Chris Paul vs. Scott Foster: A rivalry unlike any other
The Chris Paul vs. Scott Foster rivalry added another chapter on Wednesday night in Phoenix, marring what began as a celebratory night for CP3.
Paul spent three seasons with the Phoenix Suns , helping take the franchise to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1993 in the 2020-21 season. While he was moved in multiple trades during the offseason, Paul made his first return to Phoenix as a member of the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night. The Suns faithful had nothing to boo about, as they recognized Paul during pregame warmups, creating a special atmosphere for the future Hall of Fame point guard.
The latest Chris Paul-Scott Foster incident
All seemed great and it appeared as if we had a fantastic basketball game on hand, that was until Foster came walking out of the tunnel with the intent on leaving his fingerprints all over this matchup.
With about 27 seconds left in the first half between the Warriors and Suns on Wednesday night, Kevin Durant found himself guarded by Paul at the top of the arc. Having the length over Paul, Durant looked to attack the left side of the floor. The 38-year-old point guard was called for a foul after cutting off Durant's lane to the basket, resulting in two free throws.
The official who made the call was Foster, which was greeted by Paul with a sly grin. The Warriors guard was frustrated with the call, as he felt like the same level of contact was being utilized against him and his teammates on the opposite side of the court. As Durant went to the free-throw line, Paul continued to sarcastically laugh and plead his case with Foster, who wanted no part of anything Paul was saying and pretty much ignored the conversation as a whole.
As Durant hit his first free throw, Paul continued to chirp at Foster. While it is unknown what exactly he had said, the Warriors bench seemed to find it somewhat amusing, as Dario Saric and Kevon Looney were seen watching Paul and laughing to themselves. Something ultimately set Foster off, and whether he made the call due to embarrassment or something else, the long time official hit Paul with a technical foul.
Paul continued to make his case clear with Foster, who began walking away from the veteran guard saying “enough” multiple times. Then came a second technical foul and an emphatic arm toss by Foster, almost as if he was enjoying the notion of ejecting a player he has a very long history with.
“You're a b***h,” Paul yelled twice at Foster before being held back by Stephen Curry. Warriors staff then escorted the 19-year veteran to the locker room, while Foster stood proud of himself on the baseline before issuing a technical foul to head coach Steve Kerr and warning him of a possible ejection before halftime.
Scott Foster's reputation around NBA
NBA players are always arguing calls and pleading their case with the officials, as this has become common practice. Many referees are lenient and take these opportunities to talk things through with players, especially since they know the competitive nature of the sport and have relationships with many players around the league. Unless players and/or coaches are being extremely hostile, the best referees will explain their reasoning for certain foul calls and have actual, meaningful discussions on the court.
This does not pertain to Foster, whose ego always gets the best of him. Maybe Foster wishes he was a basketball player instead of an official, but whatever the case may be, he is never willing to hear out what anyone else has to say simply because he is “always right.”
Foster has been an official in the NBA since the start of the 1994-95 season and is one of the more experienced referees the league has. While experience is obviously a plus, Foster is also one of the most disliked officials in the entire league.
In April, The Athletic released their NBA player poll , which includes voting results from 108 different players on a variety of topics. Perhaps the most notable question regarded the league's referees, as Scott Foster received 25.4 percent of the vote for being the worst official in the NBA. The next closest percentage for one official was Tony Brothers at 8.5 percent. If we know one thing, it is that Paul was surely a part of that 25.4 percent who voted Foster as the worst official in the league, as their history is well-documented.
It's ‘personal'
Chris Paul does not like Scott Foster. Scott Foster does not like Chris Paul. Everyone around the NBA knows this, but what everyone may not know is why exactly these two are constantly going at it with one another.
“It’s personal. We had a situation some years ago, and it’s personal. The league knows, everybody knows,” Paul stated in his postgame remarks following his ejection on Wednesday night. “There’s been a meeting and all that. It’s just a situation with my son. ... Yeah so, I’m okay with a ref talking, saying whatever. Just don’t use a tech to get your point across. I’ve got to do a better job making sure I stay on the floor for my teammates. That’s that.”
