Film director, producer and actor Antoine Fuqua and LA Lakers CEO and controlling owner Jeanie Buss spoke to Variety about their 10-part docu-series Legacy: The True Story of the LA Lakers. The series launched today on Hulu and follows the triumphant rise of the basketball team after Jerry Buss’ 1979 acquisition. This follows HBO’s Winning Time: Rise of the Lakers Dynasty, a scripted series adaptation of Jeff Pearlman’s nonfiction bestseller Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley, and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s.
Fuqua, a Lakers fan, and Buss discussed the series during their interview with the publication. Winning Time: Rise of the Lakers Dynasty has received criticism from some series’ subjects, including General Manager Jerry West and players Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Magic Johnson, for straying from the truth. About the scripted series, Fuqua said:
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Buss, who is the late Jerry Buss’ daughter, said:
“Winning Time is not legit as far as the truth or giving you any real insight on who the people really were and are. It’s just sort of caricatures and made-up, exaggerated stories, which is fine in the entertainment world, but it’s not the truth. I’m very happy that Jeanie and the Laker organization (asked me) to do this so that we can get the truth out. Also, it’s important to the fans.”
What We Can Expect From Legacy: The True Story of the LA Lakers
For the upcoming Hulu series, 75 people were interviewed, including West, Abdul Jabbar and Johnson. Fuqua wants to allow those involved to share the stories of their lives from their perspectives. The Training Day director also hopes to humanize athletes, showing the aftermath of wins and losses.
“That was entertainment that wasn’t based on a lot of truth, but it was entertaining for some people. I think John C. Reilly playing Dr. Jerry Buss — he should have been nominated for an Emmy.”
Buss, who is executive producer of the project, said that nothing was off limits for the series, which explores her family’s sometimes difficult dynamics.
The series will also focus on the late Kobe Bryant, whose untimely passing alongside daughter Gianna in 2020 impacted fans of the sport on a global level. While Fuqua and Buss did not provide many details on what will be explored about Bryant, they said an episode would be dedicated to Bryant, with a “powerful discussion about the tragic loss.”
“I think everybody can relate to family drama because at some level, we’re all involved in a family, and sometimes things aren’t always smooth and pretty. But it’s a story that is true and happened. Every one of my siblings had an opportunity to tell from their perspective how they felt about my dad’s passing and what his expectation was for us with (regards to) the team,” she says.
