diff --git a/changelogs/unreleased/5236-sseago b/changelogs/unreleased/5236-sseago
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..4d295cce85
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelogs/unreleased/5236-sseago
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Check for empty ns list before checking nslist[0]
diff --git a/pkg/backup/item_collector.go b/pkg/backup/item_collector.go
index 5cbc178361..474fbabee3 100644
--- a/pkg/backup/item_collector.go
+++ b/pkg/backup/item_collector.go
@@ -225,8 +225,11 @@ func (r *itemCollector) getResourceItems(log logrus.FieldLogger, gv schema.Group
 
 	namespacesToList := getNamespacesToList(r.backupRequest.NamespaceIncludesExcludes)
 
-	// Check if we're backing up namespaces, and only certain ones
-	if gr == kuberesource.Namespaces && namespacesToList[0] != "" {
+	// Check if we're backing up namespaces for a less-than-full backup.
+	// We enter this block if resource is Namespaces and the namespae list is either empty or contains
+	// an explicit namespace list. (We skip this block if the list contains "" since that indicates
+	// a full-cluster backup
+	if gr == kuberesource.Namespaces && (len(namespacesToList) == 0 || namespacesToList[0] != "") {
 		resourceClient, err := r.dynamicFactory.ClientForGroupVersionResource(gv, resource, "")
 		if err != nil {
 			log.WithError(err).Error("Error getting dynamic client")