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By Justin Grasso
Contributing Sports Writer
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Being one of the top personalities in NBA media, ESPN’s Shams Charania had a lot of pressure on him Friday night.
The NBA Insider was taking the court for the All-Star Celebrity Game. When it comes to non-media celebs who participate, they aren’t under a microscope with players. In Charania’s case, the players he reports on wanted to see how he would play when the roles are reversed.
As the game was playing out, a shot of Charania checking his phone while on the bench stood out to the Houston Rockets superstar, Kevin Durant. The forward took to social media to call out Charania.
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“My goodness, have some respect [Shams Charania]…during the game??????????”
Being plugged in to most rumors and transactions across the NBA, Charania is typically attached to his phone, checking in on the latest scoops around the league.
Durant and many other NBA stars have commented on Charania and his reporting before. The veteran wanted to poke fun at the fact that he couldn’t keep his phone away for the entirety of the game, while the superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo continued taking shots at Charania throughout the night, making fun of his basketball skills.
Related Story: Giannis Antetokounmpo Takes Shot at Shams Charania in Celeb All-Star Game
For Antetokounmpo, Friday’s action was a good opportunity to get his payback after Charania spent a chunk of the 2025-2026 NBA season reporting on Giannis’ future with the Milwaukee Bucks, suggesting he could move before the NBA trade deadline.
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Ultimately, nothing happened on the Giannis trade front. Antetokounmpo remains with the Bucks throughout the remainder of the season. He is expected to return sometime soon after missing a few weeks due to a calf injury.
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As for Charania, his on-court debut at an NBA event probably didn’t go as planned. He attempted four shots from the field, none of which were successful. According to Underdog, Charania checked his phone three times throughout the event, but didn’t log a single point.
Fortunately for Charania, he can go right back to the insider game after having a tough night on the court, personally.
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