James' business partner and friend Maverick Carter serves as an executive producer on the series, as does Omaha's Peyton Manning and Higher Ground's Barack and Michelle Obama.

[1][2][3] Executive producers for the series include Carter, Jamal Henderson, Philip Byron, and Randy Mims (through Uninterrupted); Barack and Michelle Obama, Vinnie Malhotra, and Ethan Lewis (through Higher Ground); and Peyton Manning, Jamie Horowitz, and Sam Pepper (through Omaha).

[9] The other players featured are Jimmy Butler of the Miami Heat, Anthony Edwards of the Minnesota Timberwolves, Domantas Sabonis of the Sacramento Kings, and Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics.

[5] Scalettar explained to Variety that the Starting 5 crew "shot episodes with the intention of breaking through the media trained facade possessed by players to find underlying emotional subtext".

Included in the season were Butler's agent notifying him on his father being diagnosed with a terminal illness, as well as James and his wife Savannah reflecting on their son Bronny suffering a cardiac arrest in July 2023.

[13] It is set to star Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics, Kevin Durant of the Phoenix Suns, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Tyrese Haliburton of the Indiana Pacers, and James Harden of the Los Angeles Clippers.

One positive review came from Katie Baker of The Ringer, who wrote "the moments that take place in cramped arena hallways or sprawling kitchens or, in one case, a labor and delivery ward (!)

"[7] Baker also wrote positively of the creators and five subjects' willingness to participate in the series' film-making during the first season, writing that they "don't merely understand the assignment—they actually seem to enjoy doing the hard work required of it".

Herman wrote that there is a trade-off inherent with series like Starting 5, elaborating that "On the one hand, the comfort of editorial control allows for access into the players' private lives.