Bloomberg Businessweek June 29, 202038
He’s building a media company during
a pandemic, anti-racism protests, and
economic uncertainty. Oh, yeah, and he’s
about to start playing basketball againLEBRON’S
NEXT
MOVE
“WE’VE BEEN THROUGH A LOT THIS YEAR,” SAID LEBRON
James. The three-time NBA champion and Los Angeles Laker
talked to me on June 23 via Zoom with his childhood friend
and business partner, Maverick Carter. It was the second of
two joint interviews to discuss their new company, but the
first since the world locked down because of Covid-19. James
was in their hometown of Akron, while Carter was in L.A. Kobe
Bryant’s death in January was followed by the pandemic and
the suspension of the NBA season, and then, of course, the
horrific killing of George Floyd. “Just seeing that video, how
many people were hurt not only in Minneapolis, but all over
the world—and especially in the Black community, because
we’ve seen this over and over and over. So, you know,” he
added, “it’s been a lot that’s gone on in 2020.”
The pair thought it was going to be a big year for differ-
ent reasons. On March 11, the same day the NBA suspended
its season and a little more than a week before their adopted
hometown ordered residents to shelter in place, James and
Carter formed the SpringHill Co. after raising $100 million.
They describe it as a media company with an unapologetic
agenda: a maker and distributor of all kinds of content that
will give a voice to creators and consumers who’ve been pan-
dered to, ignored, or underserved.
SpringHill is named for the Akron apartment complex
where James and his mom moved when he was in sixth grade.
It consolidates the Robot Co., a marketing agency, with two
other businesses. The first, SpringHill Entertainment, is behind
The Wall, a game show on NBC, and the movie Space Jam: A New
Legacy, which stars James and is scheduled to be released next
year. The second, Uninterrupted LLC, produces The Shop:
Uninterrupted—an HBO talk show featuring James, Carter, and
other Black A-list celebrities—as well as Kneading Dough, an
online partnership with JPMorgan Chase & Co., in which ath-
letes talk about money to promote financial literacy. (“They
do it in a way that’s incredibly relatable,” says Kristin Lemkau,
chief executive officer of JPMorgan’s U.S. wealth management
business, who created the show with Carter.) Uninterrupted,
a hybrid production-marketing business, is also responsible
for a Nike Inc. shoe collaboration and a hoodie collection for
Pride Month designed with soccer star Megan Rapinoe and
basketball great Sue Bird.
In a February interview at the Lakers practice facility in
El Segundo, they talked about SpringHill as a platform to give
people of color the creative control that’s long eluded them.
Carter calls the company a “house of brands.” It’s part Disney
storytelling power, part Nike coolness, and part Patagonia
social impact. In 2020 stories can be told in many different
ways—on social media, in films, as well as with sneakers and
sweatshirts. “This is ultimately a company that’s about point of
view, the community you serve, and empowerment,” says L.A.
investment banker Paul Wachter, who helped put the project
together. “This is a company designed to move the culture.”
At the practice facility, a day after putting up 40 points on
the New Orleans Pelicans, James told me: “When we talk about
storytelling, we want to be able to hit home, to hit a lot ofBy Jason Kelly
Photographs by Ike Edeani