SAN FRANCISCO – Warriors teammates Draymond Green and Moses Moody kicked off NBA All-Star Saturday night by advancing to the championship round of the Skills Challenge against Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley at Chase Center.
Following an impressive round by the Cleveland Cavaliers duo in the finals, it looked like Green and Moody were on their way to another title together.
But the Cavs’ win and the Warriors’ loss wasn’t close to the biggest story of the Skills Challenge. San Antonio Spurs teammates Chris Paul and Victor Wembanyama stole the show as the first competitors by trying to cheat the system.
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Instead of shooting the ball at designated spots, Paul and Wembanyama literally threw the balls off the rack as fast as they could.
“It definitely sucked to see them throwing the ball like that,” Green said.
Then came the interesting part as Green gave insight into the whole situation that led to the Spurs being disqualified and had fans booing.
Fans boo Wemby and CP3 for trying to rig the Skills Challenge
— Dalton Johnson (@DaltonJ_Johnson) February 16, 2025
The Spurs have been disqualified pic.twitter.com/ofTTOlzdry
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“What I will say is, Wemby walked around the court asking everybody,” Green continued. “They say, ‘Make one or three attempts.’ And Wemby said, ‘Oh, so I just get all three of them up there?’ So he asked. He may not have asked the right people, but I will say, in Wemby’s defense, he did ask a lot of people.
“I heard him ask maybe five or six people, like, ‘You sure I can just throw the ball?’ ”
The consensus throughout the arena and all across social media was only one man can come up with such a diabolical plan: Paul. It’s in his nature to find any little advantage to win.
Yet it was the 21-year-old, not the 39-year-old, who hatched the idea.
“It was actually a Wemby decision,” Green says. “But he probably should have went with the old vet. When we were practicing, Wemby practiced it a couple times just throwing them. CP was actually shooting them.
“The old man followed the rookie right off the cliff.”
For the Warriors duo, Moody started off the round by perfectly executing three straight bounce passes to complete his first obstacle. He then needed only one try for the chest pass portion of the event. Moody swished his 3-pointer from the right wing and nailed his jumper from the left side of the free-throw line, needing only one attempt each time.
The 22-year-old hit his corner three over a windmill on his third and final shot, again nailed his chest pass and sprinted down the court for a layup, putting the championship in Green’s hands.
Just like Moody, Green nailed the beginning, throwing three straight bounce passes. But trouble brewed at his next stop.
“I panicked,” a laughing Green said. “Then I knocked all the balls over. I feel so bad for Moses. God, I blew it. Oh my god.”
Green’s first fastball of a pass rattled off the top and bottom of the ring. His next attempt flew off the bottom and his final pass clanked off the side, even knocking down balls off his 3-point rack. Green made his third and final three, missed all his free throws and while trying to beat the windmill, the buzzer sounded.
Challenge over. Second place for the home team.
Despite the loss, Green couldn’t hide the fun he had doing the event. But still, he couldn’t stop apologizing to his Warriors teammate.
“It was fun,” Green said. “It’s All-Star Weekend, man. I think that was a good start, good energy. I feel so bad for Moses. That’s his first All-Star experience and I blew it. That sucks.”
Draymond Green and Moses Moody fall in the championship of the Skills Challenge pic.twitter.com/XAxSqpgeQs
— Dalton Johnson (@DaltonJ_Johnson) February 16, 2025
Before the challenge began, Green practiced each portion of the challenge and maintains he didn’t miss a single pass.
“I might do it next year, I’m salty,” Green said.
Saturday night marked Green’s second time taking part in the Skills Challenge. The last time he did so was nine years ago in 2016 when the to-be 35-year-old next month was only 25 years old. He figured he’d never do it again until the league approached him with the opportunity to do so alongside Moody on his home court in front of Dub Nation.
And maybe the fierce competitor will try to make the third time a charm before he hangs his sneakers ups.