Shams Charania fuels ESPN-TNT tension by scooping NBA MVP announcement
Shams Charania fuels ESPN-TNT tension by scooping NBA MVP announcement
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After weeks of anticipation, basketball fans finally learned which player would win the 2025 NBA Most Valuable Player. But it was all very strange.
While it took quite a long time for the league to finally reveal which player would win MVP, the official announcement was scheduled for pregame coverage before Game 1 between the Knicks and Pacers during the Eastern Conference Finals on Wednesday evening on TNT.
Instead, several hours before the anticipated broadcast, ESPN's Shams Charania tweeted out that Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander would beat Denver's Nikola Jokic for the award.
Breaking: Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has won the NBA MVP award, sources tell ESPN. — Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) May 21, 2025
More: Kenny Smith 'disheartened' by Inside the NBA contract negotiation with ESPN
This is the final year of TNT's broadcasting rights with the NBA and the MVP announcement was one last hurrah.
Instead, all of the pomp and circumstance was removed with a social media post in the middle of the afternoon on Wednesday. Now, TNT's panel is going to have to have the awkward moment of pretending like their announcement is some big surprise even though it's already out in the public.
Fans shared their thoughts about this decision from Charania:
Shams' reputation doesn't benefit from scooping the MVP announcement from the league/TNT
Nobody in the world benefits from knowing three hours earlier
Biblical levels of greed at the cost of the fan experience and the league's marketing — Kris Pursiainen (@krispursiainen) May 21, 2025
Shams is incredibly weird for that. — TF (@ThunderFocus) May 21, 2025
Shams (ESPN) just destroying TNT's coverage tonight. https://t.co/4fZELiY5wt — Zach Rosen (@ZacharySRosen) May 21, 2025
Call me lame, but I find it very annoying that Shams announced SGA won the MVP award four hours before everyone would've tuned into TNT to hear their crew announce who won. — MFFL NATION (@NationMffl) May 21, 2025
The official NBA account hasn't officially posted about Shai winning MVP. That's because TNT was supposed to announce it tonight.
Shams going into business for himself https://t.co/hh3zGAlThi — Mike Cruz (@13MikeCruz) May 21, 2025
We knew it was coming but why did Shams tweet Shai MVP instead of just waiting for the formal reveal on TNT tonight — Milos Gasic (@MilosGasic) May 21, 2025
Why's this coming out at 3:50pm in the middle of the conference finals tho 😭 https://t.co/jmD0cqOWO6 — Noa Dalzell 🏀 (@NoaDalzell) May 21, 2025
Nothing against Shams of course, but is it just me, or is announcing the MVP of the league at 3:50 on a random Wednesday in May an incredibly underwhelming way to do so?
Also: Jokic was robbed https://t.co/fmPAp3LQfq — Ryan Salvaggio (@ryan_salvaggio) May 21, 2025
Announcing MVP in the middle of the day instead of on TNT pic.twitter.com/nOHkoQMKWm https://t.co/Vc8pxo3d7S — Smiley (@30GotNext) May 21, 2025
Usually, it would make sense that a network like ESPN would want the rights to the announcement before a rival like TNT could have a chance to have the entire spotlight.
But with Inside the NBA beginning its syndication from TNT to ESPN next season, one might expect the two sides to reach a more amenable relationship.
More: Inside the NBA has been saved as Warner Bros. Discovery and Disney reportedly reach license deal
Instead, as noted by TNT's Kenny Smith, it's currently shaping up to have the opposite trajectory.
Charania only added more fuel to the fire with his decision to scoop the announcement this afternoon.
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