Adrian Wojnarowski diagnosed with cancer before sudden ESPN retirement

NEW YORK — Former ESPN reporter Adrian “Woj” Wojnarowski revealed on Thursday he was diagnosed with prostate cancer several months before his sudden retirement from the network.

Wonjarowski, ESPN’s resident NBA insider, quit the high-paying job in September to become the general manager of the men’s basketball team at his alma mater, St. Bonaventure, in southwestern New York.

“Time isn’t in endless supply and I want to spend mine in ways that are more personally meaningful,” he wrote in his retirement announcement at the time.

On Thursday, he confirmed that statement was a reference to his health.

“That was about the cancer,” Wojnarowski told Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix.

He said he learned of his diagnosis just before an episode of “NBA Countdown” in early March after undergoing rounds of blood tests, an MRI and a biopsy.

The 55-year-old said the situation has given him clarity on the bigger picture of life and how he intends to live his remaining years.

“I didn’t want to spend one more day of my life waiting on someone’s MRI or hitting an agent at 1 a.m. about an ankle sprain,” Wonjarowski said.

He added that the death of longtime ESPN NFL reporter Chris Mortensen in March — and the lack of ESPN colleagues who attended his Arkansas funeral — furthered his belief that there was more to life than breaking NBA news at all hours of the day.

“It made me remember that the job isn’t everything,” he told Sports Illustrated. “In the end it’s just going to be your family and close friends. … Nobody remembers [who broke a story first] in the end. It’s just vapor.”

Wojnarowski said his prognosis is good and that he’s currently symptom-free.

“When you hear cancer, you think about it going through your body like Pac-Man,” he said. “Prostate cancer, it generally stays confined to your prostate and is typically slow growing.”