It’s not easy to provide a behind-the-scenes sports documentary with active players. Teams use in-house media and athletes use their social media accounts to take fans into the locker room, team flights and more.
When the athletes agree to participate in such projects, you can also be assured it will not be a tell-all situation.
So don’t expect to learn of things such as tension between the Los Angeles Lakers and former coach Darvin Ham or anything of the sort in the Netflix docuseries “Starting 5,” which premieres Wednesday.
The 10-part series follows the Lakers’ LeBron James, Boston’s Jayson Tatum, Miami’s Jimmy Butler, Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards and Sacramento’s Domantas Sabonis through the 2023-24 season.
There are candid moments about basketball, mostly with Edwards, the youngest player of the five. He confesses that Minnesota underestimated Dallas in the Western Conference finals, which the Timberwolves lost in five games. He admits calling out Kyrie Irving before the conference finals, when he declared that he would defend him, was a mistake. He also owns up to not being in the best shape in the series and not having the best diet, something that needs to improve.
There are also funny moments, like when James said he knows a lot of people (particularly on social media) believe he has a penchant for exaggerating or lying. And you don’t want to miss Kevin Garnett’s commentary throughout.
Where “Starting 5” shines is in the moments the players bring you into their family dynamic.
Players share family moments on social media, but it’s not often those moments are interviews. Each player gives a glimpse into their home life in the series.
James and his wife Savannah discuss their son Bronny’s cardiac arrest that was caused by a congenital heart defect in July 2023. There had not been a lot about how LeBron and Savannah felt during Bronny’s health scare. Statements had been made providing updates, but it is different to watch Savannah become emotional discussing such a frightening situation.
All three of the James children speak during the series.
Butler was granted a leave of absence in February to grieve the death of a family member. It was not announced at the time who the family member was, but the documentary explains that Butler’s father, Jimmy Butler Jr., had been sick and living with him in Miami before he died.
The last game Butler Jr. was alive for was his son recording his first triple-double in more than two years in a win over San Antonio. We learn more about their relationship and how Butler III functions as a father. There’s even a funny moment of Butler III discussing whether he put a female acquaintance in the “friend zone” while discussing his love for country music.
Sabonis is the only player whose father played in the NBA. Arvydas Sabonis was one of the best players in the world and joined the Portland Trail Blazers for the 1995-96 season as a 30-year-old rookie. Domantas was born after that season. Arvydas’ final NBA season was 2002-03.
Arvydas speaks in the documentary. There is footage of a young Domantas with his dad in a Blazers jersey and a lot of talk about the work-family balance. Domantas talks about remembering how busy his father was and working to balance the NBA and family with his wife, Shashana.
Parts of Domantas’ story are told through Shashana’s eyes, like when Draymond Green stepped on Domantas during the 2023 playoffs or the disappointment of not having a game on Christmas Day.
Tatum’s family life has been in the spotlight in the form of his son, Deuce, who is a regular at games and has been on the court with Jayson in multiple postgame interviews. Jayson shows how he keeps in touch with his son while on the road.
The relationship between Jayson and his mother, Brandy Cole-Barnes, has been documented plenty during his career, but the documentary takes time to explore the relationship between Jayson and his father, Justin, who played at Saint Louis University and in the USBL and the Dutch Basketball League. Justin is the coach of the Illawarra Hawks in the NBL in Australia.
Edwards’ journey into fatherhood is also captured. That includes him leaving a game against Sacramento while simultaneously getting dressed as he gets a ride to the hospital for the birth of his daughter, Aislyn. His girlfriend, Jeanine Robel, offers insight into how different Edwards is with their daughter and how it differs from the brash player on the court.
The youthfulness of Edwards throughout is refreshing. Just about everything about him in the film is a first. His first child, his first house and his first time winning a playoff series.
The basketball insights aren’t bad; they just aren’t groundbreaking. Sports documentaries that break down all the drama only happen when players retire, and all five players featured here are still in the game.
(Photo of, from left, Domantas Sabonis, Jimmy Butler, LeBron James, Jayson Tatum and Anthony Edwards at the Netflix premiere of “Starting 5” last month: Valerie Macon/ Getty Images)
