Brian Windhorst
Brian Windhorst covers the NBA for ESPN, hosts The Hoop Collective podcast and writes books about the basketball and business worlds around LeBron James.
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Brian’s happenings, collected from public sources, plus his backstory and Starbook, where fans write.
Known for
Grand Central Publishing
Grand Central PublishingOverview
- From
- Akron, Ohio
- Work
- NBA reporter, podcast host and author
- Education
- Kent State University, journalism, 2000
- Early beat
- Cleveland Cavaliers, 2003-2010
- ESPN
- Joined in 2010
Mini bio
How it started.
Windhorst started working in media at 16 at the Akron Beacon Journal. He graduated from Kent State in 2000 and began covering LeBron James in 1999, while James was still in high school.
The beat that opened doors.
From 2003 to 2010, he covered the Cavaliers for the Akron Beacon Journal and Cleveland Plain Dealer. Following James from high school into the NBA became a defining thread in his work. He joined ESPN in 2010, expanding his reporting to a national audience.
Beyond the daily story.
His books offer room for longer stories: Return of the King, written with Dave McMenamin, follows Cleveland’s 2016 championship journey, while LeBron, Inc. examines James’s business career. On The Hoop Collective, he talks through the league with fellow reporters; on television, he contributes to NBA Countdown, NBA Today and other ESPN programs.
Creditschronological, newest first
Broadcasting and podcasts
- 2026-27NBA CountdownStudio panelist
- 2025NBA Draft live reaction showContributor alongside the Numbers on the Board team
- OngoingBrian Windhorst & The Hoop CollectiveHost
- 2014NBA Lockdown InsidersESPN Radio host
Books
- 2019LeBron, Inc.: The Making of a Billion-Dollar AthleteAuthor
- 2017Return of the King: LeBron James, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Greatest Comeback in NBA HistoryCo-author with Dave McMenamin
Awards
Quotes
I knew I did not want a quote-unquote traditional life.Brian Windhorst, Cleveland Magazine
In his profile for the magazine’s 2025 Most Interesting People class, he reflected on wanting a different working life while growing up in West Akron.
Trivia
- He attended St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, the same school LeBron James later attended.
- He calls himself an aviation geek in his Front Office Sports interview.
- He lives in Omaha, Nebraska, after earlier chapters in Cleveland, Miami and New York City.
Find Brian
Follow his NBA reporting and find The Hoop Collective through his official ESPN profile.
Are you Brian Windhorst?
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