I didn’t agree with it. I certainly didn’t like it. But unlike most in the sports media space, I actually understood ESPN’s decision to lay off Zach Lowe last September.
That’s not to say I wasn’t surprised by it, especially with the start of the NBA season mere weeks away. And to reiterate, it’s not a move I would have made; like most, if I was running a sports network, Lowe would have been my No. 1 overall pick to helm my NBA coverage.
But upon learning of Lowe’s reported $1 million-plus salary at the Worldwide Leader, the move at least made sense, even if such a figure is effectively an accounting error for a multi-billion company like Disney. Still, every dollar counts, especially when it’s being allocated to someone who no longer fits your strategy.
As our Brendon Kleen wrote at the time, ESPN had already given up on smart NBA analysis long before parting ways with Lowe. Even before the network filled its airwaves with self-involved feuds and colleague-on-colleague crime, it had already shown a propensity for focusing its coverage on the league’s biggest stars, off-court drama, anything involving the Lakers and not much else.
Make no mistake, Lowe can do all of that, and as is the case with most of his coverage, he does it better than most. Diehard listeners of The Lowe Post and loyalists since his Grantland days (if not earlier), however, know that’s not when he’s at his best. Rather, it’s when he’s breaking down what makes Mike Conley Jr. unique, the nuances of Tristan Thompson’s contract extension, and the Utah Jazz’s trade deadline outlook.
It’s likely not an accident that Lowe’s X profile still links to his Grantland archive nearly a decade after ESPN pulled the plug on the beloved vertical. But the unfortunate reality is that these aren’t the type of angles that help fill hours of First Take or go viral on social media. And as such, an opinionated personality like Kendrick Perkins is much more valuable to ESPN’s strategy than someone like Lowe is in 2025.
The same, however, can’t be said for The Ringer.
Say what you will about Bill Simmons — and we’ve written plenty — but the Sports Guy obviously has an eye for talent. And not only that, but he actually lives up to the cliché of putting such talent in positions to succeed, accentuating their strengths regardless of what might be best for the “TikTok camera.”
It’s one of the biggest reasons why Simmons has proven to be one of the biggest life-after-ESPN success stories in the decade since his own departure from the Worldwide Leader. And while the ex-Page 2 columnist has become a polarizing figure as an NBA tastemaker, there’s also a reason why the overnight news that Lowe was reuniting with Simmons and joining The Ringer was met with such unanimous approval.
Bill Simmons welcoming Zach Lowe to The Ringer pic.twitter.com/hyifqKf8Vx
— The r/BillSimmons Podcast (@rBillSimmonsPod) March 31, 2025
While many of the details regarding Lowe’s role at The Ringer have yet to be made public, this much is clear: Simmons will let Lowe be Lowe. Sure, he’ll likely have to endure half-baked gimmicks like redrafting the 2024 NBA Draft just nine months after it happened and way too much Celtics talk. But by and large, Lowe will get the space and platform to reassume his rightful place as one of the most prominent members of the NBA media — doing so on his terms.
That’s music to the ears of the league’s fans, who have missed Lowe’s levelheaded coverage in the six months since he was let go. In fact, if there’s one thing everyone agreed on after the Luka Dončić trade (besides the belief the Mavericks are insane), it was the shared celebration of Lowe posting a rare emergency podcast to social media breaking it down.
Such occasions, however, will no longer be the exception and it’s worth noting that a YouTube page for The Zach Lowe Show is already up and running. With the NBA Playoffs just around the corner, one of the league’s most beloved media members will be rejoining the conversation, free to talk about the likes of the Oklahoma City Thunder and Cleveland Cavaliers without filling the quota of a bi-weekly LeBron vs. Jordan debate.
As disappointing as it was to see Lowe get laid off last fall, the reality is that it only confirmed what we already knew about ESPN’s priorities. And in landing at The Ringer, it would be tough to argue that his six-month hiatus wasn’t worth the wait, as he reunites with an employer who has already proven to value his skillset.
