diff --git a/assets/css/sabr_player.css b/assets/css/sabr_player.css
index 07af1191d..bedec6b66 100644
--- a/assets/css/sabr_player.css
+++ b/assets/css/sabr_player.css
@@ -176,17 +176,7 @@
     background-color: rgba(35, 35, 35, 0.9) !important;
 }
 
-/* Spinner */
-.shaka-spinner-container {
-    position: absolute;
-    top: 50%;
-    left: 50%;
-    transform: translate(-50%, -50%);
-}
-
-.shaka-spinner {
-    border-color: rgba(0, 182, 240, 1) transparent transparent transparent !important;
-}
+/* Shaka 5 spinner uses full-container flex centering; do not override container position. */
 
 /* Captions/subtitles - match video.js */
 .shaka-text-container {
diff --git a/assets/js/sabr_player.js b/assets/js/sabr_player.js
index 67420dbcc..76eff37e6 100644
--- a/assets/js/sabr_player.js
+++ b/assets/js/sabr_player.js
@@ -459,26 +459,33 @@ var SABRPlayer = (function () {
     playbackWebPoTokenContentBinding = videoId;
 
     try {
-      if (!innertube) {
-        innertube = await initInnertube();
-        if (!innertube) throw new Error('Failed to initialize Innertube');
-      }
-      if (!clientConfig) {
-        await fetchOnesieConfig();
-      }
-
-      // Mint a content-bound PoToken before getInfo so streaming_data includes
-      // the server_abr_streaming_url and so the SABR requests authenticate.
-      try { await mintContentWebPO(); } catch (e) { console.warn('[SABRPlayer] poToken mint failed, continuing', e); }
-      var poToken = playbackWebPoToken || coldStartToken || '';
-
+      // Start Shaka player init (DOM + polyfills) in parallel with network init.
+      var shakaPromise;
       if (!player) {
-        await initializeShakaPlayer(containerElement, options.listen);
+        shakaPromise = initializeShakaPlayer(containerElement, options.listen);
       } else {
         player.configure('abr', DEFAULT_ABR_CONFIG);
         player.configure('manifest.disableVideo', !!options.listen);
+        shakaPromise = Promise.resolve();
       }
 
+      // Network init chain: Innertube → Onesie config → PoToken.
+      var netPromise = (async function () {
+        if (!innertube) {
+          innertube = await initInnertube();
+          if (!innertube) throw new Error('Failed to initialize Innertube');
+        }
+        if (!clientConfig) {
+          await fetchOnesieConfig();
+        }
+        // Mint a content-bound PoToken before getInfo so streaming_data includes
+        // the server_abr_streaming_url and so the SABR requests authenticate.
+        try { await mintContentWebPO(); } catch (e) { console.warn('[SABRPlayer] poToken mint failed, continuing', e); }
+      })();
+
+      await Promise.all([shakaPromise, netPromise]);
+      var poToken = playbackWebPoToken || coldStartToken || '';
+
       setupRequestFilters();
 
       var videoInfo = await innertube.getInfo(videoId, { po_token: poToken || undefined });
diff --git a/src/invidious/views/components/player.ecr b/src/invidious/views/components/player.ecr
index bed7c1d7b..abd2b46e3 100644
--- a/src/invidious/views/components/player.ecr
+++ b/src/invidious/views/components/player.ecr
@@ -111,20 +111,22 @@
 
 <% if use_sabr %>
     <!-- SABR Player dependencies -->
+    <link rel="preconnect" href="https://redirector.googlevideo.com">
+    <link rel="preconnect" href="https://www.youtube.com">
     <link rel="stylesheet" href="/css/sabr_player.css?v=<%= ASSET_COMMIT %>">
     <link rel="stylesheet" href="/js/sabr/shaka-player/controls.css?v=<%= ASSET_COMMIT %>">
-    <script src="/js/sabr/shaka-player/shaka-player.ui.js?v=<%= ASSET_COMMIT %>"></script>
+    <script defer src="/js/sabr/shaka-player/shaka-player.ui.js?v=<%= ASSET_COMMIT %>"></script>
     <!-- SABR engine ports (FreeTube): plain scripts reading shaka/googlevideo from window globals -->
-    <script src="/js/sabr_ebml_parser.js?v=<%= ASSET_COMMIT %>"></script>
-    <script src="/js/sabr_mp4_index.js?v=<%= ASSET_COMMIT %>"></script>
-    <script src="/js/sabr_webm_index.js?v=<%= ASSET_COMMIT %>"></script>
-    <script src="/js/sabr_manifest_parser.js?v=<%= ASSET_COMMIT %>"></script>
-    <script src="/js/sabr_scheme_plugin.js?v=<%= ASSET_COMMIT %>"></script>
+    <script defer src="/js/sabr_ebml_parser.js?v=<%= ASSET_COMMIT %>"></script>
+    <script defer src="/js/sabr_mp4_index.js?v=<%= ASSET_COMMIT %>"></script>
+    <script defer src="/js/sabr_webm_index.js?v=<%= ASSET_COMMIT %>"></script>
+    <script defer src="/js/sabr_manifest_parser.js?v=<%= ASSET_COMMIT %>"></script>
+    <script defer src="/js/sabr_scheme_plugin.js?v=<%= ASSET_COMMIT %>"></script>
     <!-- SABR orchestrator + helpers -->
-    <script src="/js/sabr_helpers.js?v=<%= ASSET_COMMIT %>"></script>
-    <script src="/js/sabr_potoken.js?v=<%= ASSET_COMMIT %>"></script>
-    <script src="/js/sabr_player.js?v=<%= ASSET_COMMIT %>"></script>
-    <script src="/js/sabr_init.js?v=<%= ASSET_COMMIT %>"></script>
+    <script defer src="/js/sabr_helpers.js?v=<%= ASSET_COMMIT %>"></script>
+    <script defer src="/js/sabr_potoken.js?v=<%= ASSET_COMMIT %>"></script>
+    <script defer src="/js/sabr_player.js?v=<%= ASSET_COMMIT %>"></script>
+    <script defer src="/js/sabr_init.js?v=<%= ASSET_COMMIT %>"></script>
     <!-- ES module loader for SABR libraries (youtubei.js, googlevideo, bgutils) -->
     <script type="module" src="/js/sabr_loader.js?v=<%= ASSET_COMMIT %>"></script>
 <% else %>