Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty 1x5

1. Allahu akbar.

2. Allahu akbar.

3. - As-salaamu alaykum. As-salaamu alaykum.

4. - As-salaamu alaykum. As-salaamu alaykum.

5. Islam means...

6. living in submission.

7. To be a Muslim

8. is to live in submission to the will of God.

9. It is to cut bonds to all the men we followed

10. in our lives.

11. Our leaders.

12. Our coaches.

13. Our fathers.

14. Your ancestors were slaves to men.

15. From this day on...

16. you are a slave to God.

17. Brother Lewis, please come up.

18. This brother

19. has decided to open his heart to Islam.

20. Allahu akbar.

21. If you're prepared...

22. to walk the straight path,

23. say the words with me.

24. - Amen. As-salaamu alaykum. - Wa alaykumu salaam.

25. The world will be looking to you, brother.

26. More than most.

27. Who will you be to them?

28. Lewis Alcindor, Jr.

29. What is your name?

30. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

31. ("My Favorite Mutiny" by The Coup playing

32. Oh shit. You got your game face on.

33. Just my face, Maurice.

34. It's scary nonetheless.

35. What's the word on Cowboy Clifton?

36. I got my eyes peeled. Man, I hate scalpers.

37. I see that motherfucker, I'ma give him a ass-whooping

38. - of a lifetime. - Give him these instead. That's a thousand tickets.

39. Tell him there's more where that came from,

40. and he can spread the word. Can't have this place

41. looking like a ghost town on national TV.

42. So, I can't fuck him up?

43. Wait until he gets those asses in those seats.

44. - Okay. - Buss made some changes to the VIPs.

45. Of course, he did.

46. No way we're getting Dionne Warwick.

47. - You can always say a little prayer. - Is that a new awning?

48. He said it wasn't red enough.

49. No. No. Berenice, no!

50. No more of this Can-Can crap! Come on!

51. This is seductive! It's all legs!

52. No, it's all stiff! I want freedom!

53. I want sex!

54. I want them calling the Catholic League of Decency!

55. I think what you want is a striptease.

56. Well, maybe if they just moved their hips a little, you know,

57. - or work their hair? - Exactly! How are they gonna work the hair

58. with these buns in there? Come on!

59. It's not ballet. It's disco, Bernice! Come on, girls.

60. It's this here! Sex, you know?

61. It's women! It's their sex!

62. It's not just their legs! Come on, girls.

63. Move it! Move your sex!

64. Good, like this girl here! Like this tan girl!

65. There we go! Those are the moves we're looking for!

66. Right there, right, Jeanie?

67. Let her choreograph it then.

68. - We're done!

69. Wow. Bernice?

70. You're done? Okay.

71. They're wrong anyway.

72. We need to talk.

73. Great idea, Claire. You're just a girl I wanna see.

74. I had a wiener from the cart for lunch,

75. and it was... sloppy.

76. - Heard oysters help with that. - I'm being serious.

77. It was the casing. When you bite into it, it's gotta snap.

78. I know the feeling.

79. We're going to need you to take a step back.

80. God is in the details, Claire.

81. That was our second choreographer.

82. You've sent back all the uniforms.

83. Because they stunk. And if they stink, we stink.

84. - Only if we open! - What the hell is that supposed to mean?

85. Apparently, our sound system

86. wasn't up to your high standards.

87. Claire, what the hell is this?

88. My guy said these speakers are supposed to be up already!

89. Same system as Club Fantasia!

90. That's not the system we permitted with the city.

91. Well, get a new permit!

92. In process, as of this morning.

93. - We'll have it in a week or two. - A week or two?

94. Claire, you have got to put some pepper on the ball.

95. That is pepper on the ball.

96. But, I don't suppose your Fantasia friend mentioned that

97. before you ripped out our entire sound system

98. because that's not his job or yours. It's mine.

99. Claire, I'm not opening this place

100. unless we're 110% ready.

101. You only get one chance at a first impression.

102. That's why it's called a first impression.

103. W-w-what is this?

104. Claire, come on.

105. This little door thing should be flush with the bar.

106. Flush with the bar! Come on.

107. Let's care about stuff.

108. No more kinks! Let's care about it!

109. Let's be perfect!

110. Jerry! We need to talk!

111. - Hello? We need to talk! - Hey, Frank.

112. Here we go.

113. I'll find another dance troupe.

114. And I'll... find another cigarette.

115. You yelling at me in front of everybody? What?

116. - I gotta hear about this from your mother? - That's our bookkeeper.

117. She's a goddamn good one, too. She found us a solution.

118. Excellent solution. Give away the team?

119. To Joanne. It stays in the family. Did you read it?

120. - She hates your guts. - So what?

121. She loves me more.

122. Just like you, Frankie. I was going to tell you.

123. - When, at my fuckin' funeral? - I forgot!

124. - You forgot? - Frank,

125. look what we have!

126. Look what we did! Look at it!

127. The team we got!

128. We're Roman emperors!

129. Yeah, okay. You're a Roman emperor.

130. Well, I got news for you. Rome is fucking ruins,

131. and I don't think you're going to be happy until we are, too!

132. I don't know, Jerry! Maybe that will do it for you

133. because clearly nothing else does!

134. Not the buildings, not the broads,

135. n-not the friendship!

136. And pretty soon, it's gonna be the same thing over there!

137. We're done.

138. We're done?

139. We're partners!

140. We're gettin' a divorce.

141. Allahu akbar.

142. Allahu akbar.

143. Allahu akbar...

144. Ow.

145. Happy first day.

146. You might actually enjoy it

147. if you put the paper down and look out the window.

148. Can't turn the world off just to have a pleasant morning.

149. Well, can you drink your juice first?

150. Tom called.

151. He says with this recession, my portfolio is down.

152. It would be unwise for me to turn down

153. an extended contract.

154. Well, maybe it would be wise

155. for you to quit tomorrow,

156. and we run away and bum it to an ashram somewhere.

157. I was hoping one more year would be enough.

158. Well, who knows? Maybe it'll be a good one.

159. You know, if nothing changes, nothing changes.

160. Lewis Alcindor, Jr., of Power Memorial High school

161. with an epic showing here tonight.

162. An extraordinary young man.

163. Alcindor leading Wooden's Bruins

164. to a third consecutive championship and lossless season.

165. My, oh, my...

166. Young Lewis Alcindor,

167. now Kareem Abdul-Jabbar,

168. in his first season after leading the Bucks to a world championship.

169. Get past.

170. Whoo!

171. You're in early.

172. Bouncin' off the walls. Figured I'd come here

173. and get some work done.

174. Oscar used to do the same thing when we were in Milwaukee.

175. - The Big O? - Day one as an assistant,

176. I made it my mission

177. to be the first to practice,

178. and I think Oscar made it his mission to beat me.

179. - So, as the season went on,

180. I showed up earlier and earlier,

181. he'd be there every damn time, dripping sweat.

182. You know it's on now, right, Coach?

183. About time.

184. What's wrong, Coach? You ain't happy?

185. You tell me.

186. I wonder how you think you've been performing.

187. Well, it's kind of hard to say

188. since we ain't played a game yet, but...

189. shot coming around, feeling relaxed in the break.

190. Why? What you feelin'?

191. Disappointment. When I came in,

192. I thought you'd take charge.

193. I thought you'd direct the show.

194. Ain't that what I been doin'?

195. I mean, me and Norm.

196. You the one who put us together—

197. I'm not talking about a point guard.

198. I'm talking about a captain of the ship.

199. Right now, when I look out,

200. I see four guys rowing together,

201. and one big anchor left behind.

202. Well, yeah, but Kareem the captain.

203. I can't go around as a rookie, telling—

204. Somebody's got to.

205. You know, just at the last practice...

206. Kareem came up to me,

207. the end of practice, and he said, um...

208. "When is that young buck going to take over?"

209. For real?

210. Cap said that?

211. Unless you think I should go to Norm.

212. Nah! Hell no, Coach! No, no.

213. I can't let the big fella down.

214. - I got you. - I thought you might.

215. Go on. I'll rebound.

216. Come on, Cap! Run! Run with the play!

217. Kareem looks like a fuckin' tree trunk!

218. - I know. Keep it moving! - Move your feet!

219. Come on, Magic! Show 'em how it's done!

220. Hey, Cooper! Stay in the corner!

221. I'm coming to you, Cap! Go to the basket, big man!

222. - Move your feet! - Throw me the fuckin' ball.

223. This one's for you! Go get it!

224. Thought you saw me there, big fella.

225. Look, if you hit a spin and rolled to the basket—

226. You can meet me where I'm at.

227. Yeah, but I'm trying to get you

228. on the floor of the offense, baby!

229. - Yeah, that sucked. - Do you want me to, uh,

230. I can run a mini-clinic with Kareem, zero in on his footwork.

231. - Call it! Bring it in, guys.

232. Alright, we've all seen enough of these last few weeks

233. to know that if we play our game and stick to the system,

234. nobody can beat us.

235. Just ourselves.

236. - Team on three! - Let's go.

237. - One, two, three, team! - Team!

