It’s summertime, which means the NBA media carousel is starting to turn. The latest move comes at The Athletic, where longtime Los Angeles Lakers beat reporter Jovan Buha announced his departure on Friday after seven years with the outlet.
Friday morning on X, Buha posted a farewell note while explaining that he will continue to cover the Lakers independently through his podcast, Buha’s Block.
“It’s hard to put into words how much this place has meant to me,” wrote Buha, who was hired before the New York Times Co. purchased the outlet and covered the team for The Athletic from the acquisition of LeBron James in 2018 through to a championship in 2020 and the Luka Doncic trade this past season.
“I was fortunate to join The Athletic in its early days and to help build something truly special alongside some of the most talented people in sports journalism. I’ve grown immensely — as a reporter, a writer, and a person — and I’m deeply grateful.”
Buha’s exit is the second major loss for The Athletic since the start of the summer. Last week, Front Office Sports reported that Golden State Warriors reporter Anthony Slater will move to ESPN.
The Athletic has altered its strategy some since the NYT Co. acquisition in 2021. Some markets are serviced by a regional reporter or, in other cases, one reporter who covers multiple local teams. But with vacancies on the Warriors and Lakers beats, The Athletic is almost sure to be looking for big hires this summer for its NBA vertical.
As for Buha, he noted he will have further news about his professional future later this summer.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.