Unpacking the Ongoing Feud Between Chris Paul and Scott Foster

The ongoing, yearslong feud between Chris Paul and Scott Foster took a very public turn on Wednesday when Foster ejected Paul in the first half of the Suns’ win over the Warriors. A few thoughts on one of the most bizarre player-referee rivalries in sports history …

No one really knows where this animosity began. What we do know is that Paul’s teams tend to lose in Foster officiated games. A lot. Tom Haberstroh, a veteran NBA reporter, tweeted that Paul’s teams were favored in 15 of 20 playoff games with Foster officiating. They went 3–17 in those games and lost by an average of 11.2 points. Yikes.

What the NBA will say is that Foster’s officiating had nothing to do with any of it. He consistently grades out as one of the league’s top referees. Last June, Foster refereed his 16th NBA Finals, an assignment reserved for only the best officials. When Paul’s Suns played in the Finals in 2021, Foster officiated it. Before this year’s Finals, the NBA noted in a press release that Foster had refereed 23 Finals games—more than any of the other 12 officials assigned to the series.

Is this personal? For Paul it is. He said as much to reporters on Wednesday.

"We had a situation some years ago, and it's personal,” Paul said. “The league knows, everybody knows, and it's been a meeting and all that. It's a situation with my son and so, yeah. I'm O.K. with a ref talking, saying whatever, just don't use a tech to get your point across. I gotta do a better job making sure I stay on the floor for my teammates. But, yeah, that's that.”

O.K., a lot to unpack there. Paul referenced a situation with his son, without offering any context. Was there an incident involving Foster and his son? When? Where was it? What did it escalate to? That’s a statement that screams for more details. The Warriors guard said he had a meeting with Foster (that included a league official) when he played for the Clippers. “It was a whole thing, man,” Paul said. “It's been a thing for a while. I ain't saying nothing to get fined. It is what it is at this point."

The most recent dustup, which began after Foster whistled Paul for a foul in the first half, escalated quickly. Social media lip readers have attempted to transcribe the interaction between Foster and Paul, but it’s not exactly clear what led to the first tech. After the ejection, Paul seemed to say, “He’s talking about my son.” And after the game, Foster told a pool reporter that Paul was given his first tech for “unsportsmanlike conduct.” The second tech, Foster said, came after Paul “continued to complain and received a second unsportsmanlike technical foul.”

So who is at fault? It’s easy to blame Foster. No one comes to NBA games to see referees work. And there’s a case to be made that when Paul came over to argue with Foster, the referee could have relocated to a different area to exit the conversation. And he could have been more judicious with the second whistle.

“I think Scott just felt that Chris didn’t stop and kept going,” Steve Kerr said after the game. “That’s why he gave him the second one. That was his explanation. I didn’t think Chris deserved to be ejected. The first tech, absolutely. But the second one was unnecessary. Everyone gets frustrated out there. But that’s up to the official.”

We don’t know what Paul said that triggered the first technical. Referees, in pool reports, are strongly discouraged from quoting players or coaches verbatim. What we do know is Paul spent a decent amount of time arguing with Foster, which will often lead to a technical, for any player. And Foster appeared to say “enough” twice before whistling Paul for the tech. Without specifics of what Paul said, it’s impossible to assign blame.

Don’t expect the NBA to discipline Foster. Why would they? The NBA views Foster as one of its top officials. The meeting Paul had with Foster years ago didn’t lead to any discipline. There’s no reason to believe this incident will either.

This is largely a PR battle. And Paul is winning. The public at large sees Foster as an overzealous referee—and Paul as a victim of that. The future Hall of Famer clearly doesn’t want Foster refereeing his games anymore. And he has boxed the NBA into an uncomfortable position if Foster does.