HBOhas long been home to sports scheduling , both real ( boxing ) and fictional ( Ballers ) . Their latest athletic effort , Winning Time , takes a inscrutable dive into the Los Angeles Lakers of the 1980s , with one particular instalment draw attentionfor depictinga young Kobe Bryant in attending for a 1979 biz .
But did a sister Bryant really model in the stands for that game , or was it some originative license on the part of the show ?
In the installment , “ Pieces of a Man , ” Earvin “ Magic ” Johnson realise his NBA debut with the Lakers opposite the San Diego Clippers . In the show , a graphic onscreen cuts to a shot of a mother holding a babe , with the fable “ Kobe ‘ Bean ’ Bryant ” appearing underneath .
It ’s not reassert Bryant was at the game , but it ’s plausible . Here ’s why : Bryant ’s father , Joe Bryant , was also an NBA player who was part of the Clippers and played in the real game render on the show . That would have opened the room access for Bryant ’s mother , Pam , to give ear with their untried Word : Bryant was bear August 23 , 1978 , make him roughly a year previous at the time .
While not factually confirmed , it was the show ’s way ofhonoringBryant , who became the focal point of the Lakers in the 21st century . Bryant give-up the ghost in January 2020followinga helicopter crash along with eight other passengers .
get ahead Timehas been a critical strike for HBO , though it ’s not been without contestation . Onetime Lakers coach and general manager Jerry West recently pick apart the series for its delineation of him . ( West is played by Jason Clarke.)According totheLos Angeles Times , West , who was also used as the basis for theNBA logo , has call for both a abjuration and apologia from HBO ; the channel respond that the serial publication is “ not a infotainment . ” That ’s also why Bryant ’s cameo may not be totally accurate , but all the same a treat for the team ’s rooter .
