MUSKEGON, Mich. — Showtime gets a whole new meaning Friday night for Muskegon's own Quincy Isaiah.
He played the role of Magic Johnson in HBO's Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty. That's an era of Lakers basketball commonly referred to as 'Showtime.'
Now, he gets to play himself in Friday's NBA All-Star Celebrity Game.
He's ready to prove his skills are more than just Hollywood magic.
"I'm about to ball," Isaiah said with a smile on his face.
Isaiah grew up in Muskegon. He played football at Muskegon High School and graduated in 2013.
Then, he traveled south to Kalamazoo College, where he graduated from in 2017.
"After, I want to say, like, two months of working in Kalamazoo, I went back home for like two weeks, and then I packed up my car and went out to LA," he said.
As is the unfortunate reality for many actors, Isaiah went on audition after audition for years. Still, his big break had yet to come.
"It had to be over 100 (auditions) man, like, it had to," he said.
At that point, Isaiah had considered stepping away from acting altogether.
"I was planning on going into the military, and just, like, taking four years, you know, maybe getting another degree," he said. "Lucky enough, you know, when Winning Time came along, it changed all of that.”
The moment Isaiah learned he booked the role as Magic Johnson in the show is one he'll never forget.
"I remember muting the phone, going crazy, you know, unmuting it, and being like, 'Thank you! Appreciate y'all! Ready to get the word.' And then after that, going crazy again, and called my mom, letting her go crazy," he explained.
Now, Isaiah gets to go from portraying a basketball player on TV to playing as himself in the Ruffles All-Start Celebrity Game.
"I've been trying to get in this game for like a few years now," he said. "I’m about to ball. I feel like my game wasn't at a place where it should've been (to be) a part of the game, but this year, it feels right."
Isaiah will play for Team Shannon, led by head coaches Shannon Sharpe, from ESPN's First Take, and rapper 50 Cent.
He'll go up against Team Stephen A., coached by ESPN mega-personality and Sharpe's First Take counterpart Stephen A. Smith, rapper Lil Wayne and WNBA star A'ja Wilson.
Tip off is set for 7 p.m. EST.
FOX 17 will be speaking with Isaiah ahead of Friday's game. Tune into FOX 17 tonight at 5 & 6 to watch the full story.
