Angry NBA fans booed Victor Wembanyama and Chris Paul after they employed unsportsmanlike tactics during the All-Star skills challenge on Saturday night.
Fans in San Francisco were furious when both San Antonio Spurs players did not attempt to make their shots to save time.
Rather than aiming for the basket from the three-point and free-throw lines, Paul and Wembanyama chucked balls off the rack without looking at the target.
The duo clocked in 47.9 seconds on their run as boos rained onto the hardwood.
The commentary team also unanimously agreed the tactic had ‘Chris Paul’s fingerprints all over it.’
They were also both prevented from being interviewed by TNT as they sat on the bench afterward.
Victor Wembanyama and Chris Paul used unsportsmanlike tactics in All-Star skills challenge
As Allie LaForce went to the bench to interview Paul and Wembanyama, a staff member cut her off from talking to the players, saying ‘We’re not doing that.’
The broadcast then switched to Cavaliers stars Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley who eventually won the challenge. Meanwhile, Paul and Wembanyama looked disappointed about how their antics played out.
‘We were confused but I think once we found out they were disqualified we realized to go ahead and do our own thing,’ Mitchell said when asked about the Spurs approach to the Skills challenge.
‘Credit to them, they tried to find a way to win and that’s the end goal,’ he added. ‘They played to win, it was definitely cheating, though.’
The Cavaliers finished their run at a minute on the dot which allowed them to win after the disqualification.
Paul and Wembanyama’s antics comes amid a decline in viewership for the All-Star Weekend. According to Statista, the All-Star Game averaged 6.3 million, 4.6 million, and 5.5 million viewers in the past three years, respectively.
Evan Mobley and Donovan Mitchell of the Cleveland Cavaliers won the Skills Challenge
With a revolving door of changes being made to the formats of the contests, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith has previously blamed players for the All-Star Weekend’s decline.
‘It’s an absolute travesty,’ Smith said on an episode of First Take. ‘I wouldn’t give a damn if the NBA cancelled the All-Star Weekend festivities.’
‘And these players, I don’t give a damn how they feel about it. Some of them should be ashamed of their damn selves with how they allowed this event to be tarnished,’ Smith continued. ‘They ruined it. They ruined it.’
The weekend will wrap up with the newly-formated All-Star Game on Sunday evening.
