Former NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski drops truth bomb on abrupt retirement

Just before the season began, Adrian Wojnarowski announced his retirement from ESPN. During a recent interview, the longtime NBA insider opened up on what led to this abrupt decision.

Woj was one of the biggest names in NBA media when it came to breaking news. Aside from Shams Charania, he was widely viewed as the most plugged-in person when it came to reporting league-wide. However, his retirement announcement came seemingly out of nowhere.

In his retirement post, Adrian Wojnarowski reports that time isn't an endless supply. He has since further opened up on that remark, telling the work that he was diagnosed with prostate cancer earlier this year.

"When you hear cancer, you think about it going through your body like Pac-Man,” Woj says. “Prostate cancer, it generally stays confined to your prostate and is typically slow growing.”

Upon stepping away from news breaking in the NBA, Woj finds himself in a new career. He accepted a position with his alma mater St. Bonaventure to be the general manager of their basketball program.

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Adrian Wojnarowski opens up cancer diagnosis giving him a different outlook on life

It's worth noting that the diagnosis isn't the sole reason Adrian Wojnarowski walked away from covering the NBA for ESPN. As of now, he has no harsh symptoms and there is minimal to no spread in his body.

After being hit with such harsh medical news, Woj had a different outlook on life. He no longer had the urge and desire to devote all his time to his career. Instead, he sought out balance to prioritize things like family and friends.

“I didn’t want to spend one more day of my life waiting on someone’s MRI or hitting an agent at 1 a.m. about an ankle sprain,” Wojnarowksi said.

Another thing that was said in the back of Adrian Wojnarowski's mind with this decision was the death of a longtime colleague at ESPN. Despite having a massive impact on the business, he was shocked at how few people showed up to pay respect to Chris Mortensen.

“It made me remember that the job isn’t everything,” Woj says. “In the end it’s just going to be your family and close friends. And it’s also, like, nobody gives a s---. Nobody remembers [breaking stories] in the end. It’s just vapor.”

In his new role, Woj has the chance to work for a place that special to him while still having time to enjoy the important things in life. As the GM at St. Bonaventure, he'll focus on things like transfers, recruiting and NIL allocation.