LOS ANGELES – LeBron James and Naomi Osaka are becoming teammates in the world of entertainment.
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Tennis star Osaka and her agent and business partner, Stuart Duguid, are forming a media company called Hana Kuma in partnership with the SpringHill Company, created by NBA star James and Maverick Carter.
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Tuesday’s announcement comes shortly after Osaka and Duguid founded EVOLVE, an athlete management agency.
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“There has been an explosion of color creators who are finally equipped with features and a massive platform,” Osaka said in a press release about her new venture. “In the streaming age, content has a more global perspective. It can be seen from the popularity of television in Asia, Europe and Latin America that the one thing can also be universal. My story is also proof of that. I am very excited about what we are building at Hana Kuma. We will bring stories to life with this goal in mind: to make unique perspectives feel universal and inspire people along the way.”
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Osaka, 24, is a four-time Grand Slam champion and has also achieved first place in the WTA rankings. She was born in Japan to a Japanese mother and a Haitian father; the family moved to New York when Naomi was 3 years old and now lives in Los Angeles.
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Osaka recently said she would withdraw from Wimbledon for the second year in a row. He hasn’t competed on tour since his loss in the first round of the French Open last month.
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According to Forbes, Osaka became the highest-paid female athlete in the world in 2020, earning around $37 million thanks to a long list of endorsement deals.
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More recently, he has been taking steps to expand his brand beyond the tennis courts.
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When asked about EVOLVE at Roland Garros, Osaka said, “I think models are really important, just to see someone do something, and it makes you feel like you can do the same thing too. I found it very interesting that there hasn’t been an athlete who has done this before, but there have been so many men. So I think it’s a journey, and I feel like I’m going to learn a lot on the journey.”
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More AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
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