Zach Lowe, ESPN’s foremost NBA expert, has been laid off, according to The Athletic on Thursday.
It’s a stunning move, with Lowe seen as one of the most respected NBA media members.
Lowe, who started at ESPN in 2012 as a writer at Grantland under Bill Simmons, began covering the NBA full-time in 2010 at Sports Illustrated. He was one of just two writers to migrate over to ESPN after Grantland’s shutdown in 2015.
“Zach Lowe is a senior writer for ESPN.com covering the ins-and-outs of the NBA — the transactions, Xs-and-Os, and personal stories,” ESPN’s biography says.
Lowe has transitioned in recent years to making weekly TV appearances, including on NBA Today and NBA Countdown. He also has one of the most informative podcasts in the entire league, The Lowe Post, and writes for ESPN.com.
He was reportedly making more than $1 million, and was the “biggest factor in ESPN’s decision, according to sources who spoke to The Athletic.
Lowe just Wednesday posted links on his X account to his latest episode of The Lowe Post.
He joins Adrian Wojnarowski as big NBA talent losses for ESPN, less than one month from the season opener.
Speculation quickly turned to where Lowe would land, with Simmons’ The Ringer a popular assumption.
According to Lowe’s bio on ESPN, he started as a journalist in 2004, covering crime and courts for the Stamford Advocate newspaper in Stamford, Conn. He also covered the legal industry for monthly legal magazine, The American Lawyer, before transitioning into sports.
Lowe graduated from the Ivy League’s Dartmouth and lives in New York.
We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. USA TODAY Network newsrooms operate independently, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Zach Lowe laid off by ESPN in stunning move