Fans got a little bit less of Shams Charania during this year’s NBA Draft.
The ESPN reporter Charania kept a relatively low profile during Tuesday’s Day 1 of the draft at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. Instead of spoiling picks before they were announced like he had in years past, Charania noticeably kept quiet as the first several picks of the draft were announced on the live television broadcast.
That led to everyone on social media asking the same thing. They were all wondering where Charania was and why he was not spoiling picks.
Shams not spoiling the picks? Am I dreaming?
—(@khlgrs) June 24, 2026
Shams not spoiling ?
— sill (@sillpilled) June 24, 2026
Shams really isn’t spoiling picks?
— Ethan (@SoftlyAugust) June 24, 2026
Shams not ruining the draft by announcing each pick before hand? Wow
— Lowry University (@LowryUniversity) June 24, 2026
Charania was notorious for spoiling picks on his X account several minutes before they were announced by NBA commissioner Adam Silver, especially when he used to work for Yahoo! Sports and The Athletic. But ever since joining ESPN in late 2024, Charania has played it much cooler during NBA Draft day.
Last year, fans were already surprised last year by how quiet Charania was during the 2025 NBA Draft. That certainly makes sense too given that Charania’s employer ESPN is the one that airs the draft in the first place.
But Charania recently sparked backlash by going back to his spoiling ways in prematurely announcing the winner of the 2025-26 NBA MVP Award last month. Many viewers were worried that Charania would go back to doing the same during this year’s NBA Draft, but he fortunately decided to keep a much lower profile this time around.
