Former ESPN NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski left an impact on the basketball media space that very few can rival, serving as the undisputed top NBA insider at the network throughout his tenure from 2017 to September of 2024. And even though his time in the media is done, Wojnarowski is still receiving credit for his lasting legacy.
Back in February, it was announced that Wojnarowski would receive the Curt Gowdy Insight Award at the 2025 Curt Gowdy Awards, which is set to be held on Friday, as part of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Enshrinement Weekend.
Ahead of the ceremony on Friday, Wojnarowski’s successor at ESPN, Shams Charania, took to social media to congratulate the man whom he has long referred to as a mentor to him in the basketball media space.
Huge congrats to @wojespn on the Curt Gowdy Hall of Fame award. You set the example and raised the bar for everyone. I will always cherish our time working together. It was truly an honor learning from you, and all of your advice is appreciated to this day. pic.twitter.com/90CzgeCkuR
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) September 4, 2025
While the two have long been pitted by basketball fans as rivals, it sure seems like that couldn’t be further from the truth. Wojnarowski did famously bring Charania into Yahoo Sports before departing for ESPN in 2017. And it sure seems as if Wojnarowski helped shape Charania into the insider that he is today.
As great as Charania is at what he does in being first to breaking news, Wojnarowski served as the gold standard that Charania and others continue to chase to this day in reporting on breaking news around the NBA.
Wojnarowski appears content in his role at his alma mater, St. Bonaventure, as the general manager of the Men’s basketball program. So chances are, we will never see him reporting on the NBA on a regular basis again.
But given his lasting impact on the basketball media space, it’s hard to argue that Wojnarowski isn’t at least equally as deserving, if not more so, than all of the other media members to have ever been received a Curt Gowdy Award before him.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.