Shams Charania defends breaking Shai Gilgeous-Alexander MVP news early

Shams Charania is hearing it again.

This time, it’s because the ESPN NBA insider reported that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had won his second straight MVP award before the league officially announced it in primetime.

And honestly? Charania doesn’t really see the controversy.

Speaking Monday on The Pat McAfee Show, Charania defended his decision to break the story after catching criticism from some fans and even members of Prime Video’s NBA studio crew.

“Part of me is like, what are we talking about here?” Charania said.

The criticism centered around timing. Some believed Charania should have waited and allowed the league’s TV partners to reveal the award during a planned broadcast moment.

Prime’s crew even jokingly told him to “Go to brunch, you nerd.”

Charania, though, made it clear he views the situation pretty simply: his job is to report news when he confirms it.

“When I get news, when I get information, if I’ve vetted it … my job is to report the news,” he said.

To be fair, that’s the reality of the insider business. Whether people like it or not, reporters such as Charania are paid (handsomely, in fact) to break stories first, not protect television reveals.

Of course, there’s another side to the debate.

Would the news have been handled differently if ESPN itself were planning a big on-air MVP announcement Sunday night? That’s where things get murkier, especially since similar tensions have popped up around NBA Draft coverage and televised pick reveals.

Either way, ESPN clearly enjoyed the back-and-forth.

When Charania appeared Monday on NBA Today, host Malika Andrews welcomed him by saying he was joining the show “fresh off brunch.”

Little jab. Little laugh. And probably not the last time this debate comes up.