The sports world received its last WojBomb on Wednesday with the news that ESPN NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski is leaving to take over a general manager of the St. Bonaventure men’s basketball program.
The news surprised everyone with the NBA season getting underway next month. The 55-year-old Wojnarowski had been with ESPN since 2017. Prior to working with the “Worldwide Leader,” he worked for Yahoo Sports and The Record of Bergen County newspaper in New Jersey.
Those inside and outside of the sports media world reacted to the stunning news following Wojnarowski’s announcement.
The last piece of breaking NBA news that Wojnarowski posted on social media was the three-year, $38 million extension signed by Okoro with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Stephen A. Smith reacts to the news of Adrian Wojnarowski’s sudden retirement from ESPN.
“I’m happy for him, but I’m sad for us as a network because it’s a devastating loss for us to not have him.” pic.twitter.com/m6jBieq5tG
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 18, 2024
Wojnarowski appeared on ESPN’s “NBA Countdown” with Stephen A. “He the best in the business. He’s the best in the business — make no mistake about it.”
I’ve been fortunate to spend more than 20 years in this business working with reams of talented people. Adrian Wojnarowski is the best. Period. A peerless reporter. A gifted wordsmith. A storyteller nonpareil. He is Jim Brown and Barry Sanders, leaving at the apex of his game.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) September 18, 2024
Passan, an ESPN baseball writer, worked with Wojnarowski at both Yahoo Sports and ESPN.
Adrian Wojnarowski retired as the NBA’s most competitive sports reporter. Rather than join a NBA front office or high major college program, he will serve as GM at his alma mater, St. Bonaventure, and try to lead the Bonnies back to NCAA tournament. https://t.co/iiiOCF9Swe
— Dan Wetzel (@DanWetzel) September 18, 2024
With his contacts and experience, if Wojnarowski wanted to leave journalism for the competitive side of the business, he could have easily joined a sports agency or a NBA front office. At least one other major college program, upon hearing rumors of Woj’s move, offered him a similar spot with them and the lure of trying to win a national title.
Instead he took the freedom provided from making enough money that he didn’t need anymore money to go create his dream job. It doesn’t get much better than that.
Wetzel was a colleague of Wojnarowski during Woj’s time at Yahoo Sports.
