Adrian Wojnarowski breaks silence on presumed beef with Shams Charania

Veteran sports reporter Frank Isola called the dynamic between Adrian Wojnarowski and Shams Charania the “only real rivalry left in the NBA.” The Washington Post wrote about how the relationship between the two was “something akin to Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker.” From 2007 to 2024, they battled for the title of top news breaker on X, formerly Twitter.

The rivalry ended when Woj decided to return to St. Bonaventure to become the men’s basketball team manager. On Thursday, the former ESPN NBA insider appeared in the “7 PM in Brooklyn” podcast to discuss different topics. Inevitably, he was asked about Shams and had this to say regarding the reported animosity between him and his former protegee:

“I met him when he was in college. We hired him at Yahoo. I think we helped pay for his last couple of years of college. … You have to be driven to do this. You have to be willing to put in the work and he was always willing to put in the work.

“He reached out to me the day I retired and I told him, ‘Hey, I hope you have as fulfilling and as gratifying of a career.’”

Adrian Wojnarowski added that he did not take it personally when Shams Charania beat him to a piece of breaking news. He said,

“You can get beat by everybody.”

When Woj was with ESPN and Charania was with the Athletic, they didn’t publicly acknowledge each other. Reeves Wiedeman wrote for the New York Magazine:

“Wojnarowski and Charania are locked in something of a cold war.”

Reeves did add that Charania said working with his former mentor at Yahoo was “a blessing.”

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Shams Charania said that he was “forever indebted” to Adrian Wojnarowski

In September 2024, Adrian Wojnarowski shocked the basketball world when he announced his retirement. He later confirmed that he would become the manager of his alma mater, the St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team.

CNBC Sports’ Alex Sherman had this to say about what Shams Charania texted Woj after the announcement came out:

“It was a congratulatory message on just the appreciation that I have and his amazing career. We spent two years together at Yahoo, and I was brought on to The Vertical, and the help that I had early on in my career as a younger reporter, that will never be lost on me.

“Just wishing him the best in his retirement and his next chapter. I’m forever indebted, and I think everyone in the industry should be as well.”

The rivalry that defined Adrian Wojnarowski and Shams Charania at work apparently did not break the respect and appreciation they have for each other.

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