Startaufstellung

I am not a basketball fan because where I'm from (South Africa) the NBA is honestly not a huge thing. I watched this series and I honestly not only enjoyed the perspectives of the players and the work they put it and how they deal with loss, but I really learnt alot about basketball I'm general. This honestly turned me into a basketball fan and I am looking forward to watching my first NBA game. Even though on my side the games play at midnight (6-8 time difference) depending which team is playing......This is my Top3 Sports Documentary: 1. Drive to Survive 2. The Starting 5 3. The Last Dance.

Had high hopes for this, especially after excellent Netflix series on Michael Jordan (Last Dance), or two seasons on golf (Full Swing).

Yet Starting 5 is a very different story. Each episode features multiple players and covers both their back stories, interviews with them, interviews with other players, coaches and family members and small snippets from the last season games.

The issue though is that there's no story, no depth, so I wouldnt be able to honestly tell someone what's this series is about really. Each player is shown in different depths and angles, there's not enough focus on any of them during the episode, there's no sense of how the season is going and we don't follow their stories throughout multiple games. Some players just ramble random stuff with their barber or a buddy - what are we supposed to learn from this? How is this of any interest to anyone?

IDK, dropped it after 3rd episode, unlikely to watch it further.

For me personally, overall some very embarrassing moments in the presentation of these superior athletes. Do they not even in the slightest reflect on the fact that average, everyday people will be the viewers of these scenes / behavior and might really be somewhat disgusted by the presentation of their at times perverse lifestyle???

You have got male athletes putting on three diamond studded bracelets and then the same number of the same type of necklaces after every game. You hear a player confess that he has NEVER packed or carried his own sport bags or suitcases. Four year old children get Tiffany watches for Christmas and the kids seem to be spoiled on many levels and everyone flies around on luxurious private jets ...

The actual presentation of the exciting season and its chronological portrayal were great as well as the physical and psychological aspects presented by and about the great players. Lebron´s daughter was a human highlight as was the humility sometimes shown by Sabonis and Tatum.

This show builds up an aura around the NBA, perfectly capturing the essence of characters within the NBA. The old guard of guys like the king Lebron as they move onto the next chapter of their careers not being the MVP caliber player anymore while still being able to defy father time. Or even the more in your face type of players guys like Ant-Man Edward's or Jimmy Butler, showing these personalities off the floor as well depicting the toll the NBA has on a players body and its impact on their family and the dynamics the players have with their families.

The show is however very convoluted, every episode being a mix of every player i think that if they'd dedicated each episode to just one player instead of traveling the corse of a season it would've been easier to understand especially since you'd have to assume this is aimed towards kids and their first exposure into the NBA. It also forces a lot of narratives and pushes agendas to give to the stars of the show not really accepting the reality of it.

I enjoyed this series. I've watched a few other similar series in this genre of pro sports, such Quarterback and Receiver on Netflix. This one gave insight into the lives of five top NBA players, including Lebron James, Jayson Tatum, Jimmy Butler, Domantas Sabonis, and Anthony Edwards. Liked how they all presented themselves for the most part except for Anthony Edwards who seems somewhat of a egotistical, immature, idiot punk. He attends the birth of his first child and as soon as she's born, he leaves the hospital room and his wife to check the last minutes of his team's game on his phone. He doesn't participate in the first part of Thanksgiving that he and his wife are hosting because he's too busy playing his stupid video games. Grow up, man!