The NBPA released the results of its annual Referee Player Survey, wherein officials were divided into three tiers. Referees landing in the Tier 1 (Elite & Top Performers) and Tier 2 (Solid Performers) are being recommended to officiate playoff games.
The National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) officially unveiled the results of its annual Referee Player Survey on Wednesday.
The NBPA surveyed 411 NBA players across all 30 teams to provide official player recommendations for referee assignments for the NBA Playoffs, and a guide for who will handle the upcoming NBA Finals.
The results were delivered to the NBA league office in March 2026, wherein the survey was based on call accuracy, experience, and a balanced temperament.
Using a 1–5 rating scale, all 73 officials were divided into three tiers based on the result: Tier 1 (Elite & Top Performers), Tier 2 (Solid Performers), and Tier 3 (Needs Improvement).
The NBPA recommends that only Tier 1 and Tier 2 referees officiate playoff games, with Tier 1 officials exclusively assigned to the NBA Finals.
Ray Acosta, Brent Barnaky, Curtis Blair, Tony Brothers, Nick Buchert, John Butler, James Capers, Kevin Cutler, Eric Dalen, Marc Davis, JB DeRosa, Mitchell Ervin, Jacyn Goble, Nate Green, Bill Kennedy, Courtney Kirkland, Karl Lane, Mark Lindsay, Tre Maddox, Ed Malloy, Phenizee Ransom, Dedric Taylor, Josh Tiven, James Williams, Sean Wright, Zach Zarba
Tier 2: Solid Performers
Brandon Adair, Derrick Collins, Sean Corbin, Mousa Dagher, Brian Forte, Scott Foster, Pat Fraher, Jason Goldenberg, David Guthrie, Matt Kallio, Marat Kogut, Sha'Rae Mitchell, Ashley Moyer-Gleich, Matt Myers, Andy Nagy, Brett Nansel, JT Orr, Gediminas Petraitis, JD Ralls, Kevin Scott, Aaron Smith, Jonathan Sterling, Ben Taylor, Scott Twardoski, Justin Van Duyne, CJ Washington, Leon Wood
Tier 3: Needs Improvement
Dannica Baroody, John Conley, Che Flores, Tyler Ford, John Goble, Robert Hussey, Intae Hwang, Simone Jelks, Biniam Maru, Suyash Mehta, Rodney Mott, Pat O'Connell, Jenna Reneau, Tyler Ricks, Natalie Sago, Jenna Schroeder, Brandon Schwab, Danielle Scott, Evan Scott, Michael Smith
“I think officiating comes down to the person. I don’t think you can reform the calls themselves—people are human and they’re going to make mistakes,” said NBPA First Vice President Grant Williams. “But the best officials in the league, according to the players, are the great communicators; the ones who understand when they’ve made a mistake. As long as you’re calling a game consistently, guys are willing to adapt. It’s about having control of the game while also respecting the players and their different personalities.”
The 2026 NBA Playoffs have seen plenty of complaints about officiating, mainly about free-throw discrepancies, flopping, missed and exaggerated amounts of foul calls.
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