Inside The Spurs

Chris Paul Explains Controversial All-Star Incident With Victor Wembanyama

Chris Paul gave his explanation on being disqualified from the NBA's Skill Challenge with Victor Wembanyama

Matt Guzman

Feb 15, 2025; San Francisco, CA, USA; Team Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) of the San Antonio Spurs adn Team Spurs guard Chris Paul (3) of the San Antonio Spurs react after competing in the skills challenge during All Star Saturday Night ahead of the 2025 NBA All Star Game at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images
Feb 15, 2025; San Francisco, CA, USA; Team Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) of the San Antonio Spurs adn Team Spurs guard Chris Paul (3) of the San Antonio Spurs react after competing in the skills challenge during All Star Saturday Night ahead of the 2025 NBA All Star Game at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images / Kyle Terada-Imagn Images
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Chris Paul and Victor Wembanyama thought they'd figured out a loophole. It only got them disqualified in San Francisco.

"We tried something that we thought we could win," Paul said.

Neither Wembanyama or Paul attempted a genuine jump shot during the challenge, which ultimately let to their disqualification. And while it looked like a "workaround," however, Paul claimed that he and his teammate received prior permission to try their strategy.

"They did say that it was OK to do that," Paul explained to Taylor Rooks a few weeks after the incident, "but it was what it was. A wild situation."

Immediately afterward, Wembanyama had some words of his own, taking ownership of the plan without regret.

“I don’t regret it," he said. "I think it was a good idea.”

The Cleveland Cavaliers' squad featuring Evan Mobley and Donovan Mitchell ended up taking home the trophy while Paul fell to 0-2 on his career. Even still, he didn't seem to broken up about it.

If anything, he was impressed with Wembanyama.

"Vic is really really smart," Paul said. "I don't think I did it as well as he did it. I got a bunch of texts from people (saying) 'I'm just glad you tried something different.'"

Next season, there isn't any guarantee Paul will be back for the challenge, though if he is, he might look for some further clarification. Or maybe he'll simply take a beat.

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Matt Guzman
MATT GUZMAN

Matt Guzman is a sports journalist and storyteller from Austin, Texas. He serves as a credentialed reporter and site manager for San Antonio Spurs On SI and a staff writer for multiple collegiate sites in the same network. In the world of professional sports, he is a firm believer that athletes are people, too, and intends to tell stories of players and teams’ true, behind-the-scenes character that otherwise would not be seen through strong narrative writing, hooking ledes and passionate words.

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