Hulu's "Legacy" Explores a Complex Buss Family Dynamic, and Dr. Buss' Success Building the Lakers

This week, Hulu dropped the first two episodes of "Legacy: The True Story of the Los Angeles Lakers." And while it appears on the surface to be a direct response to the fictionalized HBO adaption of Jeff Pearlman's "Winning Time," that's not exactly the case. (One doesn't whip together a 10-part documentary in a few months.) Still, it's clearly got the stamp of approval from the organization, which translates into tons of participation from people across the Lakers universe, great footage, and a host of interesting stories. But is it good? Yeah, it is! While it's fair to say the doc and director Antoine Fuqua don't go scorched earth (not a requirement for a documentary) there is early reference to the issues the Buss children will face trying to carry the legacy of their father forward, and serious screen time paid to the shortcomings of Jerry Buss as a father and a husband. Fuqua does a good job contrasting those failings against his enormous accomplishments as a businessman, his visionary thinking and the willingness to upset the apple cart in the NBA. And when those things become intertwined - when they're old enough, Buss essentially demonstrates love for his kids through business - things clearly get, and will only get more, complicated.. It's certainly made pretty clear that childhood wasn't a universally happy experience for the Buss kids. Meanwhile, the doc is a reminder of what made Dr. Buss a disruptor of the NBA at the time, how different a league it was then vs. now, and the ways in which having a few people in the organization that were light years ahead of most of the competition (like Buss, Jerry West, Pat Riley, Chick Hearn) combined with top shelf talent (if you're listening to this show, you know who they are) could create a perpetual winner. Trying to cling to that legacy, though, has been a fundamental part of why the Lakers have suffered poor results (mostly) over the last decade. They haven't adapted well. Looking forward to the rest of the series. HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky SEGMENT 1: Reacting to the documentary. Is it really a response to Winning Time? What makes something more "real" than something else? SEGMENT 2: Insight into the childhood of the older Buss kids. It wasn't all moonpies and rainbows while Dr. Buss built the empire. SEGMENT 3: How Dr. Buss's success is a reminder of what has gone wrong for the Lakers of late. Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Built Bar Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order. BetOnline BetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices