Shockwaves were sent throughout the basketball world when longtime sportswriter and NBA reporter Adrian Wojnarowski, known for being the first to break news for a very long time, decided to put down his phone and take on a new job that won’t involve posting constant updates on social media.
The man known as “Woj” has retired from being one of the best reporters in the sports business, as he felt it was time to move on and take the job as the general manager of the men’s basketball program at his alma mater, St. Bonaventure.
With about a month left before the NBA gets its 2024-25 regular season underway, this breaking news came out of nowhere from Wojnarowski, as it wasn’t expected that he would be stepping down or changing jobs anytime soon.
As a result of such a big-name reporter calling it quits to pursue a completely different job on the other side of what he has done for quite some time, there’s been quite a reaction from basketball fans and his colleagues at ESPN.
One former colleague who knows what it takes to break news year-round is Adam Schefter, who covers the NFL and is his football equivalent.
Schefter discussed why Wojnarowski was stepping away from the role that made him a household name and must-follow among basketball fans.
“It takes over your life. You can’t kind of do the job, you have to live the job, and he was done living the job. … Now he gets to do what he wants, which is exactly how it should be,” Schefter said, via NBA on ESPN.
.@AdamSchefter on Adrian Wojnarowski’s retirement:
“It takes over your life. You can’t kind of do the job, you have to live the job, and he was done living the job. … Now he gets to do what he wants, which is exactly how it should be.” pic.twitter.com/INlIrXLJvr
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) September 18, 2024
With Wojnarowski now heading into a different phase in his basketball career, the attention turns to the ESPN vacancy and how Shams Charania of The Athletic could be the target to replace him.
Charania and Wojnarowski have been going back and forth for years in terms of the distinction of being the best reporter in the business, and it’ll be interesting to see what happens going forward.
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ESPN Is Expected To Target 2 NBA Insiders To Replace Adrian Wojnarowski
