ESPN insider Shams Charania is known for breaking big stories, but his latest scoop has some NBA fans and broadcast partners fuming. On Sunday morning, Charania dropped a bombshell: Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been voted the NBA's Most Valuable Player for the second straight season.
“Multiple sources tell me this morning that Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been voted as the NBA’s most valuable player,” Charania posted on X. “This means he’s won back-to-back MVP awards.”
The news itself wasn't a shock to many, but the timing was. The official MVP announcement was scheduled for Sunday evening on Amazon Prime, part of a coordinated rollout by the league and its broadcast partner. Charania's early leak — some suspect a scheduling mix-up between 7:30 AM and 7:30 PM — effectively spoiled the surprise for fans and undercut Prime Video's exclusive reveal.
“We all knew he was winning but why couldn’t we just wait for the official announcement tonight out of respect?” one fan wrote on social media. Another added, “NBA and Prime not happy with Shams Charania after he ruined their scheduled MVP announcement tonight.”
Speculation ran wild that Charania may have confused AM with PM when scheduling his post. “It was supposed to be announced today at 7:30 PM EST, but instead he tweeted it at 7:30 AM EST,” one observer noted. “This is why 24h clock is better than 12h one.”
This isn't the first time Charania has jumped the gun on a major NBA award. Last year, he leaked the MVP winner ahead of the official ceremony as well, drawing similar criticism. The pattern has led some to question whether insiders like Charania are undermining the league's carefully planned award shows.
Still, not everyone is piling on. Some defend Charania, arguing that newsbreakers are paid to break news, not hold it for TV specials. “He's doing his job,” one supporter wrote. “If the league wanted a tight lid, they'd keep the vote secret until the broadcast.”
The debate echoes similar tensions in the WNBA, where reporters have felt sidelined by the rise of high-profile NBA insiders snagging cross-league scoops. But for now, the focus remains on whether Charania's early reveal hurt the league's partnership with Amazon Prime.
Gilgeous-Alexander's back-to-back MVP honors cement his status as one of the league's elite players, leading the Thunder to the top of the Western Conference. The official ceremony will still take place, but for many fans, the magic of a live announcement has already been lost.
As the dust settles, one thing is clear: in the age of instant news, the line between breaking a story and spoiling a moment has never been thinner.
