Popular NBA writer and podcaster Zach Lowe is joining The Ringer after a six-month hiatus from covering hoops.
Lowe was part of a surprise wave of layoffs at ESPN last fall alongside Robert Griffin III and Sam Ponder, but now finds a new home with his old boss, Bill Simmons. The Ringer founder gave Lowe his first big shot back in 2011 at Grantland.
Since that time, Lowe grew into the premier NBA analyst online and one of the biggest podcasters at the Worldwide Leader. Lowe will write and podcast for The Ringer and Spotify, Simmons announced Sunday night on his podcast.
“Obviously, Zach is one of the best people I’ve ever worked with,” Simmons said, “and I was really hoping at some point in life we would get to work together again. So it’s happening.”
Lowe’s new Ringer podcast will launch next week, and Simmons has already teased an NBA awards column before the end of the regular season.
Hoops fans have suffered without Lowe’s coverage during a season that saw young superstar Luka Dončić traded to the Los Angeles Lakers and, most recently, the surprise dismissal of Memphis Grizzlies mainstay Taylor Jenkins.
But just in time for the busiest part of the NBA calendar, he’s back.
One would imagine Lowe’s deal with The Ringer mimics that of Todd McShay, the former ESPN NFL Draft analyst who joined the audio and video network last year. McShay launched a podcast and YouTube channel with regular live streams, then a newsletter in February. By acting as a distribution platform and production studio — rather than a digital magazine as it was at its inception — The Ringer can compete for top talent the way that iHeartMedia and SiriusXM do.
It’s also likely easier for The Ringer to attract sports media stars like Zach Lowe with Simmons locked in. The Sports Guy was headed toward free agency in March before extending with Spotify earlier this year.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.