NBA Insider Shams Charania Is Taking His Talents To ESPN

Source: Daniel Boczarski / Getty

In possibly the most meta moment in NBA moves, Shams Charania is taking his talents elsewhere.

The NBA insider was known for dropping major signings, trades, and firings around the league, but his latest announcement is his own. Breaking his own news, Charania is now ESPN‘s NBA whisperer, he revealed on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“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,” reads his tweet alongside his headshot with the official ESPN logo.

In a longer post on Instagram, he waxed poetic about how much he enjoyed his previous job at The Athletic and named all the people he is most grateful for on his journey.

It was suspected that Charania would go to ESPN—and rather quickly—as the league is set to tip off on Oct. 22. ESPN had a glaring hole in its staff after former NBA Insider Adrian Wojnarowski stepped down in September.

He announced he was leaving the post after seven years to return to his alma mater, New York’s St. Bonaventure University, to become the basketball program’s general manager.

The ESPN gig is so exhausting that Wojnarowski is—according to CNBC—willing to leave $21 million on the table because “Time isn’t in endless supply, and I want to spend mine in ways that are more personally meaningful.”

Now, it’s unclear whether the remaining $21 million on Woj’s contract will be distributed to Charania, but the post’s financial details have not been disclosed.

Charania may only be 30 years old, but he’s one of the most respected NBA insiders in the industry. This is partially thanks to Woj, who was part of the reason he got hired at Yahoo Sports. Woj eventually moved on to ESPN, which set off a friendly war of NBA scoops and breaking news.

After leaving Yahoo Sports in 2018, he joined up with The Athletic and Stadium, where he remained until the recent ESPN announcement.

Below, see how social media is reacting to Charania switching teams and possibly signing his own version of a max deal.

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