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Naomi Osaka Partnering With LeBron James to Launch Media Company

The four-time Grand Slam champion is taking on her third company after announcing the creation of “Hana Kuma” productions.

Madison Williams

Tennis star Naomi Osaka has launched media production company “Hana Kuma,” in partnership with LeBron James.

The four-time NBA champion announced the partnership on Tuesday, stating that his production company SpringHill is now working with Osaka as she establishes her company.

“There’s reason we call ourselves an Empowerment Company,” James wrote. “This incredible woman and the stories she is going to bring to life is EXACTLY what we about!!!Incredibly proud to call her my partner.”

Hana Kuma, which means “flower bear” in Japanese, is set to produce television shows and movies focusing on scripted and unscripted shows, documentaries, anime and branded content, according to Front Office Sports.

The new company’s first project is already in the works. Osaka and Hana Kuma will be working with The New York Times on an op-doc project on Patsy Mink, the first woman of color to be elected to Congress. Additionally, the company is working on an unnamed project with Amazon’s Epix channel.

This is the second company the 24-year-old has created in the past two months. In May, she launched an agency called “Evolve,” which just signed Australian tennis player Nick Kyrgios on Monday. Osaka additionally runs a skincare line titled “Kinlò,” which signed a partnership with Walmart back in April.

Osaka is currently away from the tennis court as she recovers from an achilles injury. The four-time Grand Slam champion recently dropped out of Wimbledon, and she hasn’t announced when she plans to return to the court at this time.

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Madison Williams
MADISON WILLIAMS

Madison Williams is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated, where she specializes in tennis but covers a wide range of sports from a national perspective. Before joining SI in 2022, Williams worked at The Sporting News. Having graduated from Augustana College, she completed a master’s in sports media at Northwestern University. She is a dog mom and an avid reader.

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