5 entertainment projects part of LeBron James’ Lakers side hustle

As he gets set to take his basketball career to Los Angeles, here are five entertainment projects you didn’t realize LeBron James had a hand in.

The sports world went into hysteria Sunday night as LeBron James reportedly agreed to a four-year, $154 million deal with the Los Angeles Lakers. He’ll now join a long list of greats to play for the franchise, with Magic Johnson as the face of the team’s front office and a likely mentor to any business aspirations James has.

James has dabbled in acting, with a far-better-than-you’d-expect turn in the 2015 comedy Trainwreck alongside Amy Schumer and Bill Hader. If a Space Jam sequel gets off the ground as it’s expected to, he will take the role Michael Jordan had in the original.

James also has a production company, SpringHill, with business partner Maverick Carter. So moving his basketball career to Los Angeles is a good move with an eye beyond basketball, which James surely has.

James has already been involved in multiple entertainment ventures in concert with his playing career to this point, in television, movies and online space to various levels of completion as we speak. The Hollywood Reporter suggests James will be in pitch meetings on his days off, which is not out of the question with the SpringHill offices 11 miles from Staples Center.

As he gets ready to don the purple and gold of the Lakers, here are some entertainment projects you didn’t realize James already has had, or will have a hand in, bringing to the masses.

5. Survivor’s Remorse

James was one of the executive producers for the Starz cable sitcom Survivor’s Remorse, which chronicled a basketball player’s life after he signed a life-changing multi-million dollar contract. Unfortunately, the show was cancelled in January 2018 after four seasons because of low ratings.

4. HBO Documentaries

James and SpringHill are working on two documentaries for HBO. The first centers on the life of Muhammad Ali, and the other is titled Student Athlete, focusing on the fairness of revenue-producing college stars who get paid nothing under the convenient label conveyed by the film’s title.

3. Netflix’s Top Boy

James collaborated with music star Drake on a Vince Carter documentary, The Carter Effect, which debuted at the Toronto Film Festival in 2017. The two are also collaborating on the upcoming Netflix crime drama Top Boy.

2. A Game Show

James and his company have worked in the digital/online space too, as previously mentioned, including the game show “Do or Dare” on Facebook.

1. An Upcoming House Party Reboot

In concert with New Line, James will produce a reboot of the 1990 Kid ‘n’ Play film vehicle House Party. After the story broke, James teased a potential cameo in the movie.

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As cited by THR, James and SpringHill has some other projects coming on the television side as well. Warriors of Liberty City, about a Miami-based youth football league funded by Luther “Uncle Luke” Campbell for Starz; a Gotham Chapra-directed documentary about the history and cultural impact of the NBA for Showtime; and a Netflix limited series about entrepreneur and activist Madam C.J. Walker (starring and executive produced by Octavia Spencer).

James is already a budding entertainment mogul, if not a full-blown one. As he puts more roots in southern California, it will be interesting to see the size and continued variety of projects his name and company get attached to.