Count ESPN media personality and “First Take” host Stephen A. Smith among those who believed that fellow reporter Shams Charania was simply doing his job when he broke the news that Oklahoma City guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander won his second straight NBA MVP award.
Stephen A. Smith Defends Shams Charania’s NBA MVP Scoop
At 9 a.m. ET on Sunday, May 17, Charania reported that Gilgeous-Alexander won his second MVP award, beating Nikola Jokic and Victor Wembanyama, hours before the scheduled MVP announcement on Amazon’s Prime Video studio show.
“Inside the NBA” analyst and former NBA MVP Charles Barkley shared his take on Charania’s scoop about the 2026 NBA MVP voting on the “SI Media” podcast with Jimmy Traina, saying he was not a fan of leaks that could have revealed the most important individual result this season.
“(Amazon) paid $2.5 billion for the next 11 years. I think they deserved an exclusive,” Barkley told Traina. “I think the NBA should be embarrassed that that got out… You know, you can’t charge these networks that much money and then don’t give them some exclusives on some things. I mean, I just think that’s unfair.”
Weighing in on the matter, Smith shared his take on Charania’s actions, saying it is exactly his job to scoop any NBA news as soon as possible. He also clarified that the reporter is not affiliated with Amazon or the NBA and urged everyone to stop sharing negative opinions about the reporter.
“What if he hadn’t done it and someone else did before the broadcast. Would anyone be in front of his honchos imploring them to give @ShamsCharania a pass because he got scooped? Leave that man alone. Shams did his job,” Smith wrote.
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Smith, who worked as an NBA beat writer early in his journalism career, wrote the post in support of the opinion expressed by The Atlantic contributor Jemele Hill.
Hill said Barkley’s statement about Charania’s scoop on the MVP result was incorrect. She clarified that the reporter does not work for Amazon and is duty-bound to disseminate the information as soon as possible.
“I hate that the lines in journalism have become so blurred that people truly don’t recognize what the role of a journalist actually is,” Hill posted.
Many sports figures and NBA personalities have expressed their opinions on the matter. Some have supported Charania for reporting this before the official announcement, and as Smith and Hill said, he was only doing what his job description says.
Meanwhile, other individuals have aired negative opinions about Charania’s actions, with NBA veteran Blake Griffin using choice words about the reporter.
Charania also reacted to the responses, saying he is really stunned that the leak was even a topic of discussion, given the proliferation of social media in sports reporting.