238. Hey, Cap, hold up.

239. Come on, man, give me 15 minutes.

240. Practice is over, Houdini.

241. - Boys. - I need good news.

242. It's trout season.

243. But I got somethin' better for you in the meantime.

244. I spoke to Spencer Haywood's agent.

245. He's available, and he's motivated.

246. And humbled?

247. I need a role player, not a star.

248. What fucking choice does he have in the matter?

249. That ship sailed four teams ago.

250. He knows it. Team knows it. League knows it.

251. He's ready to roll up his sleeves,

252. bang, bruise, do the dirty work,

253. whatever it takes, whatever you need.

254. Just so long as it gets him one of these.

255. Well, we could use a lot more of that attitude around here.

256. - Yeah, I saw that. - Jerry, what the hell do I do about Kareem?

257. - It's a brick wall. - Well, don't offer him any pork.

258. How soon can we get Haywood?

259. I think we can get this done. He's ready to move.

260. Hey, Jerry. Hi, Jerry.

261. - Hey, Paul.

262. You're doing a great job as assistant coach.

263. I'm really trying my best.

264. Well, I recognize that.

265. And I appreciate all of your efforts.

266. Thanks.

267. - Bus is waiting.

268. Yeah, what's he need?

269. No, the one with the wheels.

270. Oh.

271. - Right. - Brought you a little something.

272. I thought you might wanna decorate.

273. - San Juan. - Yeah.

274. It's the chicken wire game.

275. That was one angry mob.

276. I think that chicken wire might have saved our lives.

277. Well, they're a passionate people.

278. I guess I figured as far as opening nights go...

279. can't get any worse.

280. Not unless we lose to the Clippers.

281. Fuck it.

282. Let's go play some basketball.

283. Fuck it.

284. Coming up, the Los Angeles Lakers

285. take on the San Diego Clippers

286. with announcers Brent Musburger...

287. Fucking amateur hour! Those network nitwits

288. wouldn't know a decent announcer from a Ken doll.

289. Hey, fuck 'em, right?

290. - I say we beat 'em at their own game. - Yeah.

291. Hey, I don't know if you had a chance

292. to check out the tape I cut together.

293. You know, the one I did from training camp?

294. - Yeah, yeah. - You know, tips from a pro.

295. Huh? I think we could call it "Pat's Pointers."

296. Presenting "Pat's Pointers with Pat Riley."

297. Brought to you by AD Plumbing and Associates.

298. I mean, we could call it "Chick's Checklist" or—

299. Patrick, do you see what this is?

300. - Yeah, your hand. - That's my fist.

301. When I close it while we're on the air,

302. you close your mouth.

303. That's the most important skill in this job.

304. That's you talking. That's you shutting up.

305. Comprende?

306. Right, but when I am talking, right? When I do talk,

307. you want it from, like, an insider,

308. ex-player point of view, right?

309. I'm fisting you, Pat.

310. Now, pay attention. There's a rhythm to it.

311. See? I call, you color.

312. Like a paintbrush, with your tongue.

313. After a while, it'll be, uh, like second nature to you.

314. You won't even have to look.

315. You'll feel it when you're getting fisted.

316. - Oh, I'm feeling it already.

317. - Come on, Patricia. We're walking.

318. Fuck it.

319. Hey, Midnight. Got your strings out.

320. Oh no, man, these are my good luck charms.

321. Been doing this forever.

322. Yeah? You do it last year when you blew your knee out?

323. Come on, man. Don't fuck with a man's superstition.

324. For me, it was my lucky jock. Back in Cleveland,

325. wore it all through the playoffs,

326. all through the finals.

327. Right until I broke my foot in half!

328. - Shit, Chones!

329. - Go on, take it for a spin! See what it fit like. - That's fucked up, man.

330. That's disgusting, Chones.

331. Oh, oh, oh, oh!

332. Oh, oh, oh, oh!

333. - Hey! It's EJ the DJ, coming to you live

334. and direct from game one.

335. With a beat to get you pumped.

336. Okay! Okay!

337. Hey, don't worry. I'm gonna be ready.

338. I'm gonna be ready.

339. What's up, Cap?

340. Just need some orange juice now, right?

341. Fresh squeezed.

342. Hey, don't tell me this the place!

343. About to get up in these Clippers' ass!

344. I thought you had to be good-looking out in California.

345. Who let your ugly ass in?

346. - Wood! - You know it.

347. Hey! As-salaam alaykum, brother!

348. - Spencer Haywood.

349. It's a pleasure. You may never heard of me,

350. but you've heard of Kobe Bryant,

351. and LeBron James?

