“Running Point” is now streaming on Netflix, and if the story — and the team at the center of it — feels a little familiar, it’s probably because it is. The series is somewhat based in reality.
To be clear, the Waves are a fictional team. But yes, they are based on the Los Angeles Lakers, with their championship dominance and widespread love from fans. Additionally, Kate Hudson’s character Isla Gordon is based on a real person too: Lakers president and co-owner Jeanie Buss. And she has got a pretty long relationship with Hudson.
“Having known Jeanie since I was a teenager, I felt a unique connection to the character,” Hudson told Netflix’s Tudum. “Jeanie’s life and career in the male-dominated world of professional basketball are inspiring, and her willingness to let us explore a comedic version of that world was liberating.”
Buss, along with the team’s manager of special projects Linda Rambis are executive producers, on the series.
How much of “Running Point” is true?
So, with Buss directly involved, how much of the story is true?
Like Isla Gordon, Jeanie Buss is the daughter of Jerry Buss, who owned the Lakers and other sports businesses. She is also one of four kids, but she has a younger sister and two older brothers, as opposed to three brothers.
In “Running Point,” Isla takes control of the Waves after her oldest brother Cam (Justin Theroux) enters rehab. The real Jeanie Buss worked her way up in the family business. She started as the general manager of the Los Angeles Strings professional tennis team when she was 19.
She later bought the Los Angeles Blades professional roller hockey team and was the president of the Great Western Forum, the arena the Lakers used to call home. Eventually, Buss became vice president of the Lakers.
When Jerry Buss died in 2013, his controlling ownership of the Lakers was split amongst his kids through a family trust. It was the decision of Jerry Buss that his daughter become president of the team, not the decision of her brother like in the show.
Did the Buss kids really discover a secret sibling?
A key piece of “Running Point” is the fact that Isla and her brothers learn quite unexpectedly that they have another brother named John Alejandro “Jackie” Moreno (Fabrizio Guido). And yes, that is based in reality too. But it did not happen through lawyers as it does in the show.
Back in 2018, Jeanie Buss received a letter from someone named Lee, claiming he was her brother. He was the first child of Jerry Buss and JoAnn Mueller, and was given up for adoption.
Like Jackie does in the show, Lee just wanted to establish a connection with the family, which he did.
“Running Point” is now streaming on Netflix.
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