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WhatToWatch
WhatToWatch
Entertainment
Michael Balderston

Winning Time season 2 sets long-awaited release date, hypes Magic-Bird rivalry

Winning Time season 2 poster

With the current NBA season winding down, basketball fans don't need to worry, because their perfect summer TV show is on the way. After more than a year since season 1 wrapped up, Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty season 2 has finally announced its release date and dropped its first teaser trailer.

Winning Time season 2 premieres on HBO (streaming simultaneously on Max) on Sunday, August 6, at 9 pm ET/PT. It's fair to say, many people are excited about the return of Winning Time.

In case you missed the HBO show when it premiered in spring 2022, is a historical drama that tells the story of the 1980s "Showtime” Lakers, including eccentric team owner Jerry Buss (John C. Reilly), the soon-to-be-superstar Magic Johnson (Quincy Isaiah), Jerry West (Jason Clarke) and other influential pieces of the teams that made the Lakers one of the most prominent NBA franchises.

The first season saw the team win the 1980 NBA Finals, but season 2 is going to dive deeper into the team's historic rivalry with the Boston Celtics, including the personal rivalry between Johnson and Larry Bird (Sean Patrick Small). Here is the official synopsis:

"Season two continues to explore the professional and personal lives of the 1980s Los Angeles Lakers. This season hones in on the period just after the Finals in 1980 through 1984, culminating in the first professional rematch of the era’s greatest stars: Magic Johnson and Larry Bird."

In addition to Reilly, Isaiah, Clarke and Small, the Winning Time cast includes Adrien Brody as Pat Riley, Gaby Hoffmann as Claire Rothman, Jason Segel as Paul Westhead, Hadley Robinson as Jeanie Buss, DeVaughn Nixon as Norm Nixon, Solomon Hughes as Kareem Abdul-Jabar, Tamera Tomakili as Cookie Keely, Brett Cullen as Bill Sharman, Stephen Adly Guirgis as Frank Mariani, Spencer Garrett as Chick Hearn, Molly Gordon as Linda Zafrani, Joey Brooks as Lon Rosen, Delante Desouza as Michael Cooper, Jimel Atkins as Jamaal Wiles, Austin Aaron as Mark Landsberger, McCabe Slye as Jimmy Buss, Thomas Mann as Johnny Buss, Gillian Jacobs as Chris Riley, Michael Chiklis as Red Auerbach and Rob Morgan as Earvin Johnson Sr.

Watch the official teaser trailer for Winning Time season 2 right here:

Winning Time was not without its controversy in season 1. Jerry West and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar both spoke out about their depictions in the show, claiming that they are inaccurate. What to Watch highlighted some of elements of fact and fiction in Winning Time season 1.

You can catch up with Winning Time season 1 right now on Max in the US, and on Sky Go or NOW TV in the UK. 

(Image credit: Courtesy of HBO)
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