How Shams Charania's top ESPN job has impacted his personal life: ‘Had to walk out on dates'

New York Post

3 days ago

ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania painted a bleak picture about what it's like to have a job that's 24/7.
While discussing work/life balance with fellow ESPNers — reporter Jeremy Schaap, MLB insider Jeff Passan and NFL insider Adam Schefter — Charania explained that his social life has suffered significantly due to his career.
'I've had to walk out on dates, like I've had to walk out on a lot of social events,' Charania said during ESPN's 'The Sports Reporters' on Thursday. 'My friends don't really like me. That's why it's very hard to have a consistent relationship because you know the time that requires and you know the time that they deserve, rightfully. And there are just moments where I'm just always going to choose this as of right now.'
Charania was the only one in the conversation who isn't married with children.
'Shams, I try to find balance, I do my very best,' Passan said. 'And I have kids, it becomes different at that point. I hope for your sake that you can find that at some point too because as obsessive as we have to be, there needs to be something else … whether you find that something else in kids or otherwise, you gotta find it because this job will kill you.'
3 ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania painted a bleak picture about what it's like to have a job that's 24/7.
YouTube/ESPN
Schefter added, 'I relish those moments when the phone is not ringing and we're sitting around enjoying peaceful moments and I can get through a show or streaming without being interrupted.'
Charania explained that one way he's able to 'get away' and unplug — to an extent — is by spending time with his family.
3 Shams Charania during the 2025 NBA Draft, round two, on June 26, 2025 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
NBAE via Getty Images
'My whole family is in Chicago and I'm in Chicago,' he said. 'We're all in very close proximity. It's the little things.'
He admitted that he's 'not fully present' during family activities, such as pickleball and mini golf — and recalled lasting 10 minutes during a pickleball game before the start of NBA free agency.
'I was just literally pacing on the field for … 50 or 60 minutes, because that's just what it is,' Charania said. '… My family is gracious enough where as long as I'm in their presence, they don't make me feel bad and I think having those types of people around me allows me to keep going.'
Charania began working as an insider in his early college days.
3 Shams Charania on his phone during the 2025 NBA Draft on June 26, 2025 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
NBAE via Getty Images
While his friends were partying and going out, Charania was attending various events and glued to his phone and computer.
What was once a dream of playing in the NBA turned into a passion for reporting and hustling behind the scenes to break the biggest news stories around the league.
During an interview with The Post in 2022, Charania explained that he wasn't interested in starting a family because his mind was consumed by work.
'Not right now,' he said at the time. 'I live such a crazy schedule. I'm 24/7/365. It would definitely take the right person. I have colleagues at The Athletic and Stadium [his employer at the time] who have spouses and I don't get how they do it.
'I look at myself now, and I can't even imagine having a wife or child. I barely have time for myself! I'm sure, one day, my priorities might change, but right now it's work, work, work, family, work, work. That's what consumes my mind.'