There are few symbols in contemporary art and streetwear that are as ubiquitous as Takashi Murakami’s smiling flowers. The Japanese artist’s signature motif has graced everything from art museum walls to album covers throughout his storied 30-year-plus career. The popularity of Murakami’s artwork has also made him a go-to collaborator for plenty of professional sports leagues and franchises.
The latest example is a collection of T-shirts and hoodies to help the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrate their second consecutive World Series championship. Dodgers fans can shop the capsule exclusively on Complex.
With his latest collab in mind, we wanted to take a look back at all of Murakami’s sports collaborations over the years. From the Dodgers to the Lakers, this is A Complete History of Takashi Murakami’s Sports Collaborations.
2015: Lionel Messi
This one is a bit of an outlier, but worth including nonetheless. In 2015, Murakami created a piece of art that was auctioned off by Sotheby’s to raise money for “1 in 11,” a campaign to increase education opportunities for children in Bangladesh, Indonesia and Nepal. The large circular work featured an image of soccer legend Lionel Messi kicking a ball placed in front of a field of Murakami’s signature flowers. It sold for $483,000, which easily makes it the most expensive item on this list.
2019: Los Angeles Lakers
As part of his offering for ComplexCon 2019 in Long Beach, Murakami delivered a collab with one of the most iconic franchises in professional sports. The series of Los Angeles Lakers gear was one of the hottest drops of the entire weekend. Not only did Murakami’s flowers mingle with the Lakers’ iconic gold and purple on mesh jersey and shorts, there were also standouts like black satin jackets and hoodies that featured multicolored flips of the Lakers’ recognizable logos. Stylish members of the team like Kyle Kuzma even rocked pieces in the tunnel. One of Murakami’s earliest sports collabs also happens to be one of his best.
2019: Chicago Cubs
Similar to his Lakers collab earlier in the year, Murakami helped welcome ComplexCon to Chicago by designing an official collection with one of the city’s most iconic teams, the Cubs. Caps, baseball jerseys, tees, hoodies, and more were all up for grabs. Fittingly, Murakami’s Ursa bear was the focal point of many of the designs.
2021: Naomi Osaka
Murakami doesn’t just work with teams. He also creates special items for some of the most gifted athletes in the world. One such example came in 2021 when he created a special edition Yonex racquet and bag for tennis superstar Naomi Osaka to use at the U.S. Open. Each item was covered in pink cherry blossoms remixed with the face seen on Murakami’s signature flowers.
2021: FaZe Clan
The collabs haven’t just been limited to traditional sports. Murakami has also lent his artistic vision to the burgeoning world of eSports. In 2021, he partnered with one of the biggest brands in the space, FaZe Clan. Team jerseys and mouse pads covered in red or blue floral prints were all up for grabs.
2022: Lewis Hamilton’s +44
Murakami has collaborated with F1 legend Lewis Hamilton and his apparel brand +44 on numerous occasions. Each limited edition collection fused Murakami’s vibrant characters with automotive-inspired design language to celebrate grand prix in various spots around the world like Japan and Las Vegas. In addition to the apparel that released to the public, Murakami also designed a one-of-a-kind racing helmet that was worn by Hamilton to race in the 2022 Japanese Grand Prix.
2025: MLB Tokyo Series
To kick off the 2025 MLB season, Murakami released a special collection to mark the 2025 Tokyo Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs. The collection was a hot commodity. It sold out within minutes of its release. Even LeBron James hit the pregame tunnel in one of the Dodgers jerseys from the drop. Some of the standout pieces included Shohei Ohtani jerseys, Rawlings baseball gloves, Topps trading cards, and New Era fitteds for each respective team. Everything was remixed with illustrations of cherry blossoms in Murakami’s signature art style.
2025: Dodgers World Series
In a true full circle moment, Murakami linked up with the Dodgers once again to cap off the 2025 MLB season. The collection of tees and hoodies celebrates the Dodgers second straight World Series championship and features the Japanese artist’s smiling flower motifs throughout. You can shop the exclusive collection on Complex, the Complex app, and Fanatics.