Chris Paul shares honest thoughts on manipulating Skills Challenge with Victor Wembanyama

Chris Paul and teammate Victor Wembanyama were disqualified during the NBA All-Star Skills Challenge on Friday in San Francisco for trying to get around the rules for the shooting part of the relay.

The final stage of the three-part Skills Challenge involved shooting from the 3-point and free-throw areas. However, the San Antonio Spurs players deemed it fit that to finish the relay faster to not actually take a shot. Instead, they just flung the balls quickly to the direction of the basket.

They finished the relay under a minute but received boos from the fans in attendance. Soon after, they were informed that they had been disqualified over what they did.

Following the event, Chris Paul got honest and shared his thoughts on the strategy they had and their disqualification.

The 12-time NBA All-Star said (as shared by ESPN writer Michael C. Wright on X):

“We tried something that we thought could win -- to see if we had the best time. It was fun.”

As reported by Yahoo! Sports, it was not actually veteran Chris Paul who came up with the idea not to shoot, with Wembanyama owning up to it. He said before proceeding with it, he consulted some NBA executives who gave the thumbs-up.

The Skills Challenge proceeded with the Team Cavs of All-Stars Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley beating the Team Warriors of Draymond Green and Moses Moody in the finals. The other team that participated was Team Rooks of rookies Zaccharie Risacher (Atlanta Hawks) and Alex Sarr (Washington Wizards).

Chris Paul has competed in six Skills Challenge events

The 2025 edition of the NBA Skills Challenge was the sixth for Chris Paul, and once again fell short in his push to win.

'The Point God' first competed in 2006, battling LeBron James, Steve Nash and eventual winner Dwyane Wade. He also competed in 2007, 2008, 2011 and 2021.

Paul's six appearances are the most by any player so far, two more than Tony Parker and John Wall.

Apart from the NBA Skills Challenge, Chris Paul has been a steady participant in the NBA All-Star Game, selected for the Midseason Classic 12 times out of his 20-year career. He has compiled averages of 12.2 points, 11.6 assists and 3.9 rebounds and 2.4 steals in the Games.

He went on to win NBA All-Star MVP honors in Houston in 2013 while representing the Los Angeles Clippers. Paul finished with 20 points, on 7-of-10 shooting and 4-of-5 from three, 15 assists and four steals to help the West beat the East 143-138.