As the first night of the NBA Draft was taking place from Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., basketball fans were awaiting to see which players would be selected in the lottery round. The NBA Draft was broadcast on ABC and ESPN live, showcasing highlights, analysis and breakdowns of the selections. Akin to other years in the draft though, ESPN senior NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski was posting the selections before they were made.
Additionally, The Athletic senior NBA insider Shams Charania was doing the same thing on social media while also taking part in the Inside the Association Draft special for Stadium. Brett Kane voiced his displeasure towards the paradigm that has been established during Thursday morning’s edition of Moser, Lombardi and Kane on Altitude Sports Radio.
Kane acknowledged that the show had discussed ESPN during its coverage of the NBA Playoffs and Stanley Cup Playoffs, conveying that it has taken “a giant step downward” for reasons he does not know. As he divulged his tradition of watching the first round of the NFL Draft regardless of if his team is picking, he found it more difficult to do for the NBA on Wednesday night.
The NBA Draft is being broadcast over a two-day span for the first time in history, and Kane believes it is an event made for television. This led him to wonder why Wojnarowski posts the selections shortly in advance, something that can potentially take away the intrigue of hearing the announcement in real time.
“I can tell you exactly why,” co-host Vic Lombardi said. “…Because Shams is.”
Wojnarowski and Charania used to work together at Yahoo Sports on its basketball platform, “The Vertical.” Since they have parted ways from the brand and moved to new outlets, there have been perceptions of a rivalry between the two NBA insiders. In fact, there are even trackers to determine how quickly they posted draft picks in advance of their announcements. This rivalry is also of frequent interest surrounding free agency and the trading deadline and has been acknowledged by Klutch Sports Group founder Rich Paul as being “good for basketball.”
Although Lombardi believed the more salient question pertained to the difference in production on ESPN for the NBA Draft as compared to the NFL Draft, he agreed with Kane that it can be annoying to have the picks revealed ahead of time.
“It’s supposed to be a television show,” Lombardi said. “Part of the allure of a television show is not knowing the results until they happen. It would be like watching The Sopranos and you’ve got Shams tweeting you, ‘Oh, Uncle Junior’s going to get Chris here.’”
Kane concurred with this sentiment, emphasizing that it would be similar to watching the Oscar Awards and finding out who won before the fact. Lombardi articulated that the reason Wojnarowski reveals this information is because Charania does it. The rationale for Charania doing it, co-host Marc Moser presumed, was that “they don’t have the Draft,” although the subject was not defined within that assertion.
“Their little battle; their little war that they’ve been waging for years, they can’t calm down,” Lombardi said. “Just guys, go to your corners and calm down for one night.”
Lombardi concluded that the news being shared during the NBA Draft represents a battle between Wojnarowski and Charania. Kane believes that it does not benefit anyone else but them and questioned earlier in the segment if he needs to stay off his phone because of the newsbreaking.
“You can wait an extra minute,” Kane said. “Wait for it to actually be announced on television, and then send it out or whatever.”
