Chris Paul is known for his basketball IQ. He has in the past displayed his understanding of the rules in a quick thinking manner. It was on display when the Spurs on the Grizzlies in January. He spotted a golden opportunity on a jump ball. With Zach Edey, Memphis’ towering rookie, stuck on the floor, Paul rushed in, ready to tie him up. But mid-move, he had a better idea—why go for it himself when Victor Wembanyama had the size advantage? Instead of forcing the play, he backed off and let Wemby take over.
Well, this time it was the opposite. Wemby and Point God were the Spurs pairing for the All-Star’s skills competition. For the final leg of the Skills Challenge, players were supposed to showcase their shooting. But Wembanyama and Paul? They had other plans. Instead of setting up proper shots, they ditched the form altogether, hurling balls toward the hoop at lightning speed.
And they got disqualified. You’d think it was Paul’s genius idea. But it was Wemby’s. Wembanyama took full credit for the Skills Challenge “hack” that got him and Paul disqualified. It wasn’t Paul’s idea—it was all him. But when the crowd reacted, Wemby wasn’t so sure who took the heat. “Was I booed? I don’t think so. I wasn’t booed, right? Chris was.”
Hold on, that’s not all. According to Marc J. Spears, Draymond Green revealed that Wemby didn’t just wing it—he actually went to several NBA execs beforehand to see if his no-shooting approach would fly. After getting their approval, he put the plan in motion. Inconsistencies with refereeing? Who’d have thought.
The fans took an issue with their plan, obviously because they want to see stars compete. But using such hacks and getting disqualified makes the fans feel unvalued.
Fans call out Victor Wembanyama’s hypocrisy
One fan wrote, “But he was upset with Ant last year. Make it make sense”. Wembanyama had joined Anthony Edwards and Paolo Banchero for Team First Picks in the Skills Challenge last year, but things didn’t go as planned.
Edwards, always up for a challenge, decided to shoot left-handed layups and threes. He hit the layup but bricked all three deep shots. The team took the loss, and Wemby wasn’t thrilled. When asked about Edwards’ approach, he simply said, “They wanted to have fun.” But he made his stance clear with a quick follow-up: “Fun is winning.”
“Chris Paul convinced him to say that. I won’t believe otherwise.” wrote another fan. CP3 has an image to uphold. Someone who knows all the technicalities of the game. He once saved the OKC with his IQ in 2019.
With 1.1 seconds left, the Wolves led by two as KAT hit the line. He missed the first, then subbed in Jordan Bell—whose untucked jersey Chris Paul immediately called out. The delay-of-game freebie cut the lead to one. KAT accidentally made the second, setting up Schroder’s buzzer-beating layup. Which led to the OKC winning in OT.
This is a developing story…
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