LeBron James' Miami Decision Catalyst For ESPN Insider To Potentially Succeed Woj

Anthony Pasciolla | Sep 20, 2024

Dec 27, 2013; Sacramento, CA, USA; Miami Heat small forward LeBron James (6) with his hand on his chest between plays against the Sacramento Kings during the first quarter at Sleep Train Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images / Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images

The NBA community was set ablaze Thursday as news broke ESPN reporter Adrian Wojnarowski is retiring from the industry.

This creates a void for someone to fill at ESPN, potentially the insider who got his big break when LeBron James joined the Miami Heat. ESPN's Brian Windhorst covered James since his high school days but joined the ESPN team in 2010. The same year, James signed with the Heat.

Windhorst could fly up the ESPN ranks with Wojnarowski no longer at the company, according to Front Office Sports.

"Start with Brian Windhorst. He’s covered LeBron James since high school. “He’s criminally underrated,” said one source. In fact, sources whisper Wojnarowski’s departure could pave the way for Windhorst’s ascension," FOS' Michael McCarthy wrote. "That the feeling in some circles is he’s been held back by Woj’s outsized presence."

James spent just four years with the Heat while Windhorst remains with ESPN to this day. There are however, a multitude of candidates rumored to fill Wojnarowski's position, including Shams Charania, Chris Haynes, Marc Stein, and Jake Fischer.

If loyalty comes into consideration for ESPN's decision, the public should expect Windhorst, who's been with the company since James' first year with the Heat, to hold an advantage.

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Anthony Pasciolla works as a contributing writer to Miami Heat On SI. He can be reached at ampasciolla@gmail.com or follow him on X @AnthonyPasci.