Because he is close to LeBron’s camp in a professional capacity. Journalists follow stories and Windy was on the LeBron beat before anybody else due to the home town connection and because he correctly saw he was going to be one of the most significant sports figures of the century.

It’s literally his job.

His employer assigned him to follow LeBron. He doesn’t choose what teams he reports on.

Sounds like he’s doing his job.

I never realized how much he looks and sounds like fat Michael Scott

They both were at the same high school. Literally rode on lebrons shoulders on day one

Then wrote books on him. I know he’s doing his job but when you look at it from LeBron’s point of view, it’s kind of weird he’s following him around and making money off of him like that.

personally, I dislike you and your upvoters who agree with you. Because from all that I’ve read and heard from Windhorst himself, he was basically doing his job as a sports journalist, and sure, he got lucky in the sense that the guy he covered was Lebron. He was a beat writer! Covering the most prominent figure as his job!

To say “sell himself as close to his camp to get ahead” is accusing his integrity. That’s what annoys me to no end: people like you who don’t understand what the job means, who don’t have basic comprehension to evaluate the things he says, and just jump in carrying all your biases of what he does versus what he’s actually doing. In ALL his TV appearances, I’ve never heard anything remotely slimy, or questionable. If you don’t agree: I challenge you to find me one clip supporting your point.

I think it was only through Miami. I don’t think he was still following LeBron during the second stint with the Cavs.

That’s not really weird since most do that in a professional manner. It’s not like he was stalking him personally.

I honestly think LBJ could have chilled instead of embarrassing him.

I mean he knew people that lebron was close with…of course id havw him covering lebron…thats close to his camp

He was literally hired specifically to cover LeBron.

many people have made careers off lebron.

he literally followed him from team to team

Windhorst attended the same Akron, Ohio HS as LeBron, so it would make sense for him to cover LeBron while LeBron was in Cleveland (2003-10, 2014-18).

ESPN also assigned him to cover LeBron during the 2010-14 Miami stint. Assigning a reporter to just one player would be somewhat strange for most other players, but this was the peak of the career of either the greatest or 2nd-greatest of all time.

Right now, it looks like Windhorst lives in Omaha (and not LA). So it doesn’t seem he’s still following LeBron “from team to team”.

To be fair Lebron loved his “coverage” as well.

Literally his job.

What happens to Windy after LeBron retires?

When this first came out last year, Windy also straight up just thanked Lebron for the career he got as well.

https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/1jm0mhg/brian_windhorst_responds_to_lebrons_comments/

Windy fits an archetype that skews towards being a tool, but he’s a lot more humble and self aware than most of the guys in his role. He’s opinionated but he still treats the players like people.

Literally every other comment in here right now is shitting on Windy. So you nailed the first part

Yeah me too. But after watching this video, it makes sense why LeBron said that. Windy just caught strays. 

Fans having stronger negative opinions about Windhorst than Windhorst ever has about players (while his actual job is to provide honest commentary about NBA) is what’s really weird to me.

I’ll preface this by saying I don’t like Windy’s personality at all. I think he comes across stuffy and arrogant and I don’t respect his basketball knowledge for someone who covers the sport as long as he has. So I am not unbiased.

But if I had some guy from my high school, that I didn’t even know, make a whole ass career out of talking about me like he knew me/has inside knowledge into me… I’d think that dude is weird af too and probably not be into it.

It would be one thing if he was a sports journalist who happened to e from my hs and occasionally had something to say about Lebron, but his whole identity for years whas 100% lebron all the time and would expound on what and how lebron thinks. That would irritate me if I were LeBron and nothing he said was out of bounds IMO

Bron has been a mean girl his whole career, y’all just let him get away with it due to his basketball greatness.

We’ve all been following LeBron since high school.

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That’s a completely dishonest oversimplification of Windhorst

He wouldn’t remain in his position near LeBron if he was not good at his job. When you listen to him, he is an elite storyteller.

Yep. Feels like they see Windy as having a parasocial attachment to LeBron, so they feel inclined to defend LeBron, because of their own parasocial attachments to him.

You could say the same thing about paparazzi that follow around one celebrity all the time too, but nobody reasonable is going to take the side of the paparazzi.

Your stance is, “It’s not odd or weird because it made him successful.”?

Windhorst has done exceptional for himself. At the same time, his career is built on being weird and intensely focus on following LeBron. Without ever actually interacting or engaging him. It’s odd.

Yes, however it still is quite odd. Think about if you were LeBron and this one dude just follows you around everywhere you go. Switched from the Cavs to Miami the second you go there. Claims to be an insider on your life and career.

May be part of the biz, but doesn’t make it any less weird.

I love lebron as a player and a guy, but thought windy caught an unnecessary stray on this one.

Modern day sports consumption is weird and abnormal. It’s a sign of a broken society

I think part of it is imagining themselves in LeBron’s place. I obviously can’t imagine the intersection of wealth and fame, but I could imagine if a guy made his living specifically following my life and trying to get information about me and I wasn’t a politician,  I probably would feel weird about him too.

Obviously it’s his job but the thought of a guy I don’t really know having insight into my life or at least gets paid to try to get it makes me feel some type of way.

People on these subs follow players restlessly and they aren’t paid for it, it’s just typical holier-than-thou r/nba mindset.

What does that say about the people who have followed Windhorst’s reporting after all these years? Sports fans always want to act all holier than thou as if they don’t enjoy all of the gossip and drama themselves.

Respectfully lol if you were a celebrity athlete arguably the greatest and you thought it was weird a journalist built their career around you as a player, then you’d have no business trying to be a celebrity athlete

Windhorst had a job, and in doing that job, he always showed respect to LeBron and clearly admired him. LeBron was just playing to the room when he said that which is lame.

Fun fact: Windhorst is actually only 6 years older than LeBron

It’s weird when journalists like Windhorst start speaking for and speculating on the opinions of players. Even if they’re right about what they’re speculating on it still feels parasocial and gossipy.

How?

Fat faces age better than skinny, though. Maybe that (and laziness) is his excuse?