Before Pat Riley led the Showtime Lakers to four NBA championships — and became a celebrity in his own right — the team went through enough coaching drama to fuel a soap opera.

In this episode of "Binge Sesh," hosts Matt Brennan and Kareem Maddox bring you the backstories of four key players in HBO's "Winning Time," each of whom served as head coach of Lakers in the four years at the start of the Showtime era: Jerry West, Jack McKinney, Paul Westhead and Pat Riley. From sudden departures and unfortunate accidents to Shakespearean betrayals and tabloid stardom, strap in for the series of unfortunate events that helped form the Showtime we know and love. 

For the podcast transcript, production stills, real-life photos and links to much more, visit the episode page on latimes.com.