The Netflix series Starting 5 premiered on October 9. The 10 episodes released range from 40-62 minutes in length. The Netflix series follows five notable NBA players during the 2023-24 season in Jimmy Butler, Anthony Edwards, LeBron James, Domantas Sabonis, and Jayson Tatum.
According to Netflix, Starting 5 is produced by LeBron James’ company UNINTERRUPTED in association with Omaha Productions and Higher Ground Productions. Omaha Productions was founded by legendary quarterback Peyton Manning. Higher Ground Productions was founded in 2018 by former United States president Barack Obama and his wife Michelle Obama. Barack is an executive producer for Starting 5.
He was recently asked who would be in his all-time NBA starting five, and he gave his response.
Barack Obama Names His All-Time NBA Starting 5
Starting 5 Includes 3 Players That Are Still Active
Obama’s all-time starting five consists of five all-time greats. There are no choices that can be deemed as awful. His backcourt includes Stephen Curry at point guard and Michael Jordan at shooting guard. His all-time starting frontcourt has LeBron James at small forward, Kevin Durant at power forward, and Hakeem Olajuwon at center.
The former president’s list has the best three-point shooter of all-time at point guard in Curry. It includes the two players most named in GOAT conversations in Jordan and James. Obama is a known Chicago Bulls fan, so it would have been shocking if he didn’t include Jordan in his starting five. Durant is a four-time scoring champ and won two championships with the Golden State Warriors. Olajuwon’s Houston Rockets won back-to-back championships in 1994 and 1995. There’s plenty of offense with these five.
From one basketball fan to the next, I hope you enjoy @HGMedia's docuseries – Starting 5 – which is streaming now on @Netflix.
And if you were ever wondering which players I'd have in my starting five – take a look! pic.twitter.com/Vet3Zz68Fr
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) October 13, 2024
Two of the players have also won Defensive Player of the Year. Olajuwon won the award in back-to-back seasons in 1992-93 and 1993-94. Not many guards have won the award, but Jordan did in 1987-88. Many believe James was robbed in 2012-13 when he finished as the runner-up to Marc Gasol. So Obama didn’t just focus on taking the best scorers in league history (although all five of these players could/can score at will).
Commenters Throw Out Other Names On Obama’s X Post
Of course the comment section on his X post was civil. No politics were mentioned. Everyone fully agreed with his five choices. You have probably never spent even a minute on social media if you believe that.
The most vile, aggressive comments of course involved politics, but most that involved basketball didn’t involve direct attacks at Obama or anyone else. Commenters wondered why players such as Larry Bird, Kobe Bryant, Magic Johnson, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar were not on his list. All of those players certainly have a case to be on an all-time starting five.
One of the reasons sports can be as awesome as they are is the endless debates that can be had on them (again, as long as the debates don’t go sideways). Hypothetical lists such as an all-time starting five lets basketball fans think of players from all different eras, and they can decide which five fit best together. Of course it’s all opinion, so there will be many different starting fives, Obama’s included.
