If you’re a sports fan, then you probably know that team loyalties run deep, and that’s especially true when it comes to those who respectively follow the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics. As a fan of the latter squad myself, I’m very aware of how passionate the fanbases are. Plenty of celebrities also root for these teams and can be extremely outspoken when it comes to showing their devotion. Veteran actor and Massachusetts native Michael Chiklis is so enthusiastic about his Celtics ties that one time, he hurled an F-bomb at LA legend Magic Johnson while promoting Fantastic Four.
Michael Chiklis is still remembered for his turn as Ben Grimm/The Thing in 2005’s Fantastic Four as well as its 2007 sequel, Rise of the Silver Surfer. What you may not recall is that amid the release of that first film, Chiklis and his co-stars appeared – as their characters – in a commercial promoting the NBA Finals. Said advert saw the four Marvel superheroes playing a game of 4 on 1 with the legendary NBA player. Though it may look a bit dated now, the clip is still fun.
Before the SAG-AFTRA strike began, I had the opportunity to speak with the Shield icon on behalf of CinemaBlend during the press day for HBO’s Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty Season 2. The actor, who plays Celtics coach and exec Red Auerbach, was incredibly enthusiastic while talking about the show alongside co-star and Larry Bird actor Sean Patrick Small. With that, during our conversation, he regaled me with his story about meeting the iconic LA point guard and hilariously hitting him with a well-timed expletive:
So years ago, when I did the Fantastic Four, we did an NBA tie-in, and it was the Fantastic Four vs. Magic Johnson. We did a commercial, it was three days. And when Magic walked into the basketball stadium, I saw him and I went, ‘You motherfucker!’ And he burst out laughing. He goes, ‘Yeah, that's right. You're a Boston guy.’ And we hugged each other, and he was great and couldn't have been more of a gentleman.
I’m not sure I’d have been bold enough to say such a thing to Magic Johnson, but Lord knows Michael Chiklis has no qualms about speaking his mind. But of course, based on the embrace he had with the business mogul, the jab was meant to be totally friendly and not antagonistic. That's definitely an amazing memory for Chiklis and one that he clearly holds dearly even now. On that note, the actor went on to recall during our Zoom interview how he and Johnson were able to spend some personal time together:
He started to regale me with all these incredible stories about [him] and Bird and that era. And you could see how deeply, profoundly, these men respect each other and the way that he spoke of him. It was really awesome to see. And I guess I'm just telling you the story, because it was such an insight to me, listening to this man in person intimately talking about his greatest rival in the sport, and what they meant to each other. I just was like, ‘Wow, that's incredible what these guys shared.’ And on other sides of it with each other, and they ultimately ended up being such dear friends and [have] this mutual respect. It’s just insane, fantastic.
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The complex relationship between Magic Johnson and Larry Bird is something that’s going to be highlighted in the new season of Winning Time. While it was only teased in the first season, Quincy Isaiah’s Magic and Sean Patrick Small’s Larry are primed to become the on-court rivals fans once knew. And you can bet Michael Chiklis’ Auerbach is only going to fan the flames of basketball war. The real Johnson likely hasn’t checked out the show yet, but I’d like to think that he’d chuckle over Chiklis’ impeccable work, which sees the actor (appropriately) throwing around a few f-bombs.
Winning Time: The Rise of the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty’s Season 2 premiere makes its way up the court to HBO on August 6 at 9 p.m. ET and will later be available for Max subscription holders to stream. You can also stream Fantastic Four and its follow-up using a Disney+ subscription.