As far as the situation between Paul's son and Foster, Paul did not go into any specifics other than that Foster knows what he did when the veteran guard was a member of the Los Angeles Clippers several years back.
“It is what it is at this point,” Paul concluded with.
The feeling of dislike between these two is mutual. Every time Paul and Foster are on the same court as one another, something happens regarding technical fouls and arguments. Paul will be fined for his antics and being ejected, but what about Foster? Is the league going to step in and actually do something about his issues with Paul and what occurred on Wednesday night?
While Paul getting tossed from the game was partly his own doing since he continued to talk down on the official after being warned, a large part of his ejection was due to Foster's animosity towards the Warriors veteran. The technical foul he issued to Kerr shortly after was simply to show up Golden State's bench, sending a message that Foster would eject anyone else who wanted a piece of him.
In the case of possible discipline for Foster, the NBA does not make its punishment of officials public. The reason for this is because they do not want to publicly say they made mistakes and have everyone shame the referees, which is somewhat understandable.
At the same time, if we are going to make an example of players and hand out punishment to them, officials should we held to the same standard, especially in this instance since Foster was the main cause of Paul's ejection given their history.
Chris Paul's history with Scott Foster
During the 2007-08 season in his third season with the New Orleans Hornets, now the New Orleans Pelicans, Chris Paul made his first-ever playoff appearance. After defeating the Dallas Mavericks in a five-game series during the opening round of the playoffs, Paul and the Hornets fell in a seven-game series against the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Semifinals. The Spurs then went on to make the NBA Finals and lose to Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers.
What's significant about Paul's series against San Antonio is the fact that Scott Foster was on the officiating crew for that Game 7.
Flash-forward just over a decade to the 2020 playoffs in the NBA Bubble and you will find another awkward instance of Paul vs. Foster. Facing off against the Houston Rockets as a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Paul was able to take his team to another Game 7 in the opening round of the postseason. Guess who was officiating this Game 7?
Not only was Foster on the court for yet another loss by Paul in a Game 7, but it was what Foster told Paul that had many raising their eyebrows. According to ESPN Andscape's Marc J. Spears, Paul told reporters that Foster told him before this game that he also officiated Paul's Game 7 loss when he was with the Hornets.
Why would Foster say this to a player other than to make a point or assert some type of authority?
Even between the 2008 and 2020 playoffs, Paul and Foster ran into one another multiple times while the veteran guard played for the Houston Rockets. Paul went 0-6 in playoff games officiated by Foster while he was with Houston. After losing a regular-season game in 2018, Paul made it clear to criticize the official after receiving a technical foul from him.
“I got a tech tonight. Scott Foster at his finest,” Paul told reporters. “He's just... he never fails.”
Time and time again, these two have run into one another on the court. Most of the time, the game has ended with Paul receiving a technical foul and his team suffering a loss. In fact, Paul is 3-17 overall dating back to 2008 when Foster served as a referee in one of his games, according to ESPN Stats and Info.
Paul and Foster have a history with one another, which is why the NBA needs to step in and put an end to this. Regardless of how the league views Foster as an official, he can no longer be on the same court as Paul. Too many issues occur when this happens and it is an awful look for the NBA to have a Hall of Fame talent like Paul be shown up by an official.
What's worse is that fans of the game who pay hundreds of dollars to see their favorite players on the court now have to worry and have the value of the game as a whole depreciate because Foster and other officials' egos are way too big.
Referees have one job and that is to officiate the game. If a player is constantly yelling at them and cursing them out, they obviously have every right to issue a technical foul, and possibly even an ejection, But in this case with Paul and Foster, there was no reason for Paul to be ejected, especially since it is very clear Foster wants nothing to do with the Warriors guard.
What happens next is in the league's hands. Nobody can go back in time and change what happened. However, the league can change the future by reviewing the matter and coming to the conclusion that Foster will no longer be an official in one of Paul's games. The product the NBA has on the basketball court is more important than any official they have, which is why change needs to happen.
