When LeBron James started his Mind The Game podcast last summer with co-host JJ Redick, many wondered if it was going to be yet another generic basketball show filled with rumors and hot takes. But they made it clear from the get go that this wasn’t something anyone had ever seen before. The two elite basketball minds would hop on each episode to discuss the intricacies of the game, strictly focusing on the X’s and O’s. Sure enough, the fans loved it as the pilot episode garnered over 4.3 million views.
A few months later, the Lakers hired Redick as their new head coach. Many were left questioning – Was this podcast just a lengthy job interview? However, following the massive success of the first season, Mind The Game and LeBron returned three months ago, this time with a new co-host, Steve Nash. But JJ’s former ESPN colleague Brian Windhorst was not too thrilled about the LBJ and Nash partnership. More specifically, the concept of the podcast.
“When people talk about the game of basketball, they want to talk about the drama… If LeBron sits down with Steve Nash and all he does is an X’s and O’s for an hour, people aren’t gonna like that either.” Windy remarked on TV. Of course, ESPN is big on debate shows and hot takes, a concept that has done wonders for their viewership. Despite that, it was LeBron who got the last laugh, as Mind The Game’s new season became a huge success and quickly climbed the trending chart. And LBJ made sure to let the world know that Windhorst’s prediction was wrong, as he sent a stern message to the veteran insider.
“Long ways from being done!! Sucks they have to listen to 2 guys who know nothing about basketball talk about basketball! Sorry @SteveNash” James tweeted, likely referring to ESPN veterans Windhorst and Stephen A. Smith.
Along with James’ sarcastic apologetic message was a video posted by Mind The Game, firing shots at Windy’s bold predictions and how LBJ’s new business proved him wrong. It was an edit of Brian criticizing the podcast on ESPN, in contrast with several positive fan comments for the show like “Thank you for giving us actual basketball analysis” and “Basketball conversation at its finest without any yelling or pointless drama.” The video also highlighted that season 2 has garnered over 16 million views so far. Considering the massive numbers and LeBron’s latest tweet, it doesn’t look like he is going to stop the podcast anytime soon. Moreover, this is not the first time he has fired shots at Windhorst.
LeBron James called Brian Windhorst “weird” as ESPN veteran revealed the aftermath of public callout
Windy criticizing LeBron’s business venture might seem a bit surprising to some because the insider has been one of his biggest advocates throughout the Lakers star’s career. However, it doesn’t come as a shock, considering what happened a couple of months ago. During an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, LeBron openly called out Windhorst and made his stance clear on their relationship, “This guy says he’s like my f—— best friend. These guys are just weird.”
Moreover, James accused the insider of spreading false narratives about him, “‘He signed with Nike because of Michael Jordan.’ I was like ‘No the f— I didn’t.’ I signed with Nike cause I got a hell of a signing bonus, and they gave me the 7-year $90 million contract.” Sure enough, LeBron’s comments led to major controversy, and even had Windy worried about his reputation around the league.
“I would have preferred that it didn’t happen… I actually felt like it might have, my concern was that it would damage me with players because he’s so influential with players.” He remarked. Fortunately, the aftermath was not as bad as Windy expected, as several NBA players reached out to support him. He also denied LeBron’s accusations. And it looks like their relationship, if there ever was one, has been tarnished because of the controversy. Maybe, that’s why Windy chose to criticize Mind The Game, and LeBron fired back by questioning the ESPN veteran’s basketball knowledge. Thoughts?
