'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Shams Charania and Adrian Wojnarowski have become the two foremost experts when it comes to breaking NBA news. Woj had a stranglehold on the market for years, dropping 'Woj Bombs' throughout the year and taking fans on a wild ride every offseason. In recent years, however, Charania has continued to close the gap, breaking a number of stories on his own.
With the two reporters competing to break big stories while working for opposite outlets, it's no surprise that they aren't best friends. Adrian Wojnarowski has been a longtime staple of ESPN, whereas Shams Charania has made his camp with The Athletic.
While in some cases, the two best competitors in any field or sport often have some form of camaraderie, that isn't the case with Shams and Woj. According to a recent report from The Washington Post, the relationship between the two rivals is that of Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker from Star Wars.
"Multiple NBA reporters and officials describe their relationship as something akin to Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker, the tension between them spilling across their respective galaxies," the WaPo report stated.
The report quotes a The Athletic editor saying they don't want Woj tweets dropped into company Slack channels because "Shams doesn’t like to see them." Per the WaPo article, ESPN reporters are discouraged from posting stories from The Athletic or inviting guests from the publication on their podcasts.
"Neither reporter acknowledges the other publicly," the report added.
Looking back at the relationship between Adrian Wojnarowski and Shams Charania
But it wasn't always that way. At one point in time, Adrian Wojnarowski was a mentor to Charania as he made the jump into the 'big leagues.' Shams Charania even looked up to Adrian Wojnarowski, tweeting his stories to him in order to get a foot in the door.
At the time, Charania was viewed as the protege of Adrian Wojnarowski at Yahoo! Sports, but that all changed in 2017. As per The Washington Post report, ESPN executive John Kosner led the move to bring Woj to the network and wanted the journalist to bring his entire team, including Shams. But Charania decided to stay.
With the 2023-24 NBA season rapidly approaching, it's safe to say that the two will continue to compete to break news. Which man will wind up breaking the biggest story of the season? Only time will tell.
