WARNING: SPOILERS ahead for Starting 5.
Netflix’s new docuseriesStarting 5leaves out some of the biggest stories and details of the 2023-2024 NBA season.Starting 5offers an extensivedeep dive into the 2023-24 NBA season through the exclusive lenses of five elite players. Directed by Peter J. Scalettar (Supreme Team) and produced by Barack and Michelle Obama (Leave the World Behind),Starting 5takes a behind-the-scenes look at the off-the-court lives offive of the NBA’s biggest stars.Starting 5follows Domantas Sabonis of the Sacramento Kings, Jimmy Butler of the Miami Heat, Anthony Edwards of the Minnesota Timberwolves, Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics, and LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers.
Starting 5also includes never-before-seen footageof these five NBA talents during the regular season and playoffs, including previously unreleased audio and in-game commentary between players, coaches, and other NBA personnel. The series thoughtfully pieces together some of the common themes between these five NBA superstars, such as their personal battles with injury, legacy, and fame, as well as their roles as fathers, partners, and public figures.Starting 5has a great soundtrackand releases just one day after the start of the 2024-2025 NBA Preseason,chronicling the entire 2023-2024 season up to the Boston Celtics' NBA Finals victoryin June 2024.
Starting 5doesn’t take much focus off its core group of star talent, hence the title. It also doesn’t touch much on anything too scandalous or controversial, as it truly feels like a promotional series to celebrate not only some of the best basketball players in the world but also the NBA itself.Similar to Netflix’s football-focused seriesQuarterbackandReceiver, the series mainly focuses on the positives and exclusive perks in the lifestyles of some of the NBA’s biggest stars. It’s nearly voyeuristic being a fly on the wall inside the homes of these select NBA stars, showcasing a relatively normal and human side of these larger-than-life sports figures.
All 10 episodes ofStarting 5are now streaming on Netflix.
Former NBA player Redick has never coached in the NBA before
While head coaches such as the Boston Celtics' Joe Mazzulla and the Sacramento Kings' Mike Brown made appearances in Starting 5 and signed on for exclusive sit-down interviews, 2023-2024 Lakers head coach Darvin Ham was not included in the Netflix series. This is likely due to the Lakers organization parting ways with Ham after he served two seasons as their head coach. Although the Lakers moved from 5th to 3rd place in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference last year,the Lakers' lost 4 games to 1 against the 2023 NBA Champion Denver Nuggets.
Although playing the Nuggets in the first round was an uphill battle for the Lakers from the start, the series loss ultimately cost Ham his job. The Lakers heavily pursued University of Connecticut head coach and 2-time NCAA ChampionDan Hurley, who turned down the role and a massive payday to stay in his current role. The Lakers then hired former NBA player and broadcast analyst JJ Redick, who will coach LeBron James, Anthony David, and Bronny Jr. in the upcoming 2024-2025 season.
9Jaylen Brown Won The NBA Finals MVP Over Jayson Tatum (Who Won Eastern Conf. MVP)
Tatum seemed unbothered and happy for his fellow superstar teammate in Starting 5
Although most of the Celtics' focus during their 2024 Championship run was on Jayson Tatum, his teammate and fellow superstar Jaylen Brown ended up winning the NBA Finals MVP over him.Tatum is generally considered the best player on the Celtics, although Brown, who was the highest-paid player in the league at one point, is certainly not far behind.
Tatum briefly touches on the fact that he did not take home the Finals MVP trophy inStarting 5, but views it as a sign ofhow stacked with talent the Celtics were and still are as they head into the 2024-2025 NBA season. Tatum was all smiles after taking home the Celtics' 18th Championship and was not concerned about Brown winning the MVP award, especially since he got the Eastern Conference Finals MVP award weeks earlier.
8Miami Heat President Pat Riley Publicly Criticized Jimmy Butler For Trolling The Celtics
Butler called out Jaylen Brown after the Heat’s Game 2 win on social media
Jimmy Butler was arguably the most interesting and eccentric of theStarting 5bunch, showcasing his various passions for cappuccinos, playing dominoes, writing country songs, and feeling emo. One notable part of his 2023-2024 NBA season that isn’t covered in the series is the “trolling” comments he made about the Boston Celtics during their round one playoff matchup. Butler was out with an injury but still made a point to post a meme thatmocked the “Don’t let us get one” comment Jaylen Brown had made in 2023 when the Celtics were down 3-0 to the Heatin the Eastern Conference Finals.
Butler also said to the press, “If I was playing, Boston would be at home. New York damn sure would be (expletive) at home.” Riley didn’t like Butler’s comments, saying “I thought, ‘Is that Jimmy trolling or is that Jimmy serious?' If you’re not on the court playing against Boston or on the court playing against the New York Knicks, you should keep your mouth shut on the criticism of those teams” (viaFox Sports). Riley’s criticism may have struck a chord withButler, who notably did not show up to NBA Media Day this year with an outrageous hairdoas he did in years past. The Heat will have to decide what to do with Butler when he becomes a free agent at the end of this season.
7Karl Anthony Towns Was Traded From T-Wolves To The Knicks During The Offseason
More pressure and expectations will be put on Edwards this season
Karl Anthony Towns, one of the most productive players of the Minnesota Timberwolves alongside Edwards and Rudy Gobert, was traded to the New York Knicks during the 2024 offseason. AlthoughStarting 5production had concluded on Edwards before the trade was announced in early October, the docuseries could have briefly mentioned it considering how much of a loss it is for the Timberwolves.Edwards will be required more than ever to fill in with his elite star status, which is perhaps what the Timberwolves are banking on. The T-Wolves did acquire some solid role players in exchange for Towns but their chances of reaching the Western Conference Finals again just got slimmer.
6Jayson Tatum Surpasses Jaylen Brown To Become The Highest-Paid Player In NBA
He signed a five-year $315 million extension in July
A year ago, Tatum’s Celtics teammate Jaylen Brown became the highest-paid player in the NBA with a massive five-year extension worth up to $304 million. In July 2024, Tatum surpassed his own teammate as the highest-paid player in the league with an even bigger five-year extension that could earn up to a maximum of $315 million. As the largest deal in NBA history,Tatum’s new contract will start in 2025 and will keep him on the Celtics through 2030. This information was interestingly not discussed at all inStarting 5.
5Draymond Green Was Suspended For 5 Games After Confrontation Against Timberwolves In November 2023
Draymond Green made headlines for being overly aggressive during games more than once during the 2023-2024 NBA season. WhileStarting 5covered the In-Season Tournament quite extensively, it failed to mention the most infamous brawl of the 2023-2024 NBA season that left T-Wolves center Rudy Gobert in a headlock. The incident occurred just a few minutes into the game on November 14 asGreen swept in to intercept a scuffle between Klay Thompson and Jaden McDaniels. Edwards was on the floor at the time but did not get in the middle of it. Green’s attempt to de-escalate the situation only made things worse. He was suspended for five games but told the press that he had no regrets.
4LeBron, Tatum, & Edwards Were Teammates On The U.S. Olympic Gold Medal Team In Paris
Not following these three stars to Paris feels like a missed opportunity
A major omission from Starting 5 was the fact that Tatum, LeBron, and Edwards were all teammates on the U.S. Olympic team that won gold in Paris in the summer of 2024. One might expect a series that chronicles the NBA seasons of three Olympians might end with Team U.S.A.’s gold medal victory over the home nation of France butthere was no behind-the-scenes footage of the Olympics provided. It does feel odd since the series ends with talk of the 2024-2025 NBA season and completely skips over the most significant sporting event in the world that occurred just weeks after the NBA Finals.Starting 5certainly would have been better had it provided coverage of what could be LeBron’s final Olympic Games.
32 Of Anthony Edwards' Teammates Won Defensive Player & Sixth Man Of The Year
Karl Anthony Towns also set a new single-game scoring franchise record
While most of the spotlight was on the supreme talent and potential of Anthony Edwards, the series could have at least mentioned the impressive feats of some of his teammates, who Edwards could have arguably made better through his play and leadership. Rudy Gobert went from being headlocked by Green to winningDefensive Player of the Year, an award he has won four times throughout his careerwhich ties him with Ben Wallace and Dikembe Mutombo for the most all-time in NBA history.
Timberwolves center Naz Reid became the first player in franchise history to win Sixth Man of the Year, an award previously won by James Harden and Manu Ginobili. Sure, Edwards is a star, but his teammates are pretty outstanding too, including his former teammateTowns, who scored a franchise-high 62 points against the Hornetsin January 2024.
2Domantas Sabonis Will Wear Number 11 In 2024 To Honor His Hall of Famer Dad
Starting 5 includes home footage and interviews with Arvydas Sabonis
Starting 5dove into how Domantas Sabonis’s NBA Hall of Fame father, Arvydas Sabonis, played a huge role in inspiring his son to pursue a career in the NBA. Even Kevin Garnett can recall how incredible Arvydas Sabonis was on the court, calling him the “best, hands down.“Starting 5includes home footage videos of Arvydas and a young Domantaswith his family and also features interviews with Arvydas as well, which adds a meaningful layer to the docuseries.
What was missing was the mention ofSabonis taking his father’s jersey number for the upcoming NBA season, switching from 10 to 11 in his honor. The news first broke in mid-June 2024, which gave producers plenty of time to end the Sabontis narrative on a high note after the Kings failed to qualify for the playoffs. Sadly,Starting 5missed a golden opportunity to depict the Sabonis NBA legacy coming full circle.
1Anthony Edwards Allegedly Has Multiple Children With Multiple Women
The birth of Anthony Edwards' first child, Aislynn in March of 2024, with his girlfriend Shannon is depicted extensively inStarting 5. Cameras even went into the delivery room and documented Edwards live-streaming the Timberwolves game he left at halftime as he met his daughter for the first time. WhatStarting 5did not include were theallegations against Edwards that he is the father of at least 2-3 other childrenhe had with more than one woman (viaPage Six).
Shannon, who is said to have had another child with rapper Chief Keef, had reportedly been with Edwards since 2020 and is often seen sitting courtside at Timberwolves games. While the story has picked up steam lately ahead of the 2024-2025 NBA season, at least three separate women have alleged that Edwards is the father of their children over the past 12 months. It certainly has nothing to do with basketball but it would be quite a shock if the rumors were to be true after seeing him welcome Aislynn into the world with Shannon inStarting 5.
12 Biggest Reveals From Starting 5, Netflix’s NBA Documentary With LeBron James, Ant Edwards & More Stars
Netflix’s NBA docuseries Starting 5 reveals behind-the-scenes info about LeBron James' health, Jayson Tatum’s success & Jimmy Butler’s country album.
Starting 5
Cast
NBA superstars LeBron James, Jimmy Butler, Jayson Tatum, Domantas Sabonis, and Anthony Edwards give fans an intimate look at their lives on and off the court. The docuseries follows their 2023-2024 season, capturing not just the intense games but also personal moments with family, showing the balance between professional demands and personal commitments.
