Top NBA Reporter Shams Charania Set for Free Agency

The 26-year-old could change media outlets in the middle of the playoffs

Shams Charania
Shams Charania is facing a big decision. (Twitter)

Shams Charania, who is locked in a battle with former colleague Adrian Wojnarowski for the title of NBA’s Best Reporter, is set to become a free agent at the end of the month.

Charania has contracts with The Athletic and Stadium that expire at the end of August and will be in position to switch outlets during the middle of the NBA playoffs. With the NBA Finals slated to start September 30, Charania could have a month at his new job, if indeed he takes one, before the league’s final chapter this season.

Though both The Athletic and Stadium have an interest in retaining him, Charania “has started exploring whether to move to other outlets when his contracts end,” reports John Ourand of Sports Business Journal.

Charania, 26, joined The Athletic and Stadium in 2018 after previous stops with Yahoo Sports and RealGM.

During his time at Yahoo, Charania actually worked alongside Wojnarowski, who is now with ESPN. The Worldwide Leader was reportedly in the hunt for Charania in the summer of 2018, so it is possible that Charania and Wojnarowski could be reunited if ESPN makes another bid for the former’s services and lands him this time around.

“The desire, passion and the vision that was coming out of The Athletic and Stadium in the two, three months before I made the decision, it wasn’t even close how hungry they were to cover the league at a high level and seeing me be a big part of that. It was refreshing,” Charania said of his decision to go with The Athletic and Stadium over ESPN in 2018.

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