At just 30 years of age, Shams Charania has quickly become the clear figurehead of reporting around the NBA. And while the job certainly isn’t for everyone, Charania recently detailed how he has no plans of slowing down anytime soon.
We have of course seen fellow top insiders from their respective sports at ESPN like Adam Schefter and Jeff Passan publically discuss the sacrifices that their job entails.
Both even seemed envious of the man that Charania ultimately replaced, former ESPN NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski, who of course retired from his role at the network in favor of a general manager position for the St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team.
During an appearance on The Varsity podcast with John Ourand, Charania was asked about the topic of burnout.
“No, no I don’t think about that. I feel like I’m just getting started. I feel like I have so much left to prove to myself. I feel like I have so much to get better at. I feel like every day I learn something new. Ever since I tried to forge my way in this industry when I was 16 years old, I have had a level of naivety. I think the unknowing of what is to come or what this entails or what I’m supposed to be doing… I have never operated in terms of rules. I’ve learned rules along the way of what is supposed to be the standard.
“I have tried to learn from all of my experiences. Whether it was at RealGM as a young writer, or whether it was at Yahoo Sports working at The Vertical with that great team. And then working at Stadium and The Athletic for six years. I learned so much from all of those experiences. I wouldn’t be the generalist that I am today if it wasn’t for the last six years at The Athletic. Now that I am at ESPN, I am just five months in. So I feel like I’m just getting started.”
Ourand then asked Charania whether he sets any kind of boundaries to maintain any semblance of work-life balance in such a hectic, nonstop profession.
“No, no boundaries. I’m all in,” said Charania.
“No boundaries… That’s why you are good at what you do,” replied Ourand.
Maybe Charania’s tune will change in the coming years as he continues to grind away as ESPN’s lead NBA insider. But for the time being, he is clearly still as hungry as ever to improve at his craft every day.
