended with a big cliffhanger after Jack McKinney (Tracy Letts) crashed his bike just as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Solomon Hughes) and Magic Johnson (Quincy Isaiah) started getting along.

Unsurprisingly, Winning Time episode 6 picks up directly after this incident. A good portion of the episode focuses on Jack McKinney's injuries and Paul Westhead (Jason Segel) becoming the interim coach of the Los Angeles Lakers. The former English teacher with a great knowledge of Shakespeare and other literature seems out of place as the face of the Lakers at this time, especially as he doesn't have full confidence in his ability to replace McKinney. Buss and Jerry West (Jason Clarke) still throw him into the proverbial fire out of necessity, and Westhead winds up getting some helpful advice from Pat Riley (Adrien Brody).

Related: Winning Time: Every Coach The Lakers Considered After Jerry West Quit

Outside of the tragic event that shaped the Los Angeles Lakers' unfortunate predicament, Winning Time episode 6 also follows Earvin 'Magic' Johnson as he begins to enter the world of endorsements. This primarily revolves around him landing a major shoe deal, but that also dovetails into him beginning to figure out what he really wants in life. Meanwhile, Jerry Buss wines and dines with members of the bank