Top NBA reporter Shams Charania sits down with Rich Kleiman to discuss his journey in sports journalism and why he believes he has the best job in the world. For the biggest NBA trade stories of the past decade, a tweet from Charania is often central to the memory.
Since being hired by Adrian Wojnarowski to work at Yahoo! Sports in 2015, Charania has become one of the most trusted voices in the industry. He broke stories like Kyrie Irving's trade to Boston, Dwight Howard's move to Atlanta, and DeMar DeRozan staying in Toronto. After making his name at Yahoo!, he moved to The Athletic, expanding his reach beyond the NBA to even scoop the NFL draft.
In the interview, Charania reveals how a basketball-crazed kid from Chicago, who dreamed of playing professionally, turned to media after being cut from his high school team. He details the grind of tracking minor signings and contracts to build his reputation. "My hands were just shaking as if I broke Luka being traded to the Lakers," he recalls of his first breaks.
Charania also opens up about the dynamic of competing with his former mentor, Wojnarowski, acknowledging the "natural competitiveness" that arose after they worked together for over two years. The exclusive conversation is available across Boardroom and Yahoo Sports platforms.