When it comes to inside information or breaking trade news in the NBA, the only two people who come to mind are Adrian Wojnarowski and Shams Charania. While Woj has been doing this for a long time, Charania got his big break in only 2014. As a 19-year-old sophomore at Loyola University, Chicago, he reported the trade of Luol Deng from the Chicago Bulls to the Cleveland Cavaliers before anyone else. According to an article by ‘Intelligencer‘, after Charania reported the trade, Brian Windhorst gave him the nickname – ‘The Chosen One’.
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Windhorst, who covered LeBron James when he was 19 years old, was impressed by Shams Charania for reporting the trade before anyone else at such a young age. He gave him the same nickname he had given to a young LeBron. Charania has now established himself as an important part of the NBA and works as the Senior NBA Insider for ‘The Athletic’.
Shams Charania’s entry into the world of NBA
In the article ‘Scoop Dreams’ by the ‘Intelligencer’, the interviewer describes his conversations with Shams Charania and his journey to the top of NBA journalism. Between the battle on the NBA court, there is a secret war raging between reporters who are fighting to be the first to break news related to the league. For a long time, it was Woj who was leading the pack. However, the future belongs to Shams Charania. Here is an excerpt from the article that describes how Charania got his break:
“Charania’s big break came in 2014, when he was a 19-year-old sophomore at Loyola University Chicago. He was sitting in his room watching a movie when an email came in from a source with a genuine scoop: All-Star forward Luol Deng was being traded from Chicago to Cleveland. Charania felt a rush of adrenaline as he posted the news, stunning other NBA reporters.”
The veteran reporters in the league, namely Adrian Wojnarowski and Brian Windhorst, were shocked to see someone get to the news before them, let alone a 19-year-old kid. Woj, a former mentor to Charania, congratulated him for breaking the trade while Brian Windhorst went ahead and crowned him ‘The Chosen One‘. Here is an excerpt from the article:
“ESPN’s Brian Windhorst tweeted what he thought was a scoop before realizing that Charania had gotten to it two minutes before: “Hat tip to @ShamsCharania” — he had professionalized the handle — “looks like he got the Deng news out just before I did.” Windhorst, who had covered a young LeBron James, started referring to Charania by the same nickname James had been given: “the Chosen One.”
Since reporting the Luol Deng trade, Shams Charania has climbed the ladder in the NBA world to become one of the most prominent sports insiders. He is the main rival to ESPN’s Senior Insider – Adrian Wojnarowski. The insider for ‘The Athletic’ has now attained celebrity status for his news coverage.
Breakdown of Charania’s earnings
By reaching celebrity status in the world of reporting, the money ought to flow for Shams Charania. According to the article by ‘Intelligencer‘, he is paid more than any reporter in ‘The New York Times’ – the company which owns ‘The Athletic’. Though the exact figure is unknown, he is estimated to earn more than $600,000 in salary.
The earnings don’t end there for Charania. He also signed a deal with FanDuel and Stadium for an undisclosed amount. The deal took his earnings well over the seven-figure mark. However, FanDuel was a sports betting company. The association of a sports reporter with a gambling company was met with a lot of criticism within the offices of ‘The Times’.
