HBO's series "Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty" is back for its second season.
Season two picks up after the 1979-80 season when the Lakers won the championship and are fighting to stay on top. It also will spend a lot of time on the rise of the Lakers' rivalry with the Boston Celtics and the next chapter in the battle between Magic Johnson and Larry Bird for best player in the NBA.
The series is based on Jeff Pearlman's book, "Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley, and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s," which documents the rise and reign of the Showtime Lakers. The team was led by several all-time greats on the court, including Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and coach Pat Riley. There were also several big names off the court and behind the scenes that helped create one of the greatest sports dynasties.
Below, we take a look at some of the key players in the series, their roles on the Lakers in the early 1980s, and what the actors playing them look like in real life.
All the photos of the people portrayed in the movie are period-appropriate unless otherwise noted.