A funny thing happened on the way to the Forum | 'Winning Time'

04/11/22 • 22 min

The Laker Girls. The Forum Club. Celebrities sitting courtside. The beating heart of Showtime-era Los Angeles was the "Fabulous Forum."

In this episode of "Binge Sesh," hosts Matt Brennan and Kareem Maddox dive into the history of the Lakers' longtime home. We look back on the Forum's construction in the 1960s, its heyday under Lakers owner Jerry Buss and Forum general manager Claire Rothman, and the team's move to the Staples Center to understand how a sports arena became the perfect symbol of 20th century L.A.

For the podcast transcript, photos and links to much more, visit the episode page on latimes.com.

The Laker Girls. The Forum Club. Celebrities sitting courtside. The beating heart of Showtime-era Los Angeles was the "Fabulous Forum."

For the podcast transcript, photos and links to much more, visit the episode page on latimes.com.

Previous Episode

All about Kareem | 'Winning Time'

There may be no figure in Lakers history more misunderstood than Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. And "Winning Time" tries to correct, or at least complicate, the record.

In this episode of "Binge Sesh," hosts Matt Brennan and Kareem Maddox discuss the perception and reality of the NBA's all-time leading point scorer. With insights from an array of special guests — including Solomon Hughes, who plays the Lakers legend in HBO's drama series — we look back over Abdul-Jabbar's career as a star center and civil rights activist to answer the question: Has he been unfairly excluded from the conversation about basketball's greatest-ever player?

For the podcast transcript, production stills, real-life photos and links to much more, visit the episode page on latimes.com.

Next Episode

Brought to you by ... | 'Winning Time'

Sure, the best professional athletes pull in salaries to match. But to find the real money in sports, you need to look someplace else: endorsements.

In this episode of "Binge Sesh," hosts Matt Brennan and Kareem Maddox draw inspiration from Nike cofounder Phil Knight's pursuit of Magic Johnson in "Winning Time." With help from the HBO series' executive producer Rodney Barnes and industry insiders, we explore the origin, development and explosion of athlete endorsement deals, from a $6.6-million baseball card to social media "microinfluencers" and more.

For the podcast transcript, photos and links to much more, visit the episode page on latimes.com.