Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Brian Windhorst has been linked to LeBron James throughout the superstar’s basketball career, so it should come as no surprise that the current ESPN NBA insider has a deep well of knowledge regarding former teammates of the current Los Angeles Lakers star.
Windhorst, however, is not the only one who can name former James teammates off the top of his head. In an almost one-minute back and forth with a fan, he and Windhorst rattled off names from the famous to the obscure, until a duplicate ended the exchange.
With three teams to choose from – the Lakers, Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers – and an NBA career that just started its 21st season, there are a multitude of players available. According to Proballers, James has had 243 teammates in the NBA. Jaxson Hayes is one of the newest, having played his first two games with the Lakers alongside James to start the 2023-24 NBA season.
Windhorst and James actually attended the same high school — St. Vincent–St. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio – at different times. The writer covered the player during his high school days and became a Cavaliers beat reporter when James arrived in the NBA in 2003.
He moved on to ESPN after James left their home state to join the Miami Heat, and the reporter’s profile at the network and in NBA circles continued to rise. The 45-year-old is now considered one of its top voices on the league as a whole, but last summer, he admitted that his relationship with the 38-year-old isn’t as strong as it used to be.
For his part, James has had an interesting start to the season with the Lakers trying to manage his minutes and workload more than they have in the past. While playing just 29 minutes in a season-opening loss to the Denver Nuggets, he confronted the coaching staff somewhat, pleading for a bigger role and chance to play point guard.
He then played the entire fourth quarter to reach 35 minutes of playing time in a win against the Phoenix Suns on Thursday.
Someday, maybe Windhorst will get to talk to James about what he thinks about these playing time restrictions.
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