After Shams Charania broke the stunning news that the Los Angeles Lakers had acquired Luka Dončić in a blockbuster trade with the Dallas Mavericks, Pat McAfee took a victory lap on behalf of the ESPN insider. However, it’s unclear exactly who McAfee’s victory lap is aimed at. In setting up Monday’s episode of The Pat McAfee Show, the former All-Pro punter highlighted the shocking deal, where the Lakers also sent 10-time All-Star Anthony Davis to Dallas. Teasing Charania’s appearance later in the show, McAfee threw the massive scoop back at the critics he claims Charania has within the ESPN family.
“Shams Charania comes into ESPN and he had haters behind the scenes who didn’t think he was supposed to be the senior insider,” McAfee remarked. “He drops a big ‘ol, ‘heh — suck it!’ Ninety-one million views on this tweet alone at this point. That’s going to be up over 100 million. You’re talking about maybe the biggest trade in the history of sports.”
While McAfee didn’t specify who he was referencing, it’s notable that many considered Charania to be the prime candidate to replace Adrian Wojnarowski at ESPN following the latter’s surprising retirement last fall. Later in the show, McAfee continued this theme when introducing Charania, saying, “Sham-y, how you doing? You peacocking around those ESPN studios? You know, some people probably had a question, ‘Why are we bringing in Shams Charania? It should be me. I’m not helping this guy out.’ But all you do is fire off a tweet a little after midnight that changed the trajectory of the entire NBA. Not just this season, but forever. Congrats, Shams. We’re proud of you buddy.”
Unlike many of McAfee’s thinly veiled — or sometimes overt — jabs at ESPN, it’s difficult to pinpoint exactly who he was targeting this time. Though the 37-year-old had publicly and privately encouraged ESPN to hire Charania after Woj’s exit, it seemed clear that it was just a matter of time before the former Yahoo Sports insider filled the void left by his mentor’s retirement. McAfee’s remark implying “it should be me” suggests he could be referring to an on-air talent. It’s worth noting that ESPN reportedly considered internal replacements for Wojnarowski, including talents like Jeff Passan and Adam Schefter, both of whom are regular guests on The Pat McAfee Show, with Schefter even appearing on Monday.
Ultimately, while it’s still uncertain who precisely McAfee was alluding to, his repeated comments regarding Charania have certainly raised eyebrows both within Bristol and beyond.
