As the 2025-26 regular season is right around the corner, NBA fans were given eight hours of content to sit through on their couch and enjoy. Netflix’s ‘Starting 5’ second season dropped right in time before the final weekend of the preseason.

The Netflix crew documented the 2024-25 season journey of five NBA superstars. They received some luck from their star-studded cast. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had one of the greatest seasons as he brought home an MVP award, an NBA Finals MVP award and a championship ring.

Another player with title aspirations who was part of the cast was Jaylen Brown. It wasn’t that long ago when the Boston Celtics were in a similar position as the Oklahoma City Thunder currently are. After dominating the rest of the league, they entered last season as the heavy favorite to repeat.

Instead, inconsistencies and injuries plagued the Celtics’ season. A Round 2 exit to the New York Knicks ended on a catastrophic note when Jayson Tatum tore his Achilles. Now, Brown will enter the 2025-26 season as Boston’s undisputed best player.

While some folks might laugh at that, Brown’s peers believe he goes under the radar. One of those includes Gilgeous-Alexander. He believes the four-time All-Star is the butt of too many ‘can’t dribble with the left hand’ jokes, and that has hurt his reputation.

“There’s always guys that get more respect from their peers than in the media, per se,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “And he’s definitely one of those guys.”

Maybe Gilgeous-Alexander has a point. Of course, anybody of Brown’s status gets their fair share of gimmicky criticisms. The MVP winner often goes viral on social media for his free-throw attempts and drives to the basket. It comes with the territory.

The Thunder and Celtics had two classics last season that the former won. They always match up well and are appointment viewing. Even though they didn’t meet in the 2025 NBA Finals, they were often viewed as two of the top three teams alongside the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on Jaylen Brown:

“There’s always guys that get more respect from their peers than in the media, per se. and he’s definitely one of those guys.”

(Via Starting 5 on Netflix) pic.twitter.com/yz6x7Z9284

— Noa Dalzell 🏀 (@NoaDalzell) October 16, 2025