The Milwaukee Bucks camp has expressed displeasure with Shams Charania’s reporting, and now even NBA media members are taking issue with him, with Draymond Green delivering a scathing remark over the MVP news leak.
The ESPN reporter has risen to prominence since Adrian Wojnarowski, the longtime NBA insider, resigned. Charania has become one of the league’s top sources for trade and free-agency news.
Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks have reportedly taken offense to his reporting, saying his sources are not legitimate. However, Charania is not backing down. He continues to stand by his work, insisting he is only doing his job.
He may have overstepped on Sunday when he leaked the MVP winner hours before the NBA and its media partners were scheduled to officially announce it. Charania posted on X that Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was this season’s MVP winner. It was his second time winning the prestigious award after also claiming it last year.
Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images
NBA on Prime, one of the league’s media partners, was reportedly set to make the announcement, and its hosts were visibly annoyed by Charania’s post. Host Blake Griffin called the ESPN reporter a “nerd,” while Dirk Nowitzki referred to him as a “baby.”
Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green also weighed in on the controversy, directing his criticism toward the NBA. He said commissioner Adam Silver should take action over the situation.
“I think the NBA has to do something about that. Ultimately, you’re the NBA and you control the media. Yeah, Shams is an NBA reporter with ESPN, who is a partner of ESPN. To tweet at 6 AM who the NBA MVP is, it’s actually embarrassing. It makes our league look like we have no organization," Green said in his podcast.
"That was a little disappointing. There’s no way that can happen. Commissioner Silver has to do something. Come on, I thought it was pretty pathetic. The NBA has to do something. The MVP getting leaked at 6 in the morning can’t happen.”
Charania is aware of the backlash but just like his response with the Bucks' shades against him, he is not backing down. He said he is only doing his job.
“My job is to report the news. It's not gonna be the last time where I'm just gonna try to do my job to the best of my ability," he said during an appearance in ESPN show with Malika Andrews.
