'Starting 5' Netflix documentary, featuring LeBron James, gets premiere date

Netflix documentary, 'Starting 5' which features LeBron James and Jimmy Butler gets its long-awaited premiere date.

Following the successes of Netflix's documentary featuring some of the biggest NFL players in "Quarterback" and then "Reciever," it was only a matter of time until the streaming giant was going to dip its pen into other professional team sports. And that's exactly what Netflix has done with "Starting 5," an original documentary that will follow five of the NBA's biggest stars.

It will be interesting to see how the NBA's version of the documentary will perform on the Netflix streaming platform but it's safe to say that it was a huge "get" for LeBron James to be one of the five players featured. If the goal of the documentary is to bring more excitement surrounding the new NBA season, it was always important to have LeBron involved in one way or another. Even though he's toward the end of his playing career in the NBA, you can't begin to talk about the Association without mentioning LeBron.

LeBron is still the biggest name in the NBA and this is the type of project that could help bridge the gap to some of the young players involved in the documentary. I'd imagine that's one of the other bigger goals for these filmmakers.

Other NBA stars who will be featured in the documentary and release date

In addition to LeBron James, "Starting 5" will feature Jimmy Butler, Jayson Tatum, Domantas Sabonis, and Anthony Edwards. This is an interesting and smart collection of players. While LeBron and Jimmy are probably headed toward their final years in the league, the likes of Tatum, Sabonis, and Edwards are just beginning to hit their stride.

In the end, this could be the right mix of star players who could help pique the interest of the general public. "Starting 5" is set to premiere on October 9, roughly two weeks before the start of the regular season, which is slated for October 22.

This is a very smart move in both the NBA and Netflix working together to bring more intrigue and excitement for the start of the NBA season. After all, this is an entirely different segment of the population the NBA will be reaching. While there will be plenty of basketball fans interested in this documentary, you'd have to imagine that there will also be plenty of non-basketball fans tuning in with curiosity.

And if the NBA is able to add a handful more fans with this documentary, it will be considered a huge win for both sides.