NOTE: this post contains spoilers for Winning Time season 2 episode 3, "The Second Coming."
The third episode of season 2 switches gears a bit and takes a deeper dive into Larry Bird's (Sean Patrick Small) story before he became a Celtics legend. Between Winning Time depicting him dropping out of college to the unfortunate death of his father, it doesn't appear Bird had an easy path to becoming an NBA all-time great. Elsewhere, Magic Johnson (Quincy Isaiah) and the Lakers try to look past their playoff loss to Houston toward the future, which involves contract extensions, trades scenarios and more.
With all that said, we're left wondering what was fact and what was fiction in the latest episode. Here's what we found out.
Did Larry Bird drop out of college?
The fiction
Early in the episode, the series goes back to 1974, with Bird driving on a country road until he pulls into his father's driveway. Once his dad expresses how happy he is to see Bird, the basketball star drops the bombshell that he dropped out of Indiana University. His dad isn't pleased to hear the news at all, but Bird protests that his small Indiana hometown is where he belongs.
Bird winds up getting a job, but he never really puts down basketball. On his breaks and time off from work, he plays pickup games, proving he never lost his touch. Eventually, he earns the attention of Indiana State's assistant men's basketball coach Bill Hodges, who wants Bird to play for the team.
Despite Hodges' initial attempts, Bird refuses to play for the school. Then one day in 1975, Bird shows up to an Indiana State practice wearing jeans and boots, and proves why he's often the best player on the floor. The rest is history as he goes on to take the team to an NCAA championship game.
The fact
According to Bleacher Report, Bird was enrolled at Indiana University on a scholarship for roughly 24 days in 1974. As reported by ESPN, Bird had this to say about dropping out:
"People naturally think it was trouble between [Bobby] Knight and me, but it wasn't. The school was just too big. I was a homesick kid who was lost and broke."
After leaving Indiana University, he wound up working for the municipality of his hometown, striping streets, cutting grass, painting benches and driving a garbage truck. Per Sports Illustrated, he was recruited by Hodges to Indiana State in the fall of 1975, but he was forced to redshirt, meaning he didn't start playing for the school until the 1976-1977 season.
What happened to Larry Bird's father?
The fiction
When Bird returned home from school after dropping out in 1974, Bird's father is rather hard on himself. There's even a moment when he blatantly tells his son that he'd be better off without him. Then in 1975, Bird is outside shooting the basketball when a friend, along with a police officer, informs Bird that something happened to his father. While the episode never expressly states what that something is, Larry goes to his dad's home to see police officers there at the scene and his dad lying face down in a pull of blood next to a gun.
The fact
Unfortunately, according to another Sports Illustrated article, Larry's dad Joe Bird battled alcoholism for years, which could have been exacerbated by post-traumatic stress disorder from Joe's army tour in Korea. Adding to this, by 1975, the Bird patriarch was allegedly incredibly depressed and strapped for cash. In February of that year, Joe committed suicide.
Did Magic Johnson sign a contract with the Lakers for 25 years?
The fiction
While talking to teammate Michael Cooper (Delante Desouza), Magic learns that Cooper received an extension of his contract and will be getting more money from the Lakers. That instantly gets Magic thinking about his future with the team. Despite already being signed to the Lakers for five years, Magic wants more from the Lakers' front office.
At first, Bill Sharman (Brett Cullen) and Jerry West (Jason Clarke) are adamant Buss let them handle contract negotiations with Magic. They're hesitant to offer him an additional extension given they are still waiting to see if Magic is back at 100% with his knee and want to make sure they use money to keep Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Solomon Hughes) and other essential players with the team first. With Buss considering Magic like family, this left the Lakers owner awkwardly avoiding his star player.
However, Buss eventually invites Magic over to his home to talk business. Buss reassures Magic he still sees him as family and Magic expresses his desire to be a Laker for life. While Buss ultimately agrees to pay Magic $25 million for 25 years, the savvy owner first gets Magic's word that as a leader on the team, Magic will fix the tension he has with some of the players (mainly Norm Nixon) and not wave around his new salary in their faces.
The fact
Referencing The New York Times, Magic did indeed sign a 25-year contract with the Lakers receiving $1 million a year. However, the contract didn't actually go into effect until 1984 when his previous contract expired with which he was making $500,000 a year. At the time, the million-dollar-a-year contract made him only the third NBA player in history to make that kind of money. Funny enough, his teammate Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was already in that exclusive club along with then-Houston Rocket Moses Malone.
Check out this interview Magic did with Jimmy Kimmel in which he touches on the uncanny contract.
Winning Time season 2 airs new episodes live on HBO at 9 pm ET/PT. Season 2 episodes are also available to stream on Max.
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