46, Senior NBA Writer
Why He’s interesting: Windhorst is among the best-known basketball writers in the country, writing for ESPN.com and appearing on NBA on ESPN and First Take. Graduating a few years ahead of LeBron James at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School, he later earned his journalism degree from Kent State University in 2000. James, however, played a key role in Windy’s rise from Akron Beacon Journal and The Plain Dealer reporter to national star.
Big Dreams: While growing up in West Akron, Windhorst wanted something more than his neighbors' 9-to-5 jobs, afternoons cutting the grass and trips to Disney World. Now he travels around the globe covering basketball. “I knew I did not want a quote-unquote traditional life.”
Sign up for our Cleveland Magazine Daily newsletter
Covering Greatness: The kid from Akron has chronicled the historic career of LeBron James since the very beginning. “I was sitting in the studio in Secaucus, New Jersey, when the Cavs won [the 2003 Draft Lottery], and I knew at that moment my life had changed.”
Home Is Where the Heart Is: Windhorst’s career has taken him around the globe, covering the NBA while based in Cleveland, New York, Miami and, now, Omaha, Nebraska. But no matter where he is, he’ll always be a Northeast Ohioan. “As soon as the seasons in Miami would end, I would immediately come back to Akron or to Cleveland. I would spend the off-season in
Cleveland, just like LeBron.”
2: The number of times Windhorst has earned New York Times bestseller status for his books. They include Return of the King: LeBron James, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Greatest Comeback in NBA History (published in 2017) and
LeBron, Inc.: The Making of a Billion-Dollar Athlete (published in 2019).Meet the rest of the 2025 class of Most Interesting People >>
For more updates about Cleveland, sign up for our Cleveland Magazine Daily newsletter, delivered to your inbox six times a week.
Cleveland Magazine is also available in print, publishing 12 times a year with immersive features, helpful guides and beautiful photography and design.
