NEW YORK, April 12, 2019 – The NBA today announced the list of 36 officials who earned spots to work the first round of the 2019 playoffs.
“Just as our players strive to reach the postseason, the same is true of our officials,” said Byron Spruell, NBA President, League Operations. “Through their on-court achievement, hard work and professionalism, this dedicated group has earned the right to represent the NBA in the playoffs.”
Playoff officials are selected by the NBA Referee Operations management team based on three specific criteria throughout the season: NBA Referee Operations graded rankings, play calling accuracy and team rankings. Officials will be evaluated after each round of the playoffs to determine future advancement in the 2019 postseason.
The officials who comprise the 2019 playoff roster average more than 15 years of NBA experience and total more than 550 years of service.
This year’s playoff staff has 17 officials (47%) with 10 or more years of playoff experience, highlighted by Kenny Mauer and Mike Callahan, who will be officiating in the playoffs for their 26th and 23rd seasons, respectively.
Referees assigned to first-round games include five with more than 125 playoff games worked: Mike Callahan (210), Ken Mauer (208), Scott Foster (176), Tom Washington (165), and Tony Brothers (127).
In addition, Curtis Blair, Nick Buchert, Tyler Ford, Tre Maddox, Gediminas Petraitis, Ben Taylor and Scott Twardoski are set to make their playoff debut as NBA officials.
The NBA playoffs begin on Saturday, April 13. Individual game assignments for referees are posted at NBA.com/official at approximately 9 a.m. ET each game day.
Click the following link to see the list of officials for the 2019 NBA Playoffs.