Sudanese-American ESPN radio host, NBA analyst, and commentator Amin Elhassan, alongside American journalist, sportswriter, podcaster, and television host Pablo Torre and former sports executive David Samson, won the 2026 Pulitzer Prize for Audio Reporting for their work on the podcast Pablo Torre Finds Out.
Announced on 4 May 2026 by the Pulitzer Prize Board, the award recognised their deep investigative reporting into the sports industry. During an appearance on The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz, Elhassan spoke about receiving a call from Torre about winning the 2026 Pulitzer Prize for Audio Reporting, admitting that he initially did not believe it.
Amin Elhassan couldn't believe he won a Pulitzer Prize pic.twitter.com/EEUOZxIk29
— Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz (@LeBatardShow) May 5, 2026
The annual Pulitzer Prize for Audio Reporting honours a distinguished example of audio journalism that serves the public interest through revelatory reporting and illuminating storytelling. The award carries a prize of $15,000. The category was introduced in 2020 and has been awarded every year since.
According to The Pulitzer Prizes website, the Staff of Pablo Torre Finds Out has received the award for a pioneering and entertaining form of live podcast journalism that investigated how the Los Angeles Clippers seemingly evaded the NBA’s salary cap rules by funnelling money to a star player through an environmental startup. pulitzer.org/prize-winners-by-category
Since launching Pablo Torre Finds Out nearly three years ago, Torre has built a strong reputation as an investigative journalist. In September 2025, he broke a major story backed by hundreds of pages of internal documents, extensive reporting, and interviews with individuals connected to the case. Torre revealed that billionaire Steve Ballmer had allegedly paid star player Kawhi Leonard $28 million through what was described as a no-show job arrangement. Subsequent episodes expanded the investigation to include Leonard’s uncle and additional evidence surrounding the alleged payments.
The story dominated the sports world and prompted an ongoing NBA investigation into whether the payments amounted to the National Basketball Association salary cap being circumvented.
As a contributor to the show, Amin Elhassan became the first Sudanese person to receive a Pulitzer Prize, widely regarded as the highest honour in journalism in the US and one of the most prestigious awards in the world.
He is an NBA analyst and commentator for Meadowlark Media, appearing on Pablo Torre Finds Out and The Dan Le Batard Show, while also contributing to SiriusXM Radio. He is also a podcaster and co-founder of Count the Dings, home to podcasts such as Basketball Illuminati and Cinephobe.
Beyond sports media, Elhassan is known for producing and directing documentaries including My Sister, Sara, Americano, and Memes & Nightmares. He is also the older brother of Sudanese-American activist Sara Elhassan. In My Sister, Sara, the siblings engage in candid conversations about survivor’s guilt, youth movements, and the role of women in the Sudanese revolution. Sara was among the young grassroots activists who used social media to help keep the world informed and mobilise international support for the Sudanese people during the revolution.
Elhassan joined ESPN in 2012 as an NBA analyst and commentator after spending a decade working in the NBA with the Atlanta Hawks, New York Knicks, and Phoenix Suns. During his time in the league, he worked alongside basketball figures such as Steve Kerr, Shaquille O’Neal, Grant Hill, Steve Nash, and Isiah Thomas.
He later became a regular analyst and host on ESPN’s Emmy-nominated NBA show The Jump, while also contributing to programmes including Highly Questionable, The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz, and Jalen & Jacoby. In 2018, Elhassan helped launch the Count the Dings podcast network, which later sold its basketball content to The Athletic in 2019.
