Zach Lowe, a pioneer of analytical NBA writing and a mainstay of NBA coverage on ESPN, has been laid off, a person familiar with the move confirmed to The Washington Post.
Lowe had been at the network since he was hired by Bill Simmons to cover the league for Grantland, the now-defunct online magazine. He was part of a group of progressive-minded writers whose coverage focused on statistical analysis, and he was one of the first sportswriters to include detailed video breakdowns in his columns.
ESPN also laid off NFL commentators Robert Griffin III and Samantha Ponder in August. A person familiar with the deliberations said the company was scrutinizing expensive talent contracts ahead of the end of the fiscal year in September.
ESPN reached a new broadcast rights deal with the NBA this year that will pay the league $2.6 billion a year starting in the 2025-26 season.
The network declined to comment, as did Lowe. The Athletic first reported the news.
Lowe’s departure from ESPN comes just a week after star news-breaker Adrian Wojnarowski announced his retirement, meaning ESPN’s NBA coverage will look much different this season, on TV and online. Lowe was a regular panelist on the network’s daily studio show, “NBA Today,” and also hosted a popular podcast.
Lowe got his start in journalism covering courts for the Stamford Advocate before blogging about basketball on the side and turning that into a full-time career.
NBA media is in a state of flux at the moment, with Wojnarowski’s retirement to work for his alma mater St. Bonaventure, and two new networks, Amazon and NBC, set to begin lengthy broadcasting deals after this season. They will need to build out NBA coverage, as plenty of big-name NBA media reporters and commentators, in addition to Lowe, are potentially available.
Shams Charania, another star news-breaker, is set for free agency, and the cast of the venerable “Inside the NBA” studio show on TNT — including, possibly, Charles Barkley — could seek a new home.
