Netflix's highly-regarded basketball docuseries 'Starting 5' returns for a second season on October 16, following the wildly successful debut of Season 1 last year.
This year's cast sees the camera go behind-the-scenes of the lives of NBA stars Kevin Durant, Jaylen Brown, Kevin Durant, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Tyrese Haliburton, with the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers stars, ultimately meeting in the 2025 NBA Finals.
Note: This story may contain some spoilers, but nothing too much beyond what you've already seen in the Starting 5 trailer.
While the cast was decided well before the season, the culmination of SGA and Haliburton facing off in Game 7 of the NBA Finals and the subsequent heartbreak for Haliburton, who tore his Achilles, and the eventual jubilation for SGA, who capped off his MVP season with the Larry O'Brien trophy and Finals MVP, was something the best script writers couldn't have come up with.
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"Who would have known that you're going to have these two small markets in OKC and the Indiana Pacers in the Finals, going to a Game 7 together?" Starting 5 director Trishtan Williams told The Sporting News.
"We couldn't have written that. It's so funny when everyone's like, 'Oh, my God, you guys got some type of insight.'
"I mean, we're thankful. We're there in the thick of it while it's happening on both sides of this thing. I call it TV magic. We're just lucky. We're lucky around here."
Inside James Harden's world
One of the more intriguing cast selections for Season 2 is LA Clippers guard James Harden.
An often-maligned superstar whose lack of playoff success clouds what is a Hall of Fame career. Harden is one of the league's most enigmatic characters off the floor, who can go from walking the runway at Paris Fashion Week to partying with entertainers and then lighting up opposing defenses with the most disrespectful combination of dribble moves.
But who is James Harden off the floor? According to Williams, Harden's story in Season 2 is perhaps the one that might surprise viewers.
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"I always say that only because he's a guy who never really says anything to the media. He doesn't feel the need to combat the narratives that are out there about him," Williams said.
"So now we're all in a place to see this gentleman speak for himself and finally tell everybody the lingering questions that every basketball head has ever had when it comes to him."
"Now they're answered, and you're hearing it, and I think it gives empathy when you're talking about a player of his magnitude, but I always used to say people won't appreciate him until he retires, but I think now people have more of an appreciation for him."
Kevin Durant and Jaylen Brown: More than meets the eye
Kevin Durant has been an ever-present force in this generation of the NBA, now entering his 19th season in the league — a feat only 25 other players have achieved in NBA history.
The internet often jokes that Durant is the epitome of 'ball is life' and Starting 5 takes you inside the life of a man who simply loves to hoop....and get active on Twitter.
"When it comes to KD, I think they're going to really understand that the man only loves basketball, and he's not going to think about anything else in life until basketball is complete," Williams said.
"So if anybody has ideas of who is this man dating? What is this? No, basketball, basketball, basketball....and I'll make sure I'll tweet you if you say some mess to me, and I'll talk back to you on the court."
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Durant's love for the game really shines through in Season 2, but beyond that, the human element of a player still striving for perfection at age 37, is both intriguing and entertaining.
Meanwhile, Jaylen Brown casts an interesting figure in this season. One of the more misunderstood players in the league, Brown's intellectual curiosity shines through in Season 2, with his off the court pursuits and familiy life taking centre stage.
"When it comes to Jaylen, I think a real appreciation that it's okay to be a smart guy, and he's not boring. It's not the narrative that people want to put out there about him," Williams added.
"He's a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful person. I think this is going to do good for him, for people to get real insights of who he is and what he has to deal with."
The Luka Doncic trade is cinema
OK, this is a little bit of a spoiler.
Perhaps the most electric part of the 2024-25 NBA season, beyond the playoffs themselves, was that fateful night ahead of the trade deadline that sent shockwaves through the NBA.
Doncic's out-of-nowhere trade to the Los Angeles Lakers, will go down os one of the most shocking moves in NBA history, and the fact that Netflix's cameras were there to capture the cast's reaction in real time, was wild.
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"It was a very eerie moment," Williams said.
"Because you have these cameras on them already, and you want them to be honest and vulnerable. But you can actually see the fear on people's faces. You can see the fear," Williams said.
"Even Anthony Edwards came out like, 'Hey, man, if y'all go trade me, let me know.' But you see fear on our guy's faces. It's like, sh*t, if this guy could get traded...no one is safe, and they will trade you, and it is a business.
"But I think that's what I love about this show because it humanises the guys, and it puts them in a space where you get to see their real jaw-jerking reactions to everything that's happening in real-time.
What can audiences expect from Season 2 of Starting 5?
Season 2 offers a unique perspective on some of the more misunderstood players in the league, capturing a mix of veterans and the next generation trying to make their mark, but ultimately, the inside access of the road to the Finals is the heartbeat of the show.
Going inside the worlds of SGA and Haliburton, especially, both on and off the court, gives viewers a captivating insight into the ups and downs of the season, along with the challenges and personal insights you simply don't see when you're watching the games.
"I think the audience will walk away with the understanding that so many unexpected things happen. It's a lot of things that happen in the season that we didn't expect, and it's a tribute to life," Williams said.
"So I think the audience will have that greater appreciation and understanding. And just letting these guys be human, where you get to know that they are regular people."
Season 2 of Starting 5 releases on Netflix worldwide on October 16.