Charles Barkley chides Shams Charania over MVP report: ‘[Prime Video] deserved an exclusive’

Charles Barkley joined the Worldwide Leader at the perfect time, as ESPN-on-ESPN crime has become commonplace, and if there’s anyone who doesn’t have an issue taking shots at those he works with, it’s Sir Charles.

The Inside the NBA analyst admitted recently that he wasn’t a fan of ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania breaking the news that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had won a second straight NBA MVP before it was officially announced.

“I like him a lot, but I didn’t like that leaking,” Barkley said on the SI Media podcast with Jimmy Traina. “(Amazon) paid $2.5 billion for the next 11 years. I think they deserved an exclusive. 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.”

The MVP announcement was scheduled for the evening of Sunday, May 17, during Amazon’s Prime Video studio show, but Charania scooped them at 9:00 a.m.

Barkley isn’t the only person unhappywith the newsbreaker breaking news. The Prime Video show took him to task, with Blake Griffin telling him to go enjoy the weekend, saying, “Go to brunch, you nerd. Come on!”

“Let’s say hello to our senior insider, Shams Charania, who joins us fresh off brunch…” https://t.co/ve5GnM20VEpic.twitter.com/EJVS8FWQyk

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 18, 2026

For his part, Charania defended the decision, saying he was surprised it was even a discussion.

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