“Heir to the throne!” – Shams Charania replaces mentor as ESPN’s new senior NBA insider, fans react

Shams Charania beats other candidates to land the highly coveted ESPN job, replacing mentor Adrian Wojnarowski.

“Heir to the throne!” – Shams Charania replaces mentor as ESPN’s new senior NBA insider, fans react

NBA Insider Shams Charania with former NBA News reporter Adrian Wojnarowski

The speculations have finally come to an end as Shams Charania has now officially joined ESPN as the network’s Senior NBA Insider. He would be replacing mentor-turned-rival Adrian Wojnarowski, who retired from breaking NBA news on September 18.

The move that sealed the deal for Charania to ESPN was announced on Monday, which solidified his role as the go-to source for breaking NBA news at the network. Prior to joining ESPN, he had been a media-free agent after his contracts with The Athletic, Stadium, and FanDuel expired in the summer.

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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.

Shams Charania wrote on X

However, when his mentor retired to lead his alma mater, the speculation grew that he would succeed Wojnarowski at ESPN, and those rumors have now been confirmed. It was reported that Wojnarowski walked away from a $20 million offer to leave ESPN.

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The new ESPN senior insider has made several television and radio appearances. To the fans, he is best known for his fast-paced newsbreaking, which has rivaled Wojnarowski’s over the years. With the new ESPN deal finalized, Charania is set to lead NBA coverage on the network moving forward.

Social media react to Shams Charania’s ESPN new job

It was always going to be a Herculean task to fill the shoes of the retired Adrian Wojnarowski, but in Shams Charania, fans and fellow analysts are convinced he is the man for the job. However, not everyone is particularly pleased about the news as a fellow competitor for the role, Jeff Passan, reacted sarcastically to the announcement.

Baseball better anyway.

Jeff Passan wrote on X

Notwithstanding, social media reacted differently to the news. A couple of reactions below:

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Now that the role has been filled, fans can rest better knowing it’s their favorite insider manning the position. It’d be great to see how he performs on TV, outside his forte as the new NBA season.