NBA insider Shams Charania has chosen to re-sign with The Athletic instead of hitting the free-agent market. It was reported earlier in August that Charania’s contracts with The Athletic and Stadium were up at the end of the month, and Charania told Complex Sports on Monday night that he’s staying with The Athletic.
“I’m thrilled to be staying and look forward to continue growing with a company that is still so hungry and motivated,” Charania told us.
The 26-year-old “declined comment about his future with Stadium,” according to Complex Sports.
Charania left Yahoo! Sports to join The Athletic and Stadium in August 2018. ESPN and Turner Sports reportedly had interest in Charania in 2018, and they were expected to be among the many outlets targeting his services if he became a free agent this time around.
According to Sports Illustrated’s Sam Amico last week, Charania has been seeking a “bigger television presence,” which would certainly make ESPN and Turner Sports appealing on the surface. Additionally, working at ESPN would reunite Charania with his former Yahoo — The Vertical — colleague and mentor, Adrian Wojnarowski.
But Charania is clearly happy at The Athletic, at least on the writing side of things. It is believed that Charania’s focus and role as the lead insider/writer at The Athletic will remain the same, continuing collaboration with The Athletic staff (national and local writers), led by NBA editor Sergio Gonzalez.
It will be interesting to see if the young star re-ups with Stadium as well, or if he finds a new outlet to do video and television reporting.
