New Report Accuses NBA Insider Shams Charania, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski of Questionable Reporting Practices

A New York Magazine profile on NBA insider Shams Charania made an alarming charge about the role that insiders sometimes play in contract negotiations.

Published Oct. 11, the profile primarily focuses on how Charania — who writes for The Athletic — got his start in the industry and developed a treasure trove of sources around the league. The piece also touched on the complicated relationship between insiders and sources, and how some of the scoops Charania gets aren’t without something in return.

According to the New York magazine piece, that sometimes includes giving league executives leverage when it’s time to sign players by filling them in on negotiations with other teams.

“(ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski) or Shams might say, ‘Hey, don’t get levered up on Player X; he’s not gonna get an offer from his team,'” one executive told New York Magazine. “There are times when they have information that has prevented me from making a mistake in terms of the magnitude of a contract offer or the inclusion of a specific asset in a deal.”

Insiders like Charania and Wojnarowski have long been suspected by sports fans of sometimes acting in the interest of a player or team. In fact, fellow ESPN insider Adam Schefter once sent an early draft of an article to a Washington Redskins executive and addressed him as “Mr. Editor.” This new revelation has only added fuel to such theories.

In Charania’s case, it’s not the first time a dangerous conflict of interest has been brought up. In addition to his work with The Athletic, Charania also appears on FanDuel TV. Ahead of the 2023 NBA Draft, he reported a growing belief that guard Scoot Henderson would be taken the with second overall pick. It was widely assumed that University of Alabama forward Brandon Miller would be taken with that pick instead, so Charania’s tweet actually altered FanDuel’s betting odds and Henderson became the favorite. In the end, however, Miller was taken with the pick as initially expected.

That led to theories that Charania deliberately moved the odds to help FanDuel make more money on bets, but the company has denied those allegations.

Mediaite has reached out to ESPN and The Athletic for comment and will update this post if we hear back.