MiMO Studios, the fledgling prodco led by former Nickelodeon head Cyma Zarghami, is getting into the game via a partnership with former NBA point guard Baron Davis (pictured) to create sports content for families.

Davis and his production company UWish (Black Santa) will work with the kidsco to launch MiMO Sports. Davis will join MiMO’s board of advisors and serve as an exec producer and creative consultant on all projects made under the new Heroes of the Game banner.

The new division builds on MiMO’s previous sports-focused efforts, which include The Kid Who Only Hit Homers, a live-action film adaptation of a same-name children’s book. The movie revolves around a 13-year-old baseball savant and his relationship with his team.

The perennial popularity of sports, mixed with the opportunity to tell more stories that empower kids, makes this new deal a home run for MiMO, says Zarghami.

“In my tenure at Nick, I studied this audience inside and out, and a consistent [theme] with them is they love sports content,” says Zarghami. “There also isn’t a lot of new sports content coming out, and kids aren’t participating in sports now, which creates a need for it. Even when they get back into sports, kids want to learn how to succeed, and this content can really teach that.”

Davis and Zyma had previously crossed paths when he worked on Nickelodeon programs such as Kids Choice Sports Awards. The partnership with MiMO marks the first time he’s stepping behind the camera to produce kids content.

Kicking things off, the pair have begun developing an untitled basketball TV movie, which Davis will star in. In the upcoming film, two brothers and their families compete in a basketball tournament, despite their wildly different skillsets. It’s early days on the project, and the current focus is on getting the script written, adds Zarghami.

Also on the slate is a podcast series that will track an athlete’s journey from youth to today across multiple episodes. Davis will be the first guest on the three-part series.

Zarghami launched New York-based MiMO in February to create live-action and animated content for kids 11 and under. It has since acquired kids book series The Pout-Pout Fish and serialized kids podcast The Alien Adventures of Finn Caspian. 

Looking beyond the company’s existing slate, Zarghami is hopeful that the studio will partner with other athletes who either have interesting personal stories to share or ideas for more sports content.