352. Straight out of high school to the pros?

353. That never would've happened without me.

354. See, I'm the man who sued the league

355. just for the right to play ball

356. and support my family without four years of college.

357. Now, that didn't make the owners all too happy,

358. so now I bounced around a little in my time.

359. But here I am, my day in the sun.

360. You made it out alive?

361. And it was a close call, man. Shit,

362. I was about to be the only Black man in Salt Lake City.

363. Tell me, what motherfucker

364. take a team called "Jazz"

365. to Utah?

366. Better not tell Miles.

367. Shit, man. Where my locker at?

368. Have you ever seen Cap hug somebody?

369. - I saw him put Bruce Lee in a sleeper hold.

370. - You know what they say about Wood, right? - What?

371. Word on the street,

372. dude cut the skin off his own dick.

373. - Ooh! - I heard that, too.

374. Circumcised his own self with a rock and a razor.

375. Oh, hell no. That don't even sound real.

376. I'd hate to be competing with him for minutes.

377. - That would be you. - Good luck with that.

378. Nah. Nah.

379. Nah, that can't be true. Can it?

380. Believe it.

381. Fuck. Just got some minutes, too.

382. - Got a minute, Cap?

383. Look like I'm goin' someplace?

384. Well, cool! Big night tonight.

385. Can't wait! We 'bout to put it on.

386. It's a game. We'll play.

387. Yes, sir! Yes, we will.

388. So, um, wonder how you feel the team been performing.

389. It is what it is.

390. Yeah. Yeah, good point.

391. See, I wasn't too sure about the plan in the beginning.

392. Coach McKinney, all them birds and bees.

393. Everybody wants to reinvent the game of basketball.

394. Sure!

395. But, you know, since we've been running it in practice,

396. I think we gettin' a sight of what it could be.

397. Me and the other guys.

398. But the biggest thing I see

399. is you and me.

400. Is that right?

401. Hell yeah! Long as I've been watching,

402. you've been working hard for every basket,

403. double, tripled in the post.

404. But we get out and run like McKinney say?

405. Man, my size, my skill?

406. I can get you the ball in ways

407. you ain't never got the ball before.

408. Put another 10 points on your average, easy.

409. Plus we be whooping everybody, dig?

410. You got a lot of ideas, young fella.

411. Ideas be talk, Cap. This some shit I know!

412. Way I can move the rock? What you can do with it?

413. Man.

414. Us together?

415. That could be the thing to see.

416. Cap and Buck. Magic and Kareem.

417. - (siren blaring

418. Oh, oh! Kareem and Magic.

419. Ain't never been a combo like it!

420. All-all we gotta do is both show up.

421. You two have fun.

422. - How many games have you played? - Since I was a pup.

423. Yet never once

424. as a professional.

425. Tonight...

426. will be my 853rd game.

427. In this league.

428. In that time, I've won...

429. five MVPs

430. and a world championship.

431. And that's not counting college titles— where

432. I assume your hubris

433. comes from—

434. winning one.

435. Since you don't strike me as much of a historian,

436. I'll have you know

437. I won three.

438. And I would have an Olympic gold.

439. As long as Black people in this country continue to catch hell,

440. I will not be representing the United States

441. at the Olympics.

442. But, there are more important things in this life.

443. Enjoy game one.

444. Lakers! Lakers! Lakers!

445. - Lakers! Lakers! Lakers! Lakers!

446. First game! Let's go.

447. Ladies and gentlemen,

448. the visiting team from the Pacific,

449. the Los Angeles Lakers!

450. Let's go, Cap! Let's go!

451. Yeah, yeah, whatever. Whatever.

452. - Oh, boo yourself!

453. James Powell, who was gunned down on Thursday

454. by NYPD Lieutenant Thomas Gilligan.

455. Gilligan claims the young man charged him with a knife,

456. but bystanders from Powell's ninth grade class

457. insist he was unarmed.

458. Protesters from the Congress of Racial Equality

459. plan a rally in the evening hours outside

460. the 123rd Street Precinct.

461. While Black nationalist Malcolm X...

462. - People gonna get they heads beat in.

463. Jesus watches over fools and babies.

464. Two things this city's full of, tell you that.

465. Hot out there. Gettin' hotter.

466. I'm glad you got the early shift.

467. The kid was sitting on his stoop.

468. You think the bullet knew the difference?

469. I think the cop did.

470. What did you say?

471. Al...

472. What'd you say?

473. Father of us all.

474. This meal is a sign of your love for us.

475. - Yes. - Bless us

476. - and bless this food. - Mm-hmm.

477. And help us to give Your name the glory each and every day.

478. - Each day. - Through Jesus Christ, our lord.

479. - Amen. - Amen.

