Shams Charania Is Leaving The Athletic For ESPN
In the wake of Adrian Wojnarowski’s retirement from ESPN, his former rival Shams Charania is joining the Worldwide Leader in Sports.
After six years at The Athletic, Charania will make the jump to become the lead NBA insider at ESPN. Previously, Shams and Wojnarowski worked together at Yahoo Sports, with the latter acting as a mentor to the younger Charania.
Later, however, the two would become rivals, often competing for breaking NBA news and amassing millions of social media followers along the way.
“I Am Honored to Join ESPN”
As news of Charania’s move to ESPN became public, the NBA insider took to social media to make things official.
“I am honored to join ESPN as the company’s Senior NBA Insider,” he wrote. “I can’t wait to be part of an incredible group of colleagues at ESPN and serve the sports audience worldwide.”
I am honored to join ESPN as the company’s Senior NBA Insider. I can’t wait to be part of an incredible group of colleagues at ESPN and serve the sports audience worldwide. pic.twitter.com/sBDFGIpkb6
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) October 7, 2024
Outside of his work at The Athletic and Yahoo Sports, Charania has been a longtime friend and contributor to The Pat McAfee Show.
When news of Wojnarowski’s exit broke, McAfee both publicly and privately endorsed Charania to fill his shoes.
“Sham Charania’s the answer,” McAfee said on his show. “I know there’s conversations happening. People are going to say that this is obviously who we are going to say. But if you take our bias out of this conversation, there’s only one answer, it’s Shams Charania.”
Other Insiders Were Considered
Before the news that Charania was moving to ESPN, other candidates to fill Wojnarowsi’s role included NFL insider Adam Sheftler and MLB insider Jeff Passan. After Shams’s hiring was official, Passan posted on X that “Baseball is better anyway.”
Baseball’s better anyway.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) October 7, 2024
With Charania on board, ESPN will remain the go-to place for NBA news. Even in the face of losses, the Worldwide Leader in Sports continues to march forward.