Starting 5

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.

If you love basketball, you'll love this! I love most sporting documentaries and documentary series, even if it's sports that I'm not familiar with, I like to hear stories and see the life about these essential 'super humans' and Starting 5 was no exception, I was fully into from the first episode and have enjoyed it all the way through, seeing the season unfold through different players at their different teams, how they dealt with the season, the losses and the set backs etc. I really hope we get another season focusing on a different 5 players.

Gave me a better perspective of some players and whilst I'm not a huge LeBron fan, I came away with a different level of respect for him.

Ant Edwards was by far the most entertaining and enjoyable segments of the series.

Although I am an huge NBA fan, I can say that they chose the wrong players for the TV series. Mostly bragging for everything and for sure, keep kids out of watching this TV series! Not that I was expecting to watch humble human beings in US sports but this was eye-opening on how this NBA stars are living.

* Potential for Bias: With LeBron James involved as a producer, there might be a concern about objectivity, especially when it comes to portraying his own career.

** Lack of critical reflection: The players might not be truly open to examining their flaws or shortcomings, leading to a somewhat sanitized version of their personalities and careers.

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.