480. We down four, but we about to be up 20!

481. Shake it, Jack! Shake your hair! Come on now, baby!

482. Cap!

483. Not in the mood.

484. That's my concern. I know my system takes adjusting to.

485. Another coach, another system.

486. Yeah. And I'm sure that that gets tiring,

487. but I need your help. We're playing four-on-five out there.

488. I need you running the floor with everybody else.

489. This team is looking to its leader.

490. The game'll slow down in the fourth.

491. They'll put the ball in my hands.

492. End of the night, we'll have my 30 points, 10 boards.

493. My guess? I'll lead the team.

494. Let's go! Let's go! Let's go!

495. Number 24, World B. Free, with the ball.

496. He's a hot shooter tonight.

497. - Off to Bryant on the wing.

498. - Out of bounds. Oh, my goodness.

499. And now we've got a contest.

500. Everybody wants to play ref.

501. Last touched by...

502. gotta be, it's gotta be Laker ball.

503. Come on, ref. Let's get an answer.

504. from his foot!

505. Come on, call it, ref.

506. Lakers!

507. And so it is, Laker ball.

508. - Time out, time out!

509. McKinney is off the bench for time.

510. And let's see what happens here.

511. They're gonna take a time out.

512. Now, folks, if you're just tuning in,

513. you're late for a very close contest,

514. but a disappointing one at that

515. for these highly touted Lakers.

516. Down by one with four seconds to play,

517. facing an opening night belly flop

518. against their lowly siblings to the south.

519. Well, I tell you, Chick, the, uh, difference here

520. seems to be Kareem.

521. He's put up solid numbers in the fourth,

522. but every touch, he slows the pace.

523. Now, if I'm the coach, the first—

524. Who knows what evil lurks inside your pipes?

525. Adee do, that's who.

526. That's Adee Plumbing. Find them in the Yellow Pages.

527. Magic, take it in.

528. Spencer, back-screen for Norm.

529. That's first option. Second option,

530. Jamaal with a jumper. Right?

531. - No Cap? - That's a play.

532. - Team on three. One, two, three... - Team!

533. You should go holler at your boy, Silk.

534. - Me? - Y'all both Muslims, right?

535. I'm not dying in a holy war.

536. Let's go, fellas, let's go. Come on!

537. Come on, let's go win this thing! Let's go!

538. Magic Johnson to inbound the ball,

539. and Jellybean Bryant defending him.

540. Congratulations to Jellybean Bryant,

541. his new son, Kobe, is here in the audience.

542. Kobe Bean. I'm not making that up.

543. - I believe it's Japanese.

544. Looking for Nixon who's stacked and struggling to get open.

545. The Lakers really need a bucket here.

546. And Wilkes on the right side looking to get free.

547. Kareem is single, double, triple teamed

548. right in the center there.

549. The Clippers doing everything they can

550. to keep the ball out of his hands.

551. Jamaal free in the corner.

552. He's going for it. But no!

553. He finds Kareem with the skyyyyyyhoooook!

554. - It's good! It's good! - Oh my!

555. And Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has just handed the Lakers

556. their first victory of the season. Unbelievable.

557. And Magic Johnson out there, hugging Kareem

558. like he's just won Game Seven of the World Championship.

559. Patrick, that's why they call him Magic Johnson.

560. What you doin'? Get the fuck off me!

561. Hey, we won, Cap! Look at all them fans!

562. - We got 81 more games to go. - Damn right!

563. You hit 81 more shots like that,

564. I'ma give you 81 more hugs. Come on, Cap, get happy!

565. - Get with it, baby! - Holy cow, big fella!

566. - What a shot! - Allahu akbar.

567. Unbelievable! Abdul-Jabbar gives God the glory,

568. but seals the victory tonight for the Lakers

569. with a miraculous shot at the buzzer.

570. Jack. Hey!

571. - We're off to the races. - Yeah.

572. - I wanna see the stat sheet. - Okay, stat sheet.

573. Why? What's up?

574. I'll be goddamned.

575. 30 and 10.

576. - Huh? - It's just exactly what he said.

577. Jack. Hey.

578. - We won. - Yeah, yeah.

579. With a final score of 103-102,

580. the Lakers off to a somewhat questionable beginning

581. of their season earlier tonight,

582. pulling out a win with a buzzer-beater

583. against the lower-ranked Clippers,

584. despite new owner Jerry Buss paying an arm and a leg

585. on personnel this off-season.

586. Let's be perfect!

587. This was a game to be part of...

588. You won't be happy till we're in ruins, too.

589. incredible action. Now moving on to hockey...

