LeBron James made huge waves this week when he appeared on The Pat McAfee Show, making some blunt comments. Some of these comments ruffled the feathers of well-known journalists Brian Windhorst and Stephen A. Smith. While we all are aware of the rocky relationship between Smith and James, Windhorst, on the other hand, has a completely different history with the LA superstar. In fact, Brian Windhorst and LeBron James have been connected throughout their careers. The ESPN journalist has been covering James since his Cleveland days, but it seems a rift has been created between the two. So, what is the cause of this rift?

Well, a huge factor could’ve been their recent subtle dig at the Lakers star. “When people talk about the game of basketball, they want to talk about the drama, they want to talk about the X’s and O’s, but I’m telling you, if you do a full show that’s all X’s and O’s, that’s not gonna be any good either,” Windhorst stated. The journalist supposedly suggested that LeBron doesn’t understand that the fans want drama alongside in-depth analysis and that no one would just listen to analysts speak about basketball alone. However, this statement made by Windhorst does a poor job of generalizing all hoop lovers. A brilliant example of people viewing pure basketball content is seen through LeBron James and Lakers HC JJ Redick’s ‘Mind the Games‘ series.

The fans love the show despite it being all about the X’s and O’s, contrary to Windhorst’s opinion on the matter. In fact, a former ESPN journalist has decided to follow the same trajectory as the Lakers star and give the fans exactly what they want: covering basketball. On Monday, former ESPN writer and podcaster Zach Lowe made a massive announcement about his future. The 47-year-old media personality has joined hands with a $109 billion company. Yes! Lowe will be joining ‘The Ringer‘ which is owned by $109 billion parent company, Spotify. By doing so, Lowe is having a reunion with his former boss Bill Simmons, who previously recruited the journalist to cover the NBA at Grantland.

Before being surprisingly laid off by media giants ESPN, Zach Lowe was a fan-favorite analyst. Mostly because of his zero-nonsense and in-depth coverage of the league. Not surprisingly, the fans seem to love the news of Lowe’s return to the media space. He’s returning after a six-month hiatus from covering hoops. Moreover, Lowe’s new Ringer podcast is set to launch next week, with the fans buzzing to see their favorite analyst back in action. Meanwhile, the drama between LeBron James and Brian Windhorst seems to have reached a new chapter, with the ESPN journalist expressing his true feelings for the Lakers superstar.

ESPN’s Brian Windhorst says, “LeBron doesn’t owe me anything.”

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James appeared on the Pat McAfee Show, where he took some shots at Stephen A. Smith and Brian Windhorst. James did not mince his words at all! While his being frustrated with Smith is understood, the jab at Windhorst came as a surprise for many, including the fans. While joking with host McAfee, James took a shot at Windhorst. “This guy who says he’s like my (expletive) best friend,” James said. “These guys are just weird.” After hearing this, Windhorst chose not to escalate the situation further and handled it with a more classy approach.

On Friday, the journalist gave his response on an on-air appearance. “LeBron doesn’t owe me anything. I owe him a lot.” Windhorst stated. “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 never stand on.” He further clarified that he’s fully aware of where he stands in the LA superstar’s life. “Just know, I met LeBron 25 years ago. And my understanding of LeBron and where people stand in his life has been crystal clear.” It seems like, despite an unlikely harsh choice of words by James, Windhorst doesn’t have any bad intentions.

Due to the Lakers being one of the talked-about franchises in the world, they are under the constant spotlight of the media. Especially LeBron James. Unfortunately, sometimes, journalists or players also unknowingly cross boundaries. In this case, things went south due to Smith’s comments over a month ago. Since then, things have snowballed into a massive mess, and Windhorst’s recent comments might be the last chapter of this saga. Whether or not James responds to this remains to be seen. However, this seems to be the end of this ugly beef, at least on Windhorst’s end.