Angry NBA fans have booed Victor Wembanyama and Chris Paul after they had used unsporting tactics during the All-Star Skills Challenge on Saturday evening.
Fans in San Francisco were furious when both San Antonio Spurs players did not try to make their shots to save time.
Instead of focusing on the basket from the three-point and free throw lines, Paul and Wembanyama threw balls off the rack without looking at the target.
The duo clocked on their run in 47.9 seconds while angry with hardwood rained.
The commentary team also unanimously agreed that the tactic 'Chris Paul's fingerprints had everywhere'.
They were also prevented from being interviewed by TNT while they were sitting on the couch afterwards.
Victor Wembanyama and Chris Paul used unsporting tactics in All-Star Skills Challenge
While Allie Laforce went to the bank to interview Paul and Wembanyama, an employee cut her off talking to the players and said, “We don't do that.”
The broadcast then switched to Cavaliers -stars Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley who eventually won the challenge. In the meantime, Paul and Wembanyama saw disappointed about how their antics took place.
“We were confused, but I think once we found out that they had been disqualified, we realized to continue and do our own thing,” said Mitchell when he was asked about the Spurs approach of the Skills Challenge .
“The honor of them, they tried to find a way to win and that is the end goal,” he added. “They played to win, but it was definitely cheating.”
The Cavaliers finished their run for a minute on the spot, so they could win after the disqualification.
The antics of Paul and Wembanyama come in the midst of a decrease in viewers for the All-Star weekend. According to Statista, the All-Star game was on average 6.3 million, 4.6 million and 5.5 million viewers in the past three years respectively.
With a rotating door of changes that are made in the formats of the competitions, Stephen A. Smith of ESPN has previously blamed players for the decline of the All-Star Weekend.
“It's an absolute travesty,” Smith said in an episode of First Take. “I wouldn't give it damn if the NBA canceled the All-Star weekend festivities.”
“And these players, I don't care how they think about it. Some of them should be ashamed of their damn themselves with how they allowed this event to be affected, “Smith continued. “They ruined it. They ruined it. '
The weekend will take out the newly formed All-Star match on Sunday evening.
