Why was Victor Wembanyama disqualified from All-Star event? Illegal move explained 

Spurs star duo Victor Wembanyama and Chris Paul did not have a perfect star to the NBA All-Star event this time around.

Why was Victor Wembanyama disqualified from All-Star event? Illegal move explained 

Victor Wembanyama and Chris Paul

The NBA All-Star event was up and running on Saturday Night, starting with the famous ‘skills challenge.’ This was before moving on to the main segment. The San Antonio Spurs’ duo Victor Wembanyama and Chris Paul took part as ‘Team Spurs’ as the first duo. Against them were the Cleveland Cavaliers’ star duo, Evan Mobley and Donovan Mitchell.

The league hosts the NBA Skills Challenge, also known as the Kia Skills Challenge. This is part of the All-Star Weekend on the Saturday before the yearly All-Star Game. It is a contest to test shooting, passing, and ball-handling skills. It was first conducted in 2003. However, this time around in 2025, Wemby and CP3 have been making headlines for unwanted reasons lately.

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Spurs players Paul and Wembanyama were eliminated from the Skills Challenge. This was in a shocking opening on Saturday evening after they tried to take advantage of a rule violation. The players must theoretically drain a shot before moving on to the next station in the Skills Challenge course, which consists of a few circular obstacles and shooting racks.

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Victor Wembanyama and Paul decided to test the idea that a shot was indeed required. Both Spurs players made hurried tries at the shooting racks. This was before swiftly finishing the remaining course sections.

According to sports commentator Reggie Miller and play-by-play announcer Kevin Harlan, the Spurs players initially appeared to have discovered a genius. However, the NBA did not think so. An official told the Spurs duo that they were disqualified.

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Victor Wembanyama and Chris Paul left frustrated

In addition, Victor Wembanyama and Chris Paul were not happy with this decision. This is mostly because, as per reports, Wemby informed NBA executives about the ‘no shooting’ theory. The league execs approved of it. The veteran Paul was also left annoyed.

He was arguing with the league regarding their disqualification. Furthermore, the NBA official even allowed Paul to read what looked to be a set of competition regulations at one point in the TNT broadcast.

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Following the competition’s final victory by the Cavaliers’ Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley, the former was questioned. This was about whether Paul and Wembanyama’s tactic was brilliant or dishonest. Mitchell acknowledged that. He thought the intriguing strategy was ‘cheating’ after praising the Spurs players for playing to win.