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As the NBA's most winningest and most storied franchise, there is no paucity of documentaries about the Boston Celtics. In fact, quite the opposite -- one could seemingly fill weeks of time watching just the better-known stabs at putting the history of the team into a video format. But there is a new contender on the scene in that regard, and we are not referring to NBA titles here, or at least directly. The Ringer's Bill Simmons and HBO have teamed up to bring the world "Celtics City," a new documentary series that aims about as high as one can with these things. The Celtics Wire recently sat down with the director, Lauren Stowell, and co-executive producer and showrunner Gabe Honig to talk about the new docuseries and what sets it apart in a sea of similar content. To that question in particular, Stowell was forthright in her reply. "This one is the definitive complete story, not told in bits and pieces or your favorite iconic moments or eras," she explained. "We're starting from Red Auerbach getting the job and Walter A. Brown owning the team through Banner 18, and the journey to that."
JJ Redick often thinks about a quote from an HBO miniseries on World War II that aired in 2001. "There's a scene in ‘Band of Brothers' where they're in the trenches and one of the soldiers, who's really scared, asks the other guy, 'How are you able to go out and fight? You don't seem scared,'" Redick recalled. "And he says, 'It's because I'm already dead.'"
The Sopranos star Edie Falco: 'Joel Embiid is mean'
Edie Falco clearly holds grudges. The “Sopranos” star currently has one with Joel Embiid. Falco, who played Carmela on the iconic HBO series, is a passionate Knicks fan and joined Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart on the latest episode of their “Roommates Show” podcast. She criticized Embiid for elbowing Brunson when the Knicks and 76ers met in the first round of the playoffs last year. “Joel Embiid, he’s mean,” Falco said. “He like elbowed you in a game last year and I was going to go after him. I mean that’s how bad it was. And then I think I’ve seen you guys play since then and you guys are all like cool with each other. I’m like, ‘You don’t hold a grudge?’”
Celtics fans should anticipate learning more details on the upcoming HBO Max docuseries on the 18-time NBA champions soon. What we do know about the Bill Simmons-produced project: It’s nine parts and covers the franchise’s history, even though cameras followed the 2023-24 team on its ride to the championship. It’s expected to drop in the first few months of 2025. Stay tuned.
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One of the only notable moves of the offseason for the Heat this year was drafting big man Kel'el Ware out of Indiana in the first round of the draft, and recently, Ware shared a story where he wasn't afraid to ask Riley about his portrayal on the recent HBO series “Winning Time,” which discussed his tenure with the Los Angeles Lakers. “I can’t remember word for word but yeah, he didn’t like it, nah, he didn’t like it,” said Ware, via The OG's Podcast with Udonis Haslem and Mike Miller.
But there’s a quid pro quo at work here, too. VIP guests comped by the Garden are expected to say cheese on the celeb cam during games, film promotional spots for the arena and MSG Network, support the Garden of Dreams charity foundation, and even help recruit players. Take the video recently unearthed by Pablo Torre Finds Out, showing the late James Gandolfini and Edie Falco reprising their roles from HBO’s The Sopranos. It was actually part of a failed attempt by the Knicks to recruit LeBron James to New York in 2010.
On the heels of Sept. 17’s season two finale of HBO’s Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty, fans were shocked to learn that the series had been canceled. Others, like Magic Johnson, were unfazed. “Well, I never watched it because nobody in this world can tell the Lakers story [like it needed to be told]. The Showtime story? Nobody! Dr. Buss was way ahead of his time as an owner. Our team? Unbelievable! The Laker girls with Paula Abdul? Unbelievable! Nobody can tell that story,” the NBA great told The Hollywood Reporter on Thursday night when asked about it on the red carpet at the Elizabeth Taylor Ball to End AIDS. “So, none of us watched it because it was fictional. You just can’t tell that story. But, hey, that’s on them.”
Fans of prestige TV and NBA drama may have been disappointed by HBO's cancellation of Winning Time — but Los Angeles Lakers legend Magic Johnson wasn't among them. The five-time NBA champ, whose years as the face of the Showtime-era Lakers were at the center of the Adam McKay-produced series, recently told The Hollywood Reporter that he "never watched" the show because "nobody in this world can tell the Lakers story." He added, "The Showtime story? Nobody! Dr. [Jerry] Buss was way ahead of his time as an owner. Our team? Unbelievable! The Laker Girls with Paula Abdul? Unbelievable! Nobody can tell that story."
Max will stream NBA games next season
Mike Vorkunov: NBA will see some of its games stream live on HBO Max this season as Warner Bros. Discover announces a sports add-on to it, including: — 2 opening night games — 65 regular season games — In-season tournament — All-Star Saturday and ASG — Playoffs, including Western Conf. finals
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HBO cancels 'Winning Time'
After ordering a pilot tentatively titled “Showtime” in 2019, HBO announced in late 2021 that its Los Angeles Lakers-inspired series would be known as “Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty” and debut in March of the following year. (It dropped the “Showtime” name due to a certain competing premium cable network.) Unfortunately for fans, Sunday’s Season 2 finale also serves as the series finale — HBO has announced that the show has been canceled. The show, a dramatized retelling of the rise of the 1980s “Showtime” era of the Lakers, was renewed for a second season a month after its debut. The show is based on Jeff Pearlman’s book “Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s.”
Jeff Pearlman: I'm telling you — the future of "Winning Time" hangs in the balance. We need viewers. The strikes are crippling. Please help spread the word. Season 2 is amazing. But ... HBO is big on #s. #winningtime
The idea of the Max streaming service (formerly HBO Max) as a regular destination for live sports has picked up steam. On Thursday’s earnings call, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav announced that the company has been considering a sports tier for the platform with a simple but surprising comment: “We own the digital rights to our sports.” While it was known that some of WBD’s sports deals included streaming capabilities, the idea of NBA games being available to stream on Max is a novel one.
"I did the Hulu, the Legacy, which is the real deal. It's real footage with interviews of people who were there. So I understand satire, but I just think [Winning Time] could have been done really, really good. And I was disappointed that it wasn't." We also asked James if he's discussed the HBO series with any of his former teammates. "We never talked about Winning Time because we weren't involved in it. We talked a lot about the Legacy. So if you really want to know the truth, go watch Legacy on Hulu. Go watch the Legacy on Hulu, get the real deal."
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