A shooting guard considered 'Reggie Miller with a handle' commits suicide, at a time when the country is ill-equipped to talk about mental health. Want to get in touch? Email us [email protected] Death At The Wing is hosted by Adam McKay (The Big Short, Vice, Succession) and produced by HyperObject Industries and Three Uncanny Four. Jody Avirgan, executive producer and editor, Raghu Manavalan, senior producer, Brian Steele, producer. This episode discusses mental health,...

The ‘next Magic Johnson’ gets murdered after an argument outside a Chicago High School. Chicago residents had been scapegoated by politicians and cut off from social services for decades, leaving a vacuum for a flood of guns and violence in the 1980s. Benji’s death was a product of that neglect, but his legacy may provide a path to hope. Want to get in touch? Email us [email protected] Death At The Wing is hosted by Adam McKay (The Big Short, Vice, Succession) and produced...

A cocaine overdose claims the life of collegiate superstar and ‘can’t miss prospect’ Len Bias before he ever plays in the NBA for the Boston Celtics. This causes a moral and political panic. Weeks after his death, the Reagan administration, with overwhelming Democratic support, passes the "Len Bias Law," installing mandatory minimum sentences and a system that prioritizes incarceration over rehabilitation. As one writer put it, Len Bias became the “Archduke Ferdinand of the total War on...

Flint native Terry Furlow, a Michigan State legend, was a mentor to Magic Johnson, and was primed to make it in the new run-and-gun NBA. But Furlow struggled to adjust to the league, and bounced around from team to team, just at the same moment that a party culture was taking over the NBA and the country. Stories of rampant cocaine use plague the league, and what was once a fun party drug reveals a darker side. In the end, the league and the country decide to react not by supporting their...

In the late 70s, basketball was changing rapidly, as was the country. The ABA, a start-up basketball league showcased a faster style of play that captivates fans and introduced a 3-point line to professional basketball. But it was struggling financially. The NBA was just the opposite -- gaining a foothold but lacking that “cool” factor. After a merger, and the rise of satellite TV, everything came together -- Dr. J, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird’s highlights reached fans across the country....

Death at the Wing tells the story of a generation of rising basketball stars who fell victim to the forces that defined Ronald Reagan’s America. Hosted by Adam McKay (The Big Short, Vice, Succession), the first two episodes of DEATH AT THE WING arrive March 31st. From Hyperobject Industries and Three Uncanny Four Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices