LOS ANGELES (AP) — LeBron James and Naomi Osaka are becoming teammates in the entertainment world.
Tennis star Osaka and her agent and business partner Stuart Duguid are partnering with SpringHill, the company founded by NBA stars James and Maverick Carter, to form a media company called Hana Kuma.
The June 21 announcement comes shortly after Osaka and Duguid established EVOLVE, a representative body for athletes.
“Creators of color have exploded in number, and finally have the resources and a huge platform,” Osaka said in a press release about her latest venture. “In the age of streaming, content has a more global perspective. You can see this in the popularity of Asian, European and Latin American TV, the unique can also be universal. My story proves it too. I So excited about what we’re doing at Hana Kuma. We’re bringing stories to life with this goal: to make unique perspectives universal and inspire people in the process.”
The 24-year-old Osaka native is a four-time Grand Slam champion who was also No. 1 in the WTA rankings. She was born in Japan to a Japanese mother and a Haitian father. Naomi’s family moved to New York when she was 3, and she now lives in Los Angeles.
Osaka recently said she would skip Wimbledon for the second year in a row. She has not played on the tour since her first-round loss at the French Open last month.
Thanks to a long list of sponsorship deals, Osaka became the world’s highest-paid female athlete in 2020, earning about $37 million, according to Forbes.
Lately, she’s been taking steps to expand her brand beyond the tennis court.
Asked about Roland Garros’ EVOLVE, Osaka said: “I think role models are really important, just to see someone do something – it makes you feel like you can do the same. It’s really interesting that female athletes have done it, but there are so many men. So I think it’s a journey and I feel like I’m going to learn a lot on that journey.”