590. Four, five, six, seven, eight.

591. Yes, you guys. Love it!

592. Good. Stay together. I see you, Marie! Sharp!

593. Four, five, six, seven, eight.

594. Go one two, one two...

595. You don't know how hard it was for me

596. to get in that dance company.

597. Bernice thinks I'm 19.

598. Look, it's only three nights a week and practices,

599. and you'll be dancing for the biggest stars in Hollywood.

600. I'm talking Michael Jackson,

601. Stevie Wonder.

602. - He can't see! - He'll hear the applause.

603. Head girl?

604. And choreographer. What do you say?

605. - Yeah!

606. You're still my father.

607. But you don't want your father's name.

608. Alcindor was a French plantation owner.

609. Our people are Yoruba tribesmen.

610. - You taught me that. - I taught you so you'd know your history.

611. Not throw it all away to rile up some white folks

612. with a bullseye on your back.

613. Look, God gave me a voice.

614. He put me here.

615. It is not on you to change the world.

616. Then who?

617. I need to do more with my life

618. than play a game that makes me rich and makes them happy.

619. I know that's all they want to see,

620. but it's on me if I don't show them more.

621. It must have been hard for you coming up.

622. Must feel good to belong to somethin'.

623. So what does it mean?

624. The name?

625. Servant of the Almighty.

626. I saw his face when he was hugging you,

627. hanging off your neck like a damn koala bear.

628. You know I can't dig the clown show.

629. - Dancin' and grinnin' for the crowd.

630. - So you mad 'cause he happy? - You know it's more than that.

631. When we came up, we put it on ourselves

632. to stand for something more.

633. The Supreme Court will take up the case...

634. We took the boos. We took the hate.

635. to sue the NBA for the right to leave college...

636. Black man, you took the league to the Supreme Court.

637. It was a racist-ass rule, and you made a difference.

638. Look, I'm not saying that I regret it,

639. but there's been time I did.

640. I mean, shit, you talkin' about four teams in 10 years?

641. You talkin' about every owner in the league

642. treating me like a pariah.

643. Once you ring the white man's bell, they don't forget.

644. And they drove me to a dark, dark place.

645. Like, I'm angry at the man.

646. I was angry at the brothers who I helped make it easier for.

647. I was just angry, and that anger...

648. it almost burned me up.

649. I heard stories.

650. I worried about you.

651. Whatever you heard, it was worse.

652. I mean, I went 12 rounds with that demon.

653. He knocked my ass out.

654. But here you are.

655. And I shouldn't be.

656. I got a second chance at life.

657. You know it all come back to you.

658. You and me both.

659. Get your money, man.

660. - What's the word? - I don't know. He was holding it.

661. - I couldn't see anything. - Goddamn, Midnight.

662. - Can't you do anything right? - You go take a look then.

663. I don't even believe any of this anyhow.

664. Man cutting his own dick. What?

665. About to get your ass in there. I got money on that thing.

666. What y'all talking about? This thing?

667. Yeah? Feast your eyes.

668. - Goddamn. - See, y'all done y'all shit at the hospitals.

669. Those cats'll trim you up like a cheap-ass steak.

670. - Oh my god, it's swingin'. - I'm from Mississippi.

671. Down there, we like to handle things a little differently.

672. We like to take matters into our own hands.

673. So, I grabbed it,

674. I held it down like a copperhead snake,

675. I did the deed.

676. - Damn... - Hey, pay up. You heard him.

677. - Give me my money. - Shit.

678. - Cool. Cool. - I told you not to make that bet.

679. - I know. - I told you—

680. That's my money, man!

681. - Shit, I earned this.

682. - Sorry, Stormin'. - Come on, y'all are stupid, man.

683. - Mr. Jabbar. - Peace.

684. Yo, you got a minute, Rook?

685. Yeah!

686. Let me holler at you.

687. So, what's up, Cap?

688. I've had a little while to get to know you now.

689. - Mm-hm. - I've seen your game up close.

690. I wanna let you know that...

691. I appreciate the...

692. youthful energy you bring.

693. Word? Well... Thanks, Cap.

694. - That's somethin' else. - You're welcome.

695. But this is bigger than the game.

696. How you comport yourself,

697. - how people receive you in the public eye? - Mm-hmm.

698. That's how the world sees all of us. Everybody.

699. Y...

700. You sayin' I don't act right?

701. I'm saying...

702. if you want respect within this team,

703. young brother, you have to show some.

704. I have to show some respect?

705. For this team?

706. The team that you don't even run for.

707. The team that I've been workin' my ass off

708. trying to bring together? That team?

709. We all call you Cap,

710. but you ain't leading shit 'round here!

711. You stoppin' it.

712. We out there running like Ferraris,

713. while your old ass moving like a Cutlass on two flats!

714. - What did you say to me, boy? - You heard.

715. Everybody else just too afraid to say it.

716. Evil as you is,

717. walkin' around mad at the whole world—

718. Get in! Get in there!

719. Get your hands off! Get your goddamn hands off me!

720. Get your fucking hands off me!

721. Get your hands off me!

722. - Shit. - What the fuck wrong with y'all, man!

723. What the fuck was that?

724. At center,

725. seven-foot-two, from UCLA,

726. number 33,

727. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

728. James Powell, gunned down

729. by NYPD Lieutenant Thomas Gilligan...

730. I need to do more with my life than play a game

731. that makes me rich and makes them happy.

732. We don't hate anybody!

733. We love our own people so much,

734. they think we hate the ones

735. who are inflicting injustice against them.

736. Lew is the— probably

737. the deepest boy on the entire team,

738. concerned about many things other than just basketball.

739. What do we want? Freedom!

740. - But I think that the white backlash—

741. The people are gonna have to stand up against—

742. God gave me a voice. He put me here!

743. What is your name?

744. As-salaam alaykum.

745. Wa-alaykum salaam.

746. Welcome, brother.

747. It's rare we have a man of your stature

748. in this humble place of worship.

749. It's been a while since I've seen the inside of a mosque.

750. Well, Allah's glad to have you, brother, just the same.

751. All is well?

752. I can't say it is.

753. I can't seem to pray on it.

754. I try.

755. I say the words, five times a day.

756. But they're not coming from my heart.

757. They used to.

758. Are you afraid God is lost to you?

759. - Maybe I'm afraid to face him. - Mm-hm.

760. When I came to Allah as a younger man...

761. my faith was purer.

762. For the first time in my life,

763. I felt I had a purpose.

764. I made myself...

765. a rich man.

766. Famous for...

767. because I put a ball into a basket.

768. But now, I see this world.

769. I see a world

770. that is no better for my being here.

771. And yet,

772. He still shines his light on you.

773. Why?

774. People booed me when I changed my name.

775. And now, they cheer me, and...

776. it feels exactly the same.

777. I hate them for it.

778. I push them away because they all see a hero.

779. And I see a clown.

780. Then you've forgotten your own name.

781. Abdul-Jabbar.

782. Servant of the Almighty.

783. God's instrument.

784. Not God.

785. It ain't on us to take His place.

786. All we can do is be examples of His love.

787. That's why He made you so strong.

788. So you could walk His path.

789. That's why He made you tall,

790. so other men could see and become inspired.

791. And that's why He gave you knees, brother.

792. So you can kneel with everybody else.

793. Can I pray with you?

794. I'll tell you, buying a team ain't like buying a building.

795. I think this guy is clearly out of his league.

796. He thinks this team is just another boat or car

797. - to show off.

798. I really don't know what's worse,

799. the fact he doesn't know what he's doing

800. or the fact that he thinks he does.

801. No, he's finding out

802. losing games never looks good on anyone.

803. He's treating this franchise like his plaything,

804. like it's just another pair of dungarees for him to trash.

805. Yeah, stupid and cocky is a bad mix.

806. - Fuck you. - I'm telling you,

807. this guy needs to go back to real estate

808. and leave pro sports to the pros.

809. Why don't you go fuck yourself?

810. Got something to show you.

811. Wow.

812. I thought you said you weren't gonna be ready

813. for a week or two!

814. I pulled some strings.

815. Promised the inspector tickets to the Ice Capades.

816. So?

817. We're ready to open! Yeah?

818. If you like what you see, and, uh,

819. - this is— this is you.

820. Look at that. Fantastic.

821. Wow.

822. Did you check out the sound system? Is it perfect?

823. Well, Jeanie...

824. Oh, yeah. Yeah, it sounds great.

825. And wait for the best part.

826. Yeah.

827. - Wow. Ladies.

828. That was amazing, That ain't ballet, I tell you that.

829. Now, that is a vision.

830. That is female empowerment right there.

831. - You said it. - Incredible!

832. Claire, I can't believe you pulled it off.

833. - Thank you. - We officially have a vision.

834. - Look at this!

835. - We really did it.

836. What's this here?

837. What?

838. Wait, I thought we said we're going to fix this.

839. It's supposed to be flush here.

840. - Yeah, I'll, uh, we'll give maintenance a call right away.

841. Yeah, you can really notice it there, so, you know...

842. Maybe I can just get it— get it to set down.

843. - Why isn't this flush?

844. Ow... oh.

845. Grandma?

846. It's Jeanie!

847. Why are you here?

848. I'm here to pick you up.

849. Monopoly, that's Thursdays. This isn't Thursday.

850. The-the home opener.

851. Yes!

852. Yes. Yes.

853. And that's why I'm going to bed.

854. I can't stand to watch my son humiliate himself.

855. But it would mean so much to him to have you there, Grandma.

856. Oh, you have certainly swallowed the line.

857. Uh-uh. He needs us when he's down.

858. When things are looking up, he'll be looking somewhere else.

859. You just go, sweetie, go! Go!

860. Jeanie called, said you had a little bar fight.

861. Yeah.

862. The bar won.

863. Well, uh...

864. I wouldn't count you out.

865. I'm sorry, Frank.

866. Yeah, well, you know.

867. Where would I be without Jerry fuckin' Buss?

868. - Happy. - Hm!

869. I'm the happy one.

870. Bored.

871. Bored. That's what I'd be.

872. You know what I can't stop thinkin' about?

873. Remember the Comstock building? When did we buy that? '63? '64?

874. You had your eye on that one for years.

875. I have never wanted anything more in my life.

876. And the day we closed, I went up

877. to the top floor, and I stood in the middle of that room,

878. and I cried.

879. Tears of fuckin' joy, Frank.

880. And then, five minutes later,

881. it was just another fuckin' thing that I owned.

882. We made a hell of a killing on it.

883. This was supposed to be different.

884. - This was supposed to last. - This? This?

885. This is— It is! And it will be!

886. And we'll make it so! It's going to be great!

887. - It's going to be fucking great! - Until it's not enough.

888. You said it.

889. What's wrong with me? What am I going to do then?

890. I don't know, I'm not— I'm not— I'm not a shrink.

891. I don't know.

892. What am I going to tell you that you don't already know?

893. There's more to the cliff than the edge.

894. You got to give yourself permission

895. every once in a while to take a step back,

896. enjoy the fuckin' view.

897. I heard that somewhere.

898. Yeah...

899. I mean...

900. It ain't a bad view.

901. Let's go! Lakers!

902. Let's go! Lakers!

903. A chant now from this rabid crowd.

904. Anticipation through the roof for the home opener

905. of what promises to be

906. what everybody hopes will be a special kind of season

907. for these Lakers.

908. - Y'all ready? - Come on, boys!

909. Alright, alright! Bring it in, bring it in!

910. Keep the pace up. Lakers basketball.

911. Let's go, fellas.

912. Team on three.

913. - One, two, three, team! - Team!

914. Ladies and gentlemen,

915. prepare to meet your

916. 1979-1980 Los Angeles Lakers!

917. But first, introducing...

918. Hey, stick around.

919. I gotta go drain the weasel though.

920. Your weasel's gonna wanna see this.

921. So is yours.

922. Code red. Go! Go!

923. the Laker Girls!

924. Hey, where's your grandma?

925. Oh, she's under the weather, wasn't feeling up to it.

926. Ah, first of many, right?

927. - Whoa!

928. Magic with eyes in the back of his head. Oh my.

929. Oh, you gotta love the effort by Kareem

930. on both sides of the floor, Patrick.

931. Crowd is on its feet, and listen to 'em roar.

932. I'll tell you, Pat, the Lord and four disciples

933. could not beat the Lakers right now.

934. Yeah, I see Jack McKinney smiling.

935. You know, Chick, I think, uh,

936. Kareem is smiling, too.

937. - We'll check the skies. It's a full moon.

938. And the Bulls are gonna take a timeout on the floor,

939. and we'll take it right there with 'em right here

940. on the Lakers Basketball Network.

941. Nah, Cap. That's old school.

942. You gotta bring it up. Hit me up here!

943. Let's go!

944. Let's go! Let's go!

945. Holy cow! The Lakers are off to a blistering start.

946. My friends, Jack McKinney is making John Wooden

947. look like Grandma Moses.

948. Hey!

949. I stole these from the visitor's locker room.

950. - I think they lost so bad,

951. they needed something stronger.

952. Uh-oh!

953. - I'll drink to that. - Good. Join me!

954. Oh!

955. Does it feel the way that you pictured

956. in your head all these years?

957. Better.

958. Good.

959. I, uh, see you smile?

960. There!

961. Okay. No more basketball. It's your day off.

962. Oh...

963. - I don't want to jinx it. - You've earned a day off.

964. Anyway, I'm taking the car with Cassie.

965. So, why don't you go meet Paul

966. for some tennis or something?

967. - The fresh air will do you good. - Mm.

968. That doesn't sound like an answer.

969. - I love you. - I love you.

970. Have fun.