In a recent interview with The Athletic, Bill Spooner, a former NBA official, had some words regarding Golden State Warriors guard Chris Paul. Paul has been known for bad encounters with officials for a long time now, and he is even known to have a beef with certain officials.
I get asked all the time: ‘Who are some of the tough guys, some of the bad guys?’ And when I tell them that Chris Paul, in my 32 years in the league, was one of the biggest a**holes I ever dealt with, they say, ‘Not Rasheed Wallace … or da-da-da?’ Nope. Nothing like (Paul), and they are like, ‘Oh, he seems like such a nice guy.’ And I say, ‘Yeah, he’s a great image cultivator.'Bill Spooner told The Athletic
Paul is known to have a long-standing feud with NBA official Scott Foster, and Spooner’s comments about the guard tell that Foster is not the only referee who dislikes the Warriors point guard for his antics on the pitch. Paul was ejected by Scott Foster during a game between the Golden State Warriors and Phoenix Suns, adding another chapter to their dicey relationship.
Former NBA ref of 32 years, Bill Spooner:
“I get asked all the time: ‘Who are some of the tough guys, some of the bad guys?’ And when I tell them that Chris Paul, in my 32 years in the league, was one of the biggest a–holes I ever dealt with, they say, ‘Not Rasheed Wallace … or… pic.twitter.com/8DwuR6p4fp
— NBA Retweet (@RTNBA) May 20, 2024After he was ejected, Paul said that his ejection was “personal”, and he did not do anything that was worth a second technical foul. Even the Warriors coach, Steve Kerr, was handed a technical foul for his protest against Paul’s ejection.
Chris Paul’s record when Scott Foster is officiating
With Scott Foster as the referee, Chris Paul has only managed to win slightly over 10% of the games. He has an abysmal record of 2-17 when Foster is officiating a game. Paul even has a 13-game losing streak in postseason games with Scott at the helm of decision-making.
The losing streak ended in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals of the 2021 NBA season against the Los Angeles Clippers. The Suns even went on to win the series and played in the NBA Finals, where they lost to the Milwaukee Bucks 2-4 in a best-of-seven series.
Funnily enough, Paul’s teammate on the Warriors, Draymond Green, has a different opinion on Foster. He has openly admitted that he loves Foster’s officiating and knows what to expect when he is at the helm.
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