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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!

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.

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.

I don't see how you couldn't like this show if you like basketball!

It has a personal side to it to get to know the players more than these robotic questions they get asked at press conferences. For so long I've just wanted to get to know the players and now we can.

One of the best line ups aswell as 1 is a GOAT 1 wins a championship 1 player is looked at as the next biggest thing 1 is struck by a flurry of unfortunate events And Domantis sabonis.

Great edits the make it a masterpiece And there a lot of humour in here too.

And alot of Personal BTS Happens to each player that is luck/bad luck of chances.

Hope they remake this every year!

I need a Deuce solo series ngl bro.

Deuce literally just stole the freaking show.

The rest of the series just...mid. But as a NBA fan, u can easily enjoy this. It show us those stars both on the court and off the court.

It's amazing that I know LeBron is hilarious, but idk he's that funny.

But I wish there's more AR tho.

Btw, antman wasn't make me a fan still. But I like him more than before, he's rly great at balling fs.

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.

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.

An interesting insight into the minds of young and older athletes. At this level confidence is everything but confidence is generated in many different ways.

Well made. With significant access comes exposure. The youth of Anthony Edwards is most likely the single thing that holds him back.

Jason Taytum is the one to watch....his ability knows no bounds.

The league is a complicated and diverse universe and the starting 5 reveals at least some of that.

For new fans of the game, check out old school trailers of the greats to build knowledge.

For die hard fans....you'll always want more anyway.

Enjoyable but not enough to bring new fans to the game...in my opinion.

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.

10 out of 10 Where Legends Play - Inside the Lives of the NBA's Elite

The Essence

Starting 5 is a masterclass in basketball storytelling - following LeBron James, Jimmy Butler, Jayson Tatum, Anthony Edwards, and Domantas Sabonis as they balance superstardom with humanity. Netflix brings us an intimate, no-filter look at their journeys, struggles, triumphs, and legacies.

This is the real side of the game - the grind, the mindset, the sacrifices, and the heart behind the highlights.

The Stars LeBron James: The elder statesman, carrying the weight of expectation with unmatched grace and relentless drive. A living legend still sharpening his craft and molding the future.

Jimmy Butler: The fierce competitor whose passion and grit define his every move. A leader who demands everything from himself and his team.

Jayson Tatum: The polished, composed scorer evolving into the face of a franchise. His blend of calm and killer instinct makes him a fascinating study.

Anthony Edwards: The explosive, charismatic young star carving his own path with raw talent and infectious energy. The future looks bright with him leading the charge.

Domantas Sabonis: The quiet powerhouse who lets his game do the talking. A blue-collar warrior, respected by peers and fans alike for his toughness and skill.

Why It Hits Different

Netflix nails the storytelling, mixing emotional vulnerability with electrifying athleticism. You see moments of doubt, reflection, joy, and determination - all woven together to paint a full picture of what it means to be one of the best in the world today.

This isn't just a basketball doc - it's a story about leadership, legacy, and the relentless pursuit of greatness, both on and off the court.

The Takeaway

Starting 5 is a powerful, compelling, and inspiring dive into the lives of five unique champions who carry the game and culture of basketball forward. Their stories will resonate long after the final buzzer.

10 out of 10. For those who know the game, and those who want to understand it - this is the blueprint.

I really really like the fact that they showed us the human side of the players and had some focus on their personal lives and families.

But i think there was actually too much of that and not enough focus on the actual basketball being played.

Not talking about stats or showing great games of the players, only a few highlights.

Plus the games represented such a small part of the screen time, it was honestly a dissapointment for me.

I watched a lot of netflix sports docu and this was my least favorite, if u compare it to the NFL's "Quarterback" and "Reciever", u will see that in those shows there was much more focus on the sport, showing the games, talking about the prep and even analizing them after they were played, Im not even a football fan and i was really invested in finding out whats going to happend, in this show i didnt feel that (and im an nba fan).

So for me its not that i dont wanna see their personal lifes and know them as people (for example i really like domas and jimmy butler after watching the show), but i think the balance was off here.

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.

I watched Drive to Survive, without much knowledge about F1 but man, was I hooked from season 1. I love golf, and Full Swing is an awesome show.

Now I follow NBA and I was excited to hear about this show because of Netflix's track record about sports documentaries. First couple of episodes were interesting in looking at behind the scenes with NBA players but then, it's the same story over and over. How they all take care of their bodies, how they all doing it for their families, etc. Same story, different players, gets repetitive and after a while it's just not interesting any more. Where's the story? No Yuki Tsunoda or Joel Dahmen. Stopped watching in the middle of 4th episode and I don't think I'll go back.

If shiny stuff excites you this is for you. If you can't play the game this is for you. If you vertically challenged this is for you. If your unco this is for you. If you've only played Basketball at a low grade it's for you. If you struggle to understand basketball that's perfect as it's not about Basketball but more about millionaire sooks acting for the cameras (it all seems for forced). If you know very little about Basketball or can't play or sport in general no worries this for you. I repeat "If you know very little about Basketball or can't play or sport in general no worries this for you"

Being of fan of basketball since decades, I found this reality TV show extremely uninteresting and boring... and I'm still trying to find what the point was. So nobody can call that a documentary! I know it's trendy among players to have their own production company and to produce documentaries... but this one ain't one!

Maybe it's because of a very bad directing, but the people involved either looked dull or even dumb.

They could have done several TikTok videos or Instagram Reels to show this same content.

The "cinematography" (if we can actually talk about proper cinematography in this case) was also not good.

Not enough meat, not enough passion. Bland celebration of superstars' lavish lifestyles and their private baristas. A celebration of Anthony Edwards' sports shoes. There are more close-ups of his name shoes than some players. Obviously, the shoe company heavily financed the production, but in good filmmaking, that shouldn't show this much and must not be visible. This series should be called Anthony Edwards' Basketball Shoes Promo Video. There were very few emotional moments in this eight-episode-long series that we were awaiting with so much anticipation. We understand that it's just a marketing product for the NBA and Anthony Edwards' shoes, but still, it could have been much better than this piece of puff, especially given that they had access to the players. They were miked up during the games, and the cameras were so much closer and more personal than we see on TV, and this opportunity was missed.