The 2026 NBA All-Star Weekend kicks off this Friday evening with the All-Star Celebrity Game at 7:00 PM EST. Team Giannis (led by the Antetokounmpo brothers) and Team Anderson will go head-to-head to kick start proceedings at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California. However, ahead of tip-off, the Milwaukee Bucks superstar had a few words to say about a certain league insider.
Celebs from both teams were seen warming up and taking some shots on the court before the game begins tonight. Giannis was out there too, monitoring his players. His star-studded roster includes the likes of Jeremy Lin, Tacko Fall, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Cafu, and a familiar face – ESPN reporter Shams Charania.
“We have Shams on the red team, he cannot hoop, but everyone else can hoop,” Antetokounmpo said ahead of the game.
Antetokounmpo and Charania have been at it for a while now. The latter is infamous for wanting to offload Giannis every trade season. Bucks fans will argue that their star man is right to take shots at Charania, but we’re positive this is all in good humor.
“In the off-season, we got him as a free agent,” the Greek Freak added.
Giannis is SICK of Shams for putting him in trade rumors 😭
“Shams can’t hoop.” pic.twitter.com/I0pmO61MMI
— BrickCenter (@BrickCenter_) February 14, 2026
The ‘beef’ between Antetokounmpo and Charania dates back to last year. Following Milwaukee’s premature exit in the postseason to the Indiana Pacers, speculation was rife that their Greek superstar wanted out.
Charania chimed in on that as he went on to reveal that Antetokounmpo was extremely close to joining the New York Knicks over a tense two-week window. The latter ultimately chose to stay put, but this added fuel to the fire between both parties.
With the Bucks struggling and Damian Lillard sidelined, Shams had reported that Giannis and his agent are actively discussing with the team whether his future lies in Milwaukee or elsewhere before the Feb. 5 deadline.
He even listed potential landing destinations like the Golden State Warriors, Miami Heat, Minnesota Timberwolves, and, of course, the Knicks. As we now know, none of those rumors came to fruition, and Antetokounmpo remains a key member of the Bucks franchise as things stand.
For all we know, ‘coach’ Antetokounmpo’s prediction will come true, and we’ll see Charania enter free agency following tonight’s game before he does.
This is a developing story…