Mike Greenberg reflects on Adrian Wojnarowski's retirement, praising the work ethic that helped revolutionize NBA reporting. Edit by Liam McGuire, Comeback Media.
ESPNNBABy Sam Neumann on

As Adrian Wojnarowski shook up the sports media landscape Wednesday with his retirement announcement, those closest to Woj reacted to the news of a trailblazer putting down his iPhone and white book of sources for good. There were reactions all across sports media, including Mike Greenberg, both in the moment and on his X (formerly Twitter) account shortly after the news struck social media.

But rather than just reacting, Greenberg offered a more comprehensive look at the man he got to work with closely and what it was like to see a master of his craft up close and personal. Wojnarowski had only been at ESPN for the past seven years, but it was like Peyton Manning joining the Denver Broncos — he still very much had some of his best reporting ahead of him.

“I’m just shocked; I don’t really know anything else to say,” says Greenberg. “I don’t really have any great insight. I can tell you that I witnessed up close and personal what it takes to do his job at his level. I watched for two years; that guy never sleeps. We would get out of here at 11:30, midnight, 12:30, after games, and he was going to meet people. He was at that point going to meet a coach, meet someone, to go he’s building a relationship, developing a story, whatever it might be; he’s constantly on his phone, texting people and getting stories.

“Every single night of the NBA season, there’s an injury he’s on. Someone gets hurt, ‘Oh, he’s there with the agent; he’s gonna get the story.’ And he was so driven, as these guys tend to be. He and (Adam Schefter) and all these reporters who are in that line of work are so driven to have the story first, to break stories. It’s such a part of their DNA of what they do.

“And I had a similar job to that on a microscopic level, comparatively speaking, for a very short time when I covered sports in Chicago. And I can tell you, it almost gave me an ulcer. Like, waking up every morning to see did anyone out there break a story about the team I’m covering, which were the Bears and the Bulls at different times, working locally in Chicago, not working against Adrian Wojnarowski or Adam Schefter, or people like that.

“So, the point I’m making is: it takes a toll. And I do find myself sometimes wondering, ‘How do guys like Schefty and Woj — and not just them, but we’ll use them because I think they’re the two best known — how do these guys relax?’ The answer is that they generally don’t.”

That seemingly was one of the reasons Wojnarowski opted to step away from a lucrative gig that saw him as a titan of the industry.

Greenberg expounded more on why Wojnarowski was among the best — if not the best — to ever do it.

“It is a time in life, I can say from experience now, where you do really start making a lot of decisions,” says Greenberg. “When you’re younger…every decision you make is, ‘I want more; I want more. Give me more work. I want to have the biggest career I can.’ And then you reach a point where you do start saying to yourself, ‘How is this effecting my health? How is this affecting my relationship with my wife and with my kid? He has a wife; he has grown kids.

“So, I’m not that surprised by this. The world will be stunned. My initial reaction to it was shock, but now that I’ve sort of let sink in a little, I get it; I get it. So, I just sent him a very long text… I’ll keep that private but I’ll share these thoughts here: he’s the best ever to do it, man. I’ve been in sports media one way or another since 1990, and in that time, no one has done a job better than he has done his.

“I’m not saying he’s better than everyone else; I’m saying no one else is better at their job than he has been at is. So, I wish him nothing but the best. I wish him endless success…”

As Greenberg alluded to, Wojnarowski’s retirement marks the end of an era in sports journalism, where breaking news and inside scoops became synonymous with one man’s tireless work ethic.

While the sports world reacts with shock, admiration and gratitude, it’s clear that his influence will echo for years to come. From pioneering the art of the Woj Bomb to setting the gold standard for NBA reporting, his legacy is firmly cemented.

Now, as Woj steps away from the game to focus on life beyond the relentless chase for news, those in the industry like Greenberg pause, knowing they (and it) will never see another quite like him.

[ESPN Radio]

About Sam Neumann

Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.

View all posts by Sam Neumann