NBA reporter Andrew Lopez announces his departure from ESPN

With the start of the 2024-25 NBA season just weeks away, changes are coming to the performance of ESPN’s Victor Wembanyama.

Speaking to X, NBA reporter Andrew Lopez revealed that Monday will be his last day with the network. Lopez said the decision to leave the global leader was his own and made an announcement about his future plans.

“This is my choice. More on that later,” he wrote. “Five years ago I was at a crossroads in my professional career. My newspaper was bought. It wasn’t clear what came next. ESPN took advantage and we had a great ride.

“As I said when I got the job, joining ESPN has been a dream of mine since I was 8 or 9 years old. It’s hard to move on from this, but I’m excited for what’s next… I’m forever grateful for everything I’ve done and been able to do with ESPN. Now there are new challenges, new opportunities and new dreams ahead of me. And I can’t wait.”

Personal news: pic.twitter.com/2z0r6npWQk

— Andrew Lopez (@_Andrew_Lopez) September 30, 2024

As Lopez indicated, he first joined ESPN in 2019 after being fired The Times-Picayune after merging with The New Orleans Lawyer. He was quickly hired by the Worldwide Leader to continue his coverage of the New Orleans Pelicans, who had just selected Zion Williamson with the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft.

Lopez covered the highs and lows of the first four seasons of Williamson’s NBA career while expanding his coverage to other teams throughout the league. Before the 2023/24 season, he moved from the Pelicans to a new league phenomenon in the form of Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs.

While it remains unclear what’s next for Lopez, it appears that ESPN already has plans to replace him. According to the New York PostThe broadcaster has rehired Ryan Glasspiegel, Michael C. Wright, who previously covered the NBA and NFL for ESPN, to cover the Spurs and their reigning Rookie of the Year.

[Andrew Lopez on X]