Source: FX/Hulu
HBO had a hit with Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty, and now Los Angeles’ other NBA team is stepping to center court.
Except, the Los Angeles Clippers don’t have the winning history of the Lakers, so instead of focusing on the nonexistent glory years, it’s about one of the most glaring smears on the team’s name: Donald Sterling. It will be called Clipped, courtesy of FX and Hulu.
According to Deadline, it will be based on the ESPN 30 for 30 podcast The Sterling Affairs.
The site adds that the limited series will summarize “the collision between a dysfunctional basketball organization and even less-functional marriage, and the precipitating tape’s impact on an ensemble of characters striving to win against the backdrop of the most cursed team in the league.”
Embattled Clippers owner Donald Sterling will be played by Ed O’Neill, head coach Doc Rivers’ role will be given to Laurence Fishburne, Alphonse Nicholson as Chris Paul, and Clifton Davis as Elgin Baylor.
It tells the 2013 story of Rivers accepting the job and having some pieces that could help them make a deep playoff run with DeAndre Jordan, Blake Griffin, and led by Chris Paul. However, it all gets derailed when Sterling’s mistress known as V. Stiviano –ulterior motives in tow– recorded his irate rant over her posting a photo alongside Magic Johnson in 2014.
“It bothers me a lot that you want to broadcast that you’re associating with black people. You can sleep with [black people]. You can bring them in, you can do whatever you want,” he said in the audio that was infamously turned over to TMZ. “The little I ask you is … not to bring them to my games.”
The trailer shows a bright-eyed Fishburne excited, fresh off his championship-winning East Coast career coaching the Boston Celtics, hoping to do the same for the Clippers. Instead of focusing on building a winning roster, he’s met with a cheap, erratic and racist owner, forcing him to fight a morality battle as well.
Watch the trailer above and see how social media is reacting to the forthcoming limited series below.
