Sports

Adrian Wojnarowski reveals he was diagnosed with prostate cancer in March

Published

2 weeks ago

December 5, 2024

Admin

Adrian Wojnarowski reveals he was diagnosed with prostate cancer in March

College Basketball: St. Bonaventure General Manager Adrian Wojnarowski in action during a photo shoot at the Reilly Center. Olean, NY 11/4/2024 (Photo by Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)

Former ESPN NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski revealed in a Sports Illustrated profile that he was diagnosed with prostate cancer in March, months before his stunning retirement.

A line in Wojnarowski’s goodbye statement in September read, “Time isn’t in endless supply.” As he told SI’s Chris Mannix, that was regarding his cancer diagnosis.

Wojnarowski underwent a physical in February and blood tests revealed his prostate-specific antigen (PSA) was elevated. An MRI did not reveal anything and a second PSA test remained high. A biopsy was ordered and in March it revealed early-stage cancer.

According to Mannix, Wojnarowski learned of the news just before doing a hit on ESPN’s “NBA Countdown.”

ESPN later hired Wojnarowski’s former colleague at Yahoo Sports, Shams Charania, as its new NBA insider.

Fortunately, Wojnarowski has a good prognosis and he currently does not have any symptoms.

“When you hear cancer, you think about it going through your body like Pac-Man,” Woj said. “Prostate cancer, it generally stays confined to your prostate and is typically slow growing.”

Regular monitoring and quarterly checkups are in order for Wojnarowski, who was also told by doctors to improve his health by eating better, exercising more and getting better sleep.

While the cancer diagnosis was a shock, it was not the reason why Wojnarowski announced his sudden retirement from being a NBA reporter to become the general manager of the men’s basketball team at St. Bonaventure, where he graduated in 1991. He had grown tired of waiting for news on an injured player and contacting agents late in the night.

When he attended the May funeral of longtime ESPN NFL insider Chris Mortensen, Wojnarowski said it made him realize that there’s more to life than being the go-to source for NBA news.

“It made me remember that the job isn’t everything,” Wojnarowski said. “In the end it’s just going to be your family and close friends. And it’s also, like, nobody gives a s—t. Nobody remembers [breaking stories] in the end. It’s just vapor.”