NEW YORK, April 11, 2022 – The NBA today announced the list of 36 officials who have earned spots to work the first round of the 2022 NBA Playoffs presented by Google Pixel. The same group also comprises the officiating staff for the Meta Quest NBA Play-In Tournament.
“Through their on-court achievement, hard work and professionalism, this dedicated group has earned the right to represent the NBA in the postseason,” said Byron Spruell, NBA President, League Operations. “Congratulations to our officials and thank you for continuing to serve the game during the 2022 NBA Playoffs.”
Below is the list of officials for the first round of the 2022 NBA Playoffs presented by Google Pixel:
Brent Barnaky, Curtis Blair, Tony Brothers, Nick Buchert, James Capers, Kevin Cutler, Eric Dalen, Marc Davis, JB DeRosa, Mitchell Ervin, Kane Fitzgerald