Hey basketball fans, it’s official and it stings: According to Newsportal Netflix has pulled the plug on Starting 5 after only two seasons. Season 3 is dead. Done. Over.
The news broke on November 25, 2025, and the internet lost its mind in about 4.2 seconds. Jalen Williams already threw shade on Instagram, Reddit is in full meltdown mode, and half the NBA timeline is yelling Netflix hates sports docs. So let’s cut through the noise and tell you exactly what happened, why it happened, and why this one hurts worse than most cancellations.
The Numbers Don’t Lie (And They’re Brutal)
Season 1 (October 2024)
- Featured: Jimmy Butler, LeBron James (exec producer) Jalen Brunson, Anthony Edwards, Domantas Sabonis.
- First 91 days: 4.6 million views globally.
- Trailer: 1.9 million YouTube views.
- Peaked at #3 on Netflix Top 10 (English TV).
Season 2 (March 2025)
- New cast: Tyrese Haliburton, Jalen Williams, Scottie Barnes, Amen Thompson, Cason Wallace.
- First 91 days: only 1.0 million views 78% drop.
- Trailer: 574k YouTube views.
- Never cracked the daily Top 10 for more than two days.
That’s not a dip. That’s a cliff dive wearing cement shoes.
Netflix runs on cold, hard data: completion rate + total hours watched + cost per hour. When Season 2 cost roughly the same to make or more but delivered less than a quarter of the audience, the algorithm basically hit the big red CANCEL button itself.
The Growing Graveyard of Netflix Sports Docs
Starting 5 is just the latest victim. Check the pattern:
- Break Point (tennis): canceled after Season 2
- Tour de France: Unchained no Season 3 (skipped 2025 Tour coverage)
- Six Nations: Full Contact (rugby) canceled after Season 2
- Untold series still going, but individual episodes now instead of full seasons
The only untouchable sports doc right now? Formula 1: Drive to Survive. Everything else is apparently on a two-season leash.
Fan & Player Reactions (They’re Not Happy)
Jalen Williams posted on IG Stories the day the news dropped “Netflix couldn’t handle the truth lol it’s cool tho.” (with the shrug emoji that definitely wasn’t a shrug).
Reddit’s r/nba and r/nbadiscussion are flooded with threads titled Netflix hates basketball confirmed and We can’t have nice things.
Even Barack Obama (yes, really) name dropped Starting 5 on his 2024 year-end list. Now he’s got one more thing to be disappointed about.
Netflix is CANCELLING its ‘Starting 5’ series after two seasons due to “lower-than-expected viewership” 🚨
— Basketball Forever (@bballforever_) November 25, 2025
(via Sports Business Journal) pic.twitter.com/FXp48Sld2Y
What Happens Now?
- Seasons 1 & 2 are still streaming (for now).
- No word on whether the footage will ever resurface elsewhere.
- Peyton Manning’s Omaha Productions (who made Quarterback and Receiver) is reportedly shopping a new NBA doc to other platforms, but nothing confirmed.
Conclusion
Netflix spent millions to get inside the NBA and learned the hard way that hoops fans want the games, not the behind-the-scenes, unless it’s Michael Jordan-level legendary. Starting 5 had real potential. It just picked the wrong year, the wrong timing, and maybe the wrong cast rotation.
RIP to another sports doc that got benched too early. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to re-watch Anthony Edwards yelling at referees in Season 1 while I still can. What’s your hottest take, did Starting 5 deserve the axe or did Netflix fumble again? Drop it in the comments.
