Actor, comedian, writer, director, and musician Bo Burnham has been cast as Larry Bird in HBO's upcoming series about the "showtime-era" Los Angeles Lakers. Bird is a Boston Celtics icon who often gave the Lakers trouble, so he could be a central character to the story.

　　Burnham is known for his comedy specials, and more recently he made his directorial debut with the movie Eighth Grade, which generated rave reviews. Burnham's latest project was the movie Promising Young Woman with Carey Mulligan; he starred as Mulligan's love interest.

　　Bo Burnham has been cast as Boston Celtics star Larry Bird, widely regarded as one of the best basketball players of all time. His time with the Celtics included a storied rivalry with the Lakers. https://t.co/vDVu2rLqha pic.twitter.com/LNRMlKmXMa

　　— Variety (@Variety) March 25, 2021

　　It's also been announced that How I Met Your Mother's Jason Segel will play the Lakers assistant coach Paul Westhead.

　　The rest of the cast for the untitled show includes:

　　John C. Reilly as Lakers owner Jerry BussJason Clarke as Lakers executive Jerry WestAdrien Brody as coach Pat RileySally Field as Jerry Buss' mother, Jessie BussStephen Adly Guirgis as Buss' business partner Frank MarianiKirk Bovill as Clippers owner Donald SterlingSpencer Garnett as Lakers broadcaster Chick HearnQuincy Isaiah as Magic JohnsonSolomon Hughes as Kareem Abdul-JabbarDeVaughn Nixon as Norm NixonDelante Desouza as Michael CooperRob Morgan as Earvin Johnson Sr.Tamera Tomakili as Earletha "Cookie" KellyJoey Brooks as Lon RosenMolly Gordon as Linda ZafraniThe HBO series is based on the Jeff Pearlman book Showtime, which dug into the lives of the iconic Lakers players from the Showtime era. The Big Short's Adam McKay directed the pilot.

　　This is just the latest sports-related project from HBO, which recently released a two-part Tiger Woods documentary that dug into the golfer's troubled and complicated past.