LeBron James rekindles beef with ESPN star who's covered him since high school
LeBron James and his 'Mind The Game' podcast have aimed fresh shots at ESPN reporter Brian Windhorst, who the Los Angeles Lakers star blasted during an interview with Pat McAfee
LeBron James has added fresh fuel to his feud with Brian Windhorst after the Los Angeles Lakers star mocked the ESPN reporter during a high-profile interview with Pat McAfee.
After taking an unsolicited shot at Windhorst a few months back, James and his 'Mind The Game' podcast dunked on him once again on Tuesday.
Four-time NBA champion James and Windhorst go way back, both attending St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio. Windhorst, who is seven years older than 40-year-old James, covered James' emergence as a high school sensation during the early days of his reporting career before going on to become one of the most prominent figures in ESPN's basketball coverage.
However, he found himself in the center of a social media storm when James appeared on 'The Pat McAfee Show' in March, when the former Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat superstar called out Windhorst and his coverage.
“I see a lot of s--- too. Like I see Brian Windhorst on one of these shows not too long ago,” he said. "Yeah, this guy who says he’s like my f------ best friend. These guys are just weird.”
It seems one dig at Windhorst was not enough for James. Windhorst had been critical of 'Mind The Game,' which started as a passion project by James and his now head coach J.J. Redick, who was an ESPN analyst at the time. With Redick moving into coaching, he has been replaced by former MVP Steve Nash, who sits across from James on the show to discuss the minutiae of basketball tactics.
Windhorst, however, claimed in an appearance on ESPN that fans "want to talk about the drama” of the NBA, adding; "If [James] sits down with Steve Nash and all he does Xs and Os for an hour, people aren’t going to like that, either.”
Windhorst's statement appears foolish in hindsight, with 'Mind The Game' proving immensely popular with fans. The show trumpeted the success of its second series on Tuesday by posting a clip Windhorst's comments woven with fan comments and audience data, with 16 million views racked up across the series so far.
In a post on X that has since been deleted, James wrote in response to the post: "Long ways from being done! Sucks they have to listen to two guys who know nothing about basketball talk about basketball! Sorry @SteveNash.”
Windhorst issued a classy response to James' comments in March, saying he owes the four-time MVP "a lot." He said on ESPN Cleveland: "LeBron doesn't owe me anything, I owe him a lot.
"He has been a great friend to my hometown and my alma mater, that I would stand on. Anything else, I would never say or stand on."