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In episode five of Winning Time, Los Angeles Lakers head coach Jack McKinney was involved in a bike accident, but things did not happen in reality as they were portrayed on the show.
Winning Time: Rise of the Lakers Dynasty is halfway through its ten-episode run, with the fifth episode having arrived on April 3, 2022. Jerry Buss, Jerry West, and Magic Johnson played key roles in the story as the Lakers' owner, coach, and top player, respectively.
This article contains major spoilers.
All about Jack McKinney's bike accident as shown in Winning Time episode 5
Jack McKinney's accident is one of the greatest tragedies of the Lakers' Showtime Era, not least because he is credited with helping to bring it about. After Jerry West quit and Buss' first option, Jerry Tarkanian, failed to work out, he was appointed to coach the Lakers in 1979.
He devised a "moving offense" system, as opposed to "having everyone standing around watching Kareem all the time and putting pressure on him," as he stated at his first press conference. The strategy worked, and he gained the respect of his new colleagues.
On November 8, 1979, he rode his son's bike to the tennis court with his assistant coach, Paul Westhead. The gears locked as he approached a stop sign, and he flew over the handlebars, falling hard on the concrete. According to Pearlman, he was in a coma for three days and underwent months of physical and cognitive therapy.
McKinney's memory and balance challenges remained with him for the rest of his life. He was fired at the end of the season and replaced by interim coach Westhead. Pat Riley would eventually become the Showtime Era's head coach.
In the show, McKinney nearly misses a reversing automobile, which causes the accident. But in reality, the gears locked up as he approached a stop sign, and he was injured as a result.
The episode concluded with his horrific incident, teasing the coaching eras of Westhead (Jason Segel) and potentially Riley (Adrien Brody) in the following episode.
What happened to McKinney after the accident?
McKinney found another head coaching job in the NBA after leaving the Lakers, this time with the Indiana Pacers. In 1981, he was named Coach of the Year, but due to poor results, he was fired in 1984.
Following a disappointing start to the season, McKinney resigned from the Kansas City Kings in November 1984. Jack McKinney died on September 25, 2018 in Florida, according to his daughter Susan, who confirmed that the cause was complications from the 1979 brain injury.
Each new episode of Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty airs exclusively on HBO Max on Sundays at 9.00 PM ET/PT.
