In the fourth episode of “Starting 5,” the Netflix docuseries tracking the 2023-2024 season of the National Basketball Association through a handful of star players, LeBron James lets off some post-game steam by teasing his wife, Savannah. “Stop!” she says, laughing. “We’re on camera!”
“That’s my camera,” James replies. The subtext is clear: Nothing will make the final cut if he doesn’t want it to.
James’ production company, Uninterrupted, is the primary backer of “Starting 5,” which juxtaposes the guiding light of the Los Angeles Lakers with four colleague-rivals: Jimmy Butler of the Miami Heat, Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics, Anthony Edwards of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Domantas Sabonis of the Sacramento Kings. For the 10-episode season, Uninterrupted partnered with two other outfits associated with public figures: Omaha Productions, the shingle of ex-NFL quarterback Peyton Manning, and Higher Ground, the Hollywood venture of Barack and Michelle Obama.
James’ offhand comment perfectly encapsulates the trade-offs of a show like “Starting 5,” the latest celebrity spotlight to put its subject firmly in control of how they’re presented to the audience. (The trend is particularly acute in music, with sanitized accounts of stars like Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish stocking various streaming services, but sports are hardly immune: Michael Jordan’s Jump 23 had a hand in “The Last Dance,” ESPN’s tribute to the greatness of…Michael Jordan.) On the one hand, the comfort of editorial control allows for access into the players’ private lives. On the other, that very control all but guarantees the access won’t amount to true perspective or vulnerability.
“Starting 5” delivers on that guarantee with an unremarkable survey of truly remarkable people. The thrill of meeting the players’ families and seeing their homes quickly dissipates in light of trite, safe insights into the existence of the NBA’s elite. They love their wives, children and parents. They care deeply about winning. They have quirks and eccentricities, but only endearing ones. Viewers could learn the same, and likely have, from their social media feeds, which offer constant exposure to a sport that’s more thoroughly chronicled online and integrated into popular culture than any other in America.
As the company tiptoes further into sports, Netflix has found success with similar behind-the-scenes looks into athletes’ routines, particularly “Formula 1: Drive to Survive” and its de facto spinoffs from the same production team. But each of these precedents has had crucial advantages over “Starting 5.” “Drive to Survive” effectively introduced an entire sport to Americans, who used its protagonists as a gateway into the previously obscure racing circuit. Tennis iteration “Break Point” was canceled after two seasons, but at least had a focused narrative (up-and-comers striving to take the place of retiring legends like Serena Williams and Roger Federer) and broader range of competitors. In delving into professional golf, “Big Swing” was blessed with perfect timing: the seismic eruption of LIV Golf, an upstart, Saudi-backed challenger to the PGA.
“Starting 5” conspicuously lacks such an overarching story. After the so-called player empowerment era that James epitomized and the upheavals of 2020, which saw both a pandemic “bubble” season and the outbreak of national protests against police brutality, the NBA has been relatively quiet these past few years. Even if the outcome of the season weren’t already known — spoiler alert: Tatum leads the Celtics to their first title in 16 years — “Starting 5” is devoid of tension or topicality. It’s entertaining to watch the filmmakers try to wring suspense out of the first-ever in-season tournament, the NBA Cup, a blatant play for ratings at a typically slow point in the basketball calendar.
The players themselves are left to keep us entertained, a weight they are thankfully capable of shouldering. The closest “Starting 5” gets to a unifying theme is the quest to succeed James, an undeniable icon now pushing 40. (Shockingly, the Uninterrupted production only acknowledges his aging to argue he’s still at the top of his game.) But it’s Butler, a fellow elder statesman and certified oddball, who shows the most personality, donning an emo haircut as a gag and waxing poetic about dominoes. For the young guns, there’s just not enough action to dramatize their designated arcs: that Edwards, a charisma bomb, needs more time to mature, or that Sabonis, the son of Lithuanian player Arvydas, is chronically underrated. Tatum is naturally reserved, a quality irrelevant to his performance on the court but at odds with serving as an emotional anchor onscreen.
As “Starting 5” progresses through Christmas Day, the All-Star game, and eventually the playoffs, there’s not enough sense of momentum to give the star power assembled any structure. The series opens with footage of James donning an elaborate Beetlejuice costume for Halloween, quoting Michael Keaton monologues from memory at length. The clip is charming, but over time, it becomes clear this sort of material is all “Starting 5” has to offer: a simulacrum of intimacy, stripped of any real risk.
All 10 episodes of “Starting 5” are now streaming on Netflix.
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