LeBron James called out by Brian Windhorst’s colleague for lying on The Pat McAfee Show: “Weak sauce”

LeBron James went on The Pat McAfee Show this morning to dismantle narratives set by Stephen A. Smith and Brian Windhorst.

LeBron James called out by Brian Windhorst’s colleague for lying on The Pat McAfee Show: “Weak sauce”

Brian Windhorst, LeBron James

LeBron James seems to have taken the narrative of the 2024-25 Lakers into his own hands of late. The 40-year-old went on The Pat McAfee Show this morning to dismantle narratives set by various ESPN analysts and writers, including the likes of Stephen A. Smith and Brian Windhorst.

James was particularly scathing in his treatment of Stephen A. Smith, whom he seemed to have marked out for special treatment. The King spent a significant amount of time calling out the “First Take” host for his antics in the past 3 weeks. Smith had gone on a variety of talk shows, including on Fox News, to build narratives around their faceoff. It was amply clear that James was offended by Smith’s constant tattling.

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James then went on to dole out more critiques for other members of the sports media world. Brian Windhorst got caught in this crossfire as James called him out for acting too close to himself.

I’ve seen Brian Windhorst on his shows not too long ago. This guy says he’s like my f**ing best friend. These guys are just weird.

LeBron James on Brian Windhorst

The troubling part of this statement is that it is an obvious falsehood. While Windhorst has been THE LeBron James reporter to turn to since 2001 – 24 years of following James around while employed by various news organizations, the Akron native has never even been close to hinting that he enjoys more than a cordial professional relationship with James. This is where James’ tendency to exaggerate for dramatic effect seems to have a harmful effect on sports media.

As a result, James was called out for this lie by a writer from The Athletic. Andrew Marchand, who has written for ESPN and the New York Post in the past, took it upon himself to be the messenger of the unpleasant message to the person who is at the center of all basketball coverage.

Windhorst has never said that. He has covered LeBron for a long time. Weak sauce from LeBron.

Andrew Marchand tweeted

What are the optics of this latest LeBron James tirade against Smith and Brian Windhorst?

We have come to expect and accept a level of contact from world-class athletes in 2025 that was unprecedented even 10 years ago. The best players of every sport were expected to maintain a certain mystique to themselves. This is exactly what Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo – the two most famous men on the planet – have followed throughout their superstardom – even in 2025.

Going out of his way to lie about a reporter who has written two books on James – mostly showing him in a glowing light – is truly some ‘weak sauce’ from King James. With the amount of following he enjoys as possibly the most famous current American athlete, James could make a huge dent to the credibility of the reporter on his beat. For all of his faults – and there certainly are some – Windhorst has never claimed to be anything close to a friend of James.

While you can certainly cite instances where Windhorst has claimed to have a better understanding of James than other reporters – something he can credibly claim due to having followed James around for his whole career, the idea that he’s ever hinted himself to be a member of James’ inner circle has never been propagated by him. It would bode well for James to issue a clarification about his statement, given that Windhorst has actively been a part of furthering James’ legacy instead of raining down on it.