Victor Wembanyama Breaks Silence on Controversial Plan

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In less than two seasons, Victor Wembanyama has already become one of the most beloved players in the NBA by fans.
However, the 21-year-old phenom made his first NBA blemish during All-Star weekend.
On Saturday night during the NBA All-Star's Skills Challenge, Wembanyama attempted to hack the contest by choosing to deliberately miss shots to increase his overall speed.
It was a decision that was met with heavy boos from fans in the arena and a massive outrage online.
Chris Paul and Victor Wenbanyama found the hack in the Skills Challenge. pic.twitter.com/lP5CzssATS
— Steve Jones Jr. (@stevejones20) February 16, 2025
Even though fans booed Wembanyama and Chris Paul during the moment, the 21-year-old didn't take it too seriously.
"Was I booed," Wembanyama questioned. "I don't think I was booed. I wasn't booed, right? Chris was."
Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama said it was his idea, not Chris Paul’s, to “hack” the Skills Challenge, which led to disqualification.
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) February 16, 2025
“Was I booed? I don’t think I was booed. I wasn’t booed, right? Chris was.” pic.twitter.com/SeBHbKqz6y
While everyone thought the decision may have been Paul's idea, it turns out that Wembanyama admitted to it being his plan.
“It was a good strategy, but I don't know," Wembanyama said. "It's just not that big a deal.”
Victor Wembanyama said the Team Spurs plan for the Skills competition — which wound up getting them disqualified — was his idea.
— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) February 16, 2025
On the surface, it may seem like Wembanyama's strategy is relatively harmless. It's a fun idea to figure out a way to game the system and see if it works. At the same time, the NBA is seriously struggling to get both fans and players to take the All-Star game seriously, and this moment was the exact opposite of that.
Hopefully, Wembanyama can give fans a much better show on Sunday night, during the main All-Star game show.
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14-Year NBA Veteran covering multiple teams on Sports Illustrated. Throughout the years, Farbod has been featured on ESPN, Bleacher Report, Forbes, and various live television outlets.
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