Only three months ago, Michael Wilbon was publicly telling Stephen A. Smith that he’s no longer a journalist because he doesn’t “go to practice.” Now, it’s Wilbon who is stepping away.
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The 67-year-old announced on Monday that he is taking an indefinite leave from ESPN after months of health problems, and he was candid about it.
“This isn’t retirement, but it is a trip to the injured list,” Wilbon wrote. “Hopefully not an extended one.”
He said “struggles with multiple health issues in recent months” are behind the decision, and it covers both Pardon the Interruption and his NBA duties on ESPN and ABC. He also admitted he should have acted sooner.
“Probably, I should have listened to medical professionals and people closest to me, yep Kornheiser included, who saw worrisome signs in recent years that suggested I take time away earlier. But I didn’t,” he wrote.
Wilbon also shut down any speculation. He said the struggles are “all health related, not to alcohol” and not to gambling, though he joked that he is not swearing off the occasional Kir Royale. A friend’s line, he added, captured it best: “the bill has come due.”
Wilbon and Smith go back about 30 years. They first crossed paths on press row, when Smith was covering the NBA for the Philadelphia Inquirer and Wilbon was a columnist at the Washington Post. Years later, they shared ESPN’s NBA desk, including on NBA Countdown, until Smith stepped away from the show last season.
It is because of this history that their public back-and-forth over the summer stood out. In August, Wilbon told the Awful Announcing Podcast that Smith isn’t a journalist anymore. “You’ve got to go to practice. You’ve got to show up. That’s journalism,” he said. But he made clear it wasn’t personal, calling Smith “like a little brother to me.”
Smith responded on his SiriusXM show and largely agreed. “Michael Wilbon’s right. I’m not a journalist anymore per se in terms of my daily responsibilities and duties,” he said, calling Wilbon “a dear friend.” Whatever the disagreement, it was between two people who clearly respect each other.
Smith has not commented on Wilbon’s leave publicly, but given their history, a response won’t come as a surprise.
Wilbon made clear that his heart is with PTI and his longtime partner.
“I have loved sparring and hosting PTI with Tony every single day these past 25 years,” Wilbon said. “The goal is to come out of it feeling much better than I do now and ready to return to sparring with Tony.”
PTI debuted on October 22, 2001, and Wilbon has been in the chair beside Kornheiser from the start. He wrote that he is grateful for the support and encouragement of his colleagues as he takes time away “to concentrate on me, specifically on my well-being.”
ESPN has not announced who will fill in for him. Nor is it clear how long the leave will last, and Wilbon himself said he has “no idea exactly how this part of my journey will wind up.”
His timing also stands out because he and Kornheiser are due to receive Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism in early 2027. A reminder of how much of ESPN’s identity the pair have built.
It is also the latest in a run of NBA broadcasters stepping back for health reasons. Just days earlier, Ernie Johnson revealed that he plans to leave Inside the NBA as he deals with heart issues of his own.
For now, the focus for PTI fans is the one Wilbon named: getting well and getting back to Kornheiser.