Kareem voices displeasure over HBO's Lakers series

At least one Los Angeles Lakers legend isn't pleased with HBO's upcoming series, "Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty."

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar said to Matthew Belloni of Puck that he would prefer the story of the "Showtime" era to be told by those who were there.

"While I respect other artists' rights to choose their subjects, I think the story of the 'Showtime' Lakers is best told by those who actually lived through it, because we know exactly what happened," Abdul-Jabbar said.

Abdul-Jabbar's longtime manager Deborah Morales was more direct in her criticism of the series, which is based on Jeff Pearlman's book, "Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley, and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s."

"When the guy they cast to play Kareem got the part, he was super excited and reached out to me," Morales said via text to Belloni. "I don't think that he realized the response that he was going to get, which was not very nice!"

Morales also believes there will be backlash from the NBA.

"I don't think anybody who has accepted a part playing any of these characters will be embraced by anyone in the NBA or any of the players or any of their friends - and I certainly hope that I never bump into anyone associated with this show," she said.

Abdul-Jabbar is portrayed in the series by Solomon Hughes. The cast also features John C. Reilly as Jerry Buss, Sally Field as Jessie Buss, Adrien Brody as Pat Riley, and Quincy Isaiah as Magic Johnson.