The San Antonio Spurs snapped their three-game losing streak Wednesday night with a victory over the Dallas Mavericks, improving their record to 27-37 this season.
It was a much-needed win for a team that’s had its share of headlines lately—both on and off the court.
Remember that moment during All-Star weekend last month? The one where Chris Paul and Victor Wembanyama tried to “hack” the Skills Challenge? Turns out there’s more to that story.
Paul recently sat down with Bleacher Report’s Taylor Rooks and dropped a bombshell: he claims they actually had permission for their controversial strategy.
“They did say that it was OK to do that,” Paul told Rooks in the interview that quickly made rounds on social media.
For those who missed it, the Skills Challenge asks players to complete an obstacle course as quickly as possible. Instead of taking careful shots like everyone else, the Spurs teammates had a different plan.
They simply hurled the ball at the basket without attempting real jump shots.
The strategy was brilliant in its simplicity—just get through the course as fast as humanly possible.
It almost worked too. The Spurs duo posted the fastest time before officials stepped in and disqualified them.
Paul didn’t take credit for the clever (if ultimately unsuccessful) scheme. He told Rooks it was actually Wembanyama who came up with the plan.
“We got the OK to try it,” Paul insisted, though that approval clearly didn’t hold up when officials made their final decision.
## The Aftermath
Wembanyama wasn’t exactly apologetic after the event.
“I don’t regret what we did,” the rookie sensation said at the time. He pointed out they technically did finish with the fastest time—even if their methods were deemed against the spirit of the competition.
The Cavaliers’ Evan Mobley and Donovan Mitchell ended up winning the 2025 Skills Challenge after the Spurs duo’s disqualification.
For Paul, it marks his second unsuccessful attempt at Skills Challenge glory. He’s now 0-2 in the event during his career.
But something tells me neither Paul nor Wembanyama are losing sleep over it. They were just trying to have some fun with an exhibition event—and maybe bend the rules a little along the way.
