Turns out playing your dad in an HBO series about the showiest team in NBA history isn’t just some Hollywood stunt — Devon Nixon actually auditioned for the part. “Everybody thinks they just gave it to me,” he tells me, still sounding half-amused, half-bewildered. “I had to do the whole pre-read, callback. They didn’t even know I acted. They just thought I walked in off the street — Norm Nixon’s kid.”
Devon’s dad, Norm Nixon, is the OG floor general in Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty, the neon-and-cocaine swirl that takes you courtside for the Lakers’ Showtime era. But before he could swagger into Norm’s fur coats, Devon had to sweat it out — literally. “I asked him, ‘How much did you weigh back then?’ He says, ‘162.’ I was like 187 at the time. So I dropped the weight, did intermittent fasting, worked out like a maniac.” No one says generational trauma can’t come with six-pack abs.
The real-life Norm, now his son’s character study subject, even coached Devon on signature old-school moves. “I called him up, I was like, ‘Show me those vintage tricks.’” But what really sells it is the attitude: Norm was “inherently competitive,” Devon says. “He’d been there two years. Then this hotshot kid [Magic Johnson] rolls up? You’re not just gonna take my spot.”
If you’ve seen the pilot, you know exactly how that goes down — a backyard one-on-one that’s basically a brotherly hazing ritual in short shorts. “That was him. But it wasn’t just beef,” Devon says. “They became the fastest backcourt in the league. They made each other better.”
And yes, Norm really did rock the fly threads. “He always had the custom suits, the loafers, the belts. But he swears he never wore a fur coat — until I found pics online,” Devon laughs. “I’m like, come on, man.”
When you toss in Adam McKay’s camera chaos, fourth wall breaks, and dark comedy detours, you get the kind of basketball show that’s more about the messy humans in the locker room than the highlight reels. “Adam’s my boy — he’d direct through a speaker, like a concert. He’s huge on improv. He’d say, ‘Give me two for me, the rest are yours.’” And you’d better stay switched on, because McKay’s lens doesn’t care if you’re on the bench — it’ll catch you dozing off. “You gotta be active the whole time. That’s how he finds those moments.”
Devon’s no rookie either — this is the same kid who dodged bullet-laced betrayal in Terminator 2 and rode a snowball fight with Whitney Houston during The Bodyguard. Yes, he was the kid on the boat, yes he’s still recognized for it. “People still say, ‘Danny Dyson!’ I’m like, huh? That was a minute ago.”
Now he’s got Winning Time and Snowfall airing at the same time — a full circle for a dude raised around the Showtime Lakers but carving out his own Hollywood highlight reel. “I learned so much about my pops through this. And we’ve still got more championships to win. We’ve only told 10% of the story.”
So don’t bet against Nixon. They’ll keep pushing the tempo — just like Norm did.
Watch the interview above and then check out the trailer below.
