HBO has a new drama series about the legendary 1980s Los Angeles Lakers in the works, and now we’ve got word about who will play one of their greatest opponents. As Deadline reports, Bo Burnham is slated to play Larry Bird in the as-yet-untitled series from Adam McKay.
The show, which reportedly “chronicles the professional and personal lives of the 1980s Lakers,” is based on Jeff Pearlman’s book Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley, and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s. It is expected to air sometime in 2022.
Burnham, who began his career as a comedian before going on to write and direct Eighth Grade, most recently appeared in Promising Young Woman. He joins a stacked cast that includes Michael Chiklis as Red Auerbach, Sally Field as Jessie Buss, Adrien Brody as Pat Riley, John C. Reilly as Jerry Buss, Jason Clarke as Jerry West, Quincy Isaiah as Magic Johnson, Solomon Hughes as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Gaby Hoffmann as Claire Rothman, Hadley Robinson as Jeanie Buss, DeVaughn Nixon as Norm Nixon, Molly Gordon as Linda Zafrani, Rob Morgan as Earvin Johnson Sr., Spencer Garrett as Chick Hearn, Kirk Bovill as Donald Sterling, Delante Desouza as Michael Cooper, Stephen Adly Guirgis as Frank Mariani, Tamera Tomakili as Earletha “Cookie” Kelly, Jason Segel as Paul Whitehead and Joey Brooks as Lon Rosen.
And yes, before you ask, he’s (almost) got the height to play the legendary Boston Celtics forward. Burnham stands at 6’5″, while Bird, of course, is 6’9″.
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