Last week, Netflix released the second season of Starting 5, its docuseries on the NBA. It features five of the greatest players in the league today: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Kevin Durant, Tyrese Haliburton, Jaylen Brown, and James Harden. The series follows each player throughout the 2024-25 season.
This season has the perfect mix of veterans with Durant and Harden, while having a few of the top rising stars in the league with SGA, Brown, and Haliburton.
A constant throughout this show is that each player has grown up with their own struggles and believes it is a blessing to be in the position they are in today. Three of the five players have won an NBA championship, but all five of them have competed in an NBA Finals. Below, I break down my top three takeaways from Starting 5.
1. SGA and the Thunder are a dominant force for years to come
So many players have used the term “Mamba Mentality” to describe their game after the late great Kobe Bryant. But very few players actually possess it. One of those guys who is a prime example is SGA, who has been compared to Bryant by many people during this show. It isn’t just because of his statistics and what he does on the court.
SGA’s commitment to the craft, even when his team is winning and he is playing at an elite level, is the difference. SGA is all about growing with his team and doing whatever it takes to win. “Now if I have 30, it’s a bad game,” Gilgeous-Alexander said to his wife, Hailey Summers.
SGA’s confidence is palpable, and he is the perfect leader for this young Oklahoma City Thunder. SGA won the regular season MVP and Finals MVP, but it doesn’t stop with him. OKC has Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams, Lu Dort, and Cason Wallace, who are all 26 years old or younger, for the future.
2. Veterans KD and Harden are still hungry to win
Even though Harden has played 16 seasons in the NBA, his off-court presence is a little bit of a mystery. In this show, they showed everyone a new version of Harden as a father caring for his family. Harden feels he is misunderstood and finally feels fully healthy for the first time in a few years.
With Durant and Harden nearing the end of their careers, they are talking about their legacy and how they will be remembered when they retire from the NBA. Even though they get a lot of criticism, Durant and Harden are confident in what they have already achieved in the NBA.
Durant was the subject of a ton of trade conversations last season, and they show the behind-the-scenes of that. During the show, Durant stated that he didn’t want to leave Phoenix and wanted to win there. Even though KD is a two-time NBA Champion, he still wants to prove he can win on a team other than the Warriors.
3. The attention to detail is at an all-time high
During Starting 5, all five players show dedication to basketball on and off the court. Although games are only 48 minutes long, it takes a lot of work before and after to compete at a high level.
Even though the Celtics were coming off an NBA Championship in 2024, Brown knew they came into the season with a target on their back. Each season, Brown has improved, but it hasn’t been by accident. He has put in the work in the gym and given it his all to take his game to the next level.
Starting 5, also shows Haliburton’s journey to the NBA Finals with the Indiana Pacers. Haliburton has been grinding since a young age and studied NBA legends with his dad to create a unique style of play. From an early age, players are focused on their basketball careers, and it shows with so many young players finding success early in their careers.
Starting 5 Specials
DraftKings Sportsbook is getting in on the action, offering a special Starting 5 market on the regular season MVP.
You can bet on Durant, SGA, Harden, Haliburton, or Brown to win the 2025-26 NBA MVP at +230, whereas the field is -300. Of those players, SGA has the best individual odds on DraftKings Sportsbook to win the award (+275), while Durant joins him in the top 10 at +4500.
