‘Private Guy’ Domantas Sabonis Wasn’t Sure About Doing Netflix’s ‘Starting 5’

Growing up in Spain, Domantas Sabonis never really had a chance to become an American football fan. 

So when Netflix asked him to be part of its Starting 5 documentary series, the NBA’s spin on Hard Knocks, the reserved 6-foot-10 center needed some time to think it over. 

“I’m a private guy,” Sabonis told Front Office Sports. “I don’t need the spotlight. I just want to win.” 

Sabonis is one of five stars profiled on the show, which includes LeBron James, Jimmy Butler, Anthony Edwards, and Jayson Tatum as the other four players profiled in it. The series starts streaming Oct. 9. 

“It was definitely different,” Sabonis said on Front Office Sports Today. “You don’t expect the camera to be so on you as much. You don’t know what’s coming until you experience it.”

Sabonis, whose dad, Arvydas, played for the Trail Blazers in the mid-1990s, said he hopes fans get to see what players go through every day of the NBA season, from the traveling to the off days with their families. 

“We all know players by how they are on the court,” he said. “We experience that as players you might not like this player and then he comes on your team and you’re like, ‘Oh wow, this guy’s awesome.’ So the same thing with a show. This is giving you a real deep behind-the-scenes look of what players do on their off days, what they sacrifice, and what they do to take care of their bodies.”

Aside from promoting the series, Sabonis also discussed the NBA’s new media deal, possible expansion, and the upcoming season on FOS Today.