WARNING: SPOILERS ahead for Starting 5.
Netflix’s new docuseriesStarting 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 Peyton Manning (Quarterback) and 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 starsand most talented players.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.
12LeBron James Dispels Report That He Spends $1.5 Million Annually On His Body
Episode 3, “Survival of the Fittest”
InStarting 5episode 3, LeBron James confronts the headlining reports that he spends $1.5 million annually to keep his body in pristine athletic shape. While he doesn’t disclose the actual dollar amount, he laughs at the rumored $1.5 million figure, a price he could certainly afford as the NBA’s only active player with a net worth north of $1 billion. James clarifies that it’s not about the money he puts into his athletic maintenance, but the time. His trainer, Mike Mancias, keeps James busy during his off days with plenty of rehabilitation and preventative therapy, such as cryotherapy, red light therapy, and hyperbaric chambers.James chuckles at the $1.5 million figure inStarting 5, calling it a “crazy notion.”
11Tatum, Butler & Edwards All Said They Don’t Understand The In-Season Tournament
Episode 2, “Meet the Hoopers Part II”
The NBA introduced its first-ever In-Season Tournament during November of the 2023-2024 season, which confused many fans, pundits, and even players. Jayson Tatum, Anthony Edwards, and Jimmy Butler all revealed inStarting 5episode 2 that they didn’t entirely understand the new In-Season Tournament, otherwise known as the NBA Cup. AStarting 5producer asked Ant Man to explain the In-Season Tournament andEdwards said without hesitation, “I don’t know it.”
Jimmy Butler said the same thing, admitting he didn’t “know enough about it.” Tatum said he didn’t “understand it.” Fortunately for them, Domantas Sabonis was able to break it down flawlessly and was confused about others' confusion.Everybody did understand, however, that each player on the winning team would receive $500,000.
10Jimmy Butler Got His “Emo Jimmy” 2023 Media Day Idea From His Nanny
Episode 1, “Meet the Hoopers Part I”
The inspiration behind Jimmy Butler’s wild emo look at the NBA’s 2023 Media Day was finally unearthed inStarting 5episode 1. Butler’s nanny, Olivia Sutton, explains that she told Jimmy Buckets about a bar she had gone to that had an “Emo Night.” Butler asked what that meant and Sutton explained that it was simply a group of people having fun and listening to popular emo rock bands such as Panic! At The Disco and Fall Out Boy. From then on, Butler started listening to more emo rock and discovered thathe’s “low-key kinda emo all the time.“Emo Jimmy was born and even starred in aFall Out Boy music video in 2023.
9LeBron James Gives A Shoutout To The USC Trainer Who Performed CPR On Bronny
Episode 4, “Father Christmas”
InStarting 5episode 4, LeBron James gives a special shoutout toUSC Athletic Trainer Erin Tillman, who administered CPR to his son LeBron “Bronny” James Jr.after he suffered from cardiac arrest during a workout in August 2023. LeBron introduced his mother, Gloria Marie James, to Erin in a touching moment. James speaks extensively about how Bronny’s near-death experience has completely changed his outlook on life. While he’s always been a family man, James reiterates inStarting 5that family is the most important thing in his life at this point, above his NBA legacy and his love for the game. He notes how fortunate he is to not only have Bronny as a teammate but as a son.
8Anthony Edwards Watched The Rest Of The Wolves v. Kings Game In His Daughter’s Delivery Room
Episode 7, “Push”
While James reflects on his fatherhood inStarting 5as Bronny enters the NBA, 23-year-old Anthony Edwards welcomed his first child, Aislynn, in March 2024. He notably left the March 1st home game against the Sacramento Kings at halftime to meet his girlfriend, Jeanie Robel, who also goes by the name Shannon, at a Minnesota Hospital. Edwards made it in time to be there for Aislynn’s very first moments but made sure to have the Timberwolves game streaming on his phone in the delivery room. The game came down to the wire butthe T-Wolves ultimately lost by 4. Edwards was upset for a second but that feeling of disappointment didn’t last long as he held his daughter for the first time.
7Joe Mazzulla Says Tatum Has The Privilege Of Dealing With Unfair Criticism As An NBA Star
Episode 5, “The Struggle Is Real”
Joe Mazzulla, the 34-year-old head coach of the Boston Celtics, is known for his unmatched tenacity and uncompromising perspective on the work ethic and discipline required to become an NBA Champion. He offers a great line inStarting 5episode 5 after a producer suggests that Tatum “has todeal with unfair criticism” and the high standards of Boston fans and media outlets.
Mazzulla corrects the producer and says, “Hegetsto deal with it.It’s the ultimate compliment. That’s what we talk about. This is what you asked for. You asked to be one of the best players in the NBA on the best team in the NBA with an opportunity to be an icon for the league for a long, long time.” His comments really exemplify the mentality of the 2024 NBA Champion Celtics from the top down.
6Kevin Garnett Tells A Hilarious Story About Domantas Sabonis’ Hall of Fame Father
Kevin Garnett offers some of the funniest commentary inStarting 5, particularly in episode 2 as he describes a locker room scene of Hall of Fame center Arvydas Sabonis, the father of Domantas Sabonis. KG said that Sabonis was “the best in the world, hands down” and recalls playing on the same team as him during the 1995 NBA Rookie Game.
Sabonis had been playing for nearly 15 years before making his NBA debut in 1995 at the age of 31. Since he was born in the Soviet Union, he was not allowed to play in the NBA after being drafted by the Portland Trail Blazers in 1986.KG, who was 19 at the time, recalls seeing Sabonis with his wife in the locker room smoking a cigaretteand talking trash.
5Jimmy Butler Writes Songs & Makes Music About His Life With Country Artists
Jimmy Butler proves he is full of surprises inStarting 5when he announces that he’s working on his own original country album. Although Butler never shows off his singing chops in the Netflix docuseries, he works with several country artists at his Miami home as their songwriter, pulling ideas for songs straight out of his personal life. Although the group doesn’t have an official name, Butler tells them about a recent text message exchange he had with a potential love interest who is leaving for Dubai.He tells the group he wants to write a song about the friendzoneand they spring into action with acoustic guitar chords and authentic country lyrics in one of the most unexpected scenes inStarting 5.
4Anthony Edwards Says He Wants “All The Smoke” In The NBA (Except With Kyrie)
Episode 8, “I’m Here!“
It’s no surprise thatAnthony Edwards is one of the most confident players in the NBA, and rightfully so. His seemingly invincible mindset is displayed throughoutStarting 5as he led the Timberwolves to an improbable Western Conference Finals run, defeating Nikola Jokić and the Denver Nuggets in an instant classic Game 7 during the second round. Edwards' cockiness finally came around to haunt him when it came to Kyrie Irving and the Dallas Mavericks, who beat the T-Wolves 4 games to 1 to advance to the 2024 NBA Finals. Edwards proclaimed that he wanted “all the smoke” in the NBA before being humbled by Irving and the Mavs.
3Jayson Tatum Felt The Weight Of The World Lift Off His Shoulders After 2024 NBA Finals Win
Episode 10, “Just Be Yourself”
Starting 5episode 10 ends with Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics finally securing banner number 18 and reclaiming their status as the most-winningest NBA Finals team of all time.Tatum led the Celtics to the Eastern Conference finals in five of his seven seasonsand recently lost to Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors on their home court in the 2022 NBA Finals. With their Game 5 win over the Mavericks, Tatum was finally able to silence the haters who doubted Tatum’s ability to lead a championship team.
Tatum, of course, was aided by several of his superstar teammates, who collectively became the most efficient offensive team in NBA history. Regardless,Starting 5demonstrates how much pressure was lifted on Tatum’s shoulders and how relieved he was to prove to the city of Boston and himself that he belonged inTitletown, where anything below a championship is considered a failure. Tatum took a line out of Curry’s handbook, exclaiming on the TD Garden floor, “What they gonna say now?”
