Shams Charania should probably stick to reporting about hoopers rather than playing against them.
The ESPN reporter took part in the NBA All-Star Weekend Celebrity Game held on Friday at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, Calif. The 31-year-old didn’t exactly steal the show.
Before the game even began, Shams was already taking shots from his own coach, Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Milwaukee Bucks star probably wasn’t happy about being in so many of Charania’s reports over the past several weeks.
“We have Shams on my team,” Antetkounmpo told the ESPN broadcast before tipoff. “He cannot hoop. But everybody else can hoop.”
"He cannot hoop."
— Overtime (@overtime) February 14, 2026
Nahhhh Giannis roasting Shams 💀 (via @Bucks)
pic.twitter.com/sYdzSkeLlg
Instead of proving his doubters wrong, Charania folded under pressure. He played exclusively as a spot-up shooter and bricked several jumpers. Some of them even failed to draw iron, but did draw some mockery from fans online.
Shams was HOOPING tonight:
— Logion Noops (@LogionNoops) February 14, 2026
0 POINTS
0 REBOUNDS
0 ASSISTS
0/6 FG
0/4 3P
5 TURNOVERS pic.twitter.com/KmUttbXMG5
Fans were waiting with bated breath for Charania to get his first points. Those fans waited in vain, as Shams went scoreless on a 0/6 shooting clip.
idk trade shams for a bag of ruffles
— Richard (@ifiwasrichard) February 14, 2026
Shams score yet bro???
— Kristopher London (@IamKrisLondon) February 14, 2026
Did shams score at all
— Ku (@KuKhahil) February 14, 2026
Charania’s best moment was arguably when he was spotted checking his phone on the sideline, proving that the man at least has a strong work ethic to keep his phone lines open during the Celebrity Game.
@ShamsCharania on his phone in the middle of the All-Star Celebrity Game 😅 pic.twitter.com/FVGZy94Y00
— ESPN (@espn) February 14, 2026
If the NBA really wants eyeballs for the opening day of All-Star Weekend, someone needs to organize a 1-on-1 game between Shams and the man he replaced, Adrian Wojnarowski. Given the NBA All-Star Weekend’s dwindling ratings over the last few years, it’d probably be worth a shot.
