Amazon Prime's NBA broadcast team expressed frustration with ESPN insider Shams Charania for reporting the winner of this year's Most Valuable Player award hours before the scheduled official announcement. Charania broke the news on Sunday morning that Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had been named the NBA's MVP for a second consecutive season, edging out Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs and Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets.
Charania's Early Report Sparks Tension
The basketball insider, citing multiple sources, posted the information on X at 9:50 a.m. ET, approximately 30 minutes before ESPN published a full news story based on his report. This left the NBA on Prime Video team in an awkward position, as they were scheduled to officially announce the award at 7:45 p.m. that evening.
During the broadcast, host Taylor Rooks could not resist taking a subtle jab at Charania. Before eight-time All-Star Steve Nash announced the winner, Rooks remarked, 'Just to be clear, the official announcement is happening here. Dirk (Nowitzki) and Steve, you both won MVPs, but I don't remember Shams spoiling it back then.' The comment drew laughter from the panel.
Nash responded with a smile, saying, 'Shots fired...' Then six-time All-Star Blake Griffin delivered the most pointed criticism, stating, 'What are we doing, man? It's Sunday, Shams. Go to brunch, nerd. Come on!'
Defense for Charania
Royce Young, a former ESPN reporter now working for the Thunder's front office, came to Charania's defense amid the backlash. 'Don't blame Shams,' Young wrote on X. 'Blame whoever told him.'
Charania, who previously worked as a senior NBA writer for The Athletic before joining ESPN in 2024, has established himself as a leading insider in the league over the past two years.
Historic MVP Achievement
Gilgeous-Alexander's victory places him among elite company, as he becomes the 18th player to win at least two MVP awards and the 14th to achieve back-to-back wins. The Canadian's triumph also marks the eighth consecutive year that the MVP has been born outside the United States, a streak that began with Giannis Antetokounmpo (born in Greece) in 2019 and 2020, followed by Nikola Jokic (Serbia) in 2021 and 2022, Joel Embiid (born in Cameroon, now a U.S. citizen) in 2023, and Jokic again in 2024.
