Shams–Woj rivalry

Shams Charania in 2023

The Shams–Woj rivalry was a rivalry between sports reporters Shams Charania of The Athletic and Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the two leading National Basketball Association (NBA) insiders. The rivalry has been propelled primarily by NBA fans and media from 2017 to 2024, regarding which reporter is first to break NBA news on Twitter. Wojnarowski mentored Charania at Yahoo! Sports, and they became competitors after Wojnarowski left the company.

Background

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In 2007, Wojnarowski joined Yahoo! Sports as a full-time reporter, becoming the website's national NBA writer and the most prominent reporter in breaking NBA news.[1][2] Charania idolized Wojnarowski in high school and joined him at Yahoo! Sports in 2015, at age 21.[3] Wojnarowski, who served as his mentor, touted Charania as the best young basketball reporter in the world, in a tweet that has since been deleted.[4][5] In 2017, Wojnarowski left Yahoo! Sports for ESPN, and Charania – his leading competitor – joined The Athletic and Stadium in the following year.[6]

Rivalry

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Following Wojnarowski's departure from Yahoo! Sports in 2017, his purported competition with Charania in being the first to break news about the NBA on Twitter, including trades, signings, draft picks and injuries, gained significant attention. NBA fans and media often keep score of each reporter's performance, particularly during the NBA draft, trade deadline and free agency.[7][8][9] In 2022, the rivalry was described as the "most intense rivalry in the NBA" by The Daily Beast.[3] Reporter Frank Isola called it the "only real rivalry left in the NBA" due to friendliness among players.[10] Agent Rich Paul has characterized the rivalry as beneficial for the NBA.[11] It has also been acknowledged by players, including Patrick Beverley.[12] The success of Wojnarowski and Charania has discouraged other reporters from attempting to break news.[5]

The rivalry effectively ended with Wojnarowski's retirement from sports reporting in 2024, as he accepted a general manager position with his alma mater Saint Bonaventure University.[13] Charania was eventually hired by ESPN to fill Wojnarowski's role.[14]

Relationship

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Wojnarowski and Charania have not publicly acknowledged their rivalry and have declined to comment about their relationship.[15] In 2021, four years after they stopped working together, NBA reporter Ethan Strauss alleged a falling-out between the two and that Wojnarowski expresses contempt for Charania.[16] In 2023, Reeves Wiedeman of New York magazine likened their rivalry to a cold war.[5] NBA reporters and officials have compared the relationship between Wojnarowski and Charania to that of Star Wars characters Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker. Their companies, ESPN and The Athletic, discourage their employees from publicizing tweets by Charania and Wojnarowski, respectively.[10]

References

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  1. ^ Connors, Greg (August 13, 2010). "Wojnarowski helps Yahoo climb to top". The Buffalo News. Archived from the original on October 21, 2011. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
  2. ^ Nagelhout, Ryan (July 13, 2017). "The Future Of NBA News Is Adrian Wojnarowski And Shams Charania Battling For Scoops". Uproxx. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
  3. ^ a b Smith, Corbin (July 18, 2022). "Adrian Wojnarowski vs. Shams Charania Is the Most Intense Rivalry in the NBA—and Its Emptiest". The Daily Beast. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
  4. ^ Sprung, Shlomo (December 24, 2019). "The Rise And Evolution Of Shams Charania". Forbes. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
  5. ^ a b c Wiedeman, Reeves (October 11, 2023). "Scoop Dreams". New York. Retrieved October 12, 2023.
  6. ^ Sherman, Alex (January 15, 2022). "Shams vs. the 'Woj bomb': Sports reporters are duking it out for scoops on Twitter, and their value is soaring". CNBC. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
  7. ^ Rudder, Paul (June 23, 2023). "Woj vs Shams: who was the fastest in announcing the picks in the 2023 NBA Draft?". Diario AS. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
  8. ^ Tornoe, Rob (June 21, 2019). "NBA draft: ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski and Shams Charania tipped picks all night, with just one whiff". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
  9. ^ Zeglinski, Robert (February 10, 2022). "NBA Twitter was captivated by Shams–Woj trade deadline scoop-off". For The Win. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  10. ^ a b Strauss, Ben (October 2, 2023). "Inside the NBA's 'only real rivalry'". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  11. ^ Kleen, Brendon (October 9, 2023). "Rich Paul: Woj vs. Shams NBA insider war is 'great for basketball'". Awful Announcing. Retrieved October 12, 2023.
  12. ^ Neumann, Thomas (February 9, 2023). "Patrick Beverley's Tweet About Shams Charania Turns Ironic With Trade to Magic". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  13. ^ Pollock, Chuck (2024-09-19). "Going from ESPN back to St. Bonaventure was worth more than millions to 'Woj'". Olean Star. Retrieved 2024-09-19.
  14. ^ Williams, Madison (October 7, 2024). "Shams Charania to Become ESPN's Senior NBA Insider". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved October 7, 2024.
  15. ^ Hladik, Matt (May 12, 2022). "Shams Charania Was Asked About His Relationship With Woj". The Spun. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
  16. ^ "Report: Adrian Wojnarowski Sends His Own Social Media Stats To Potential Sources". RealGM. October 22, 2021. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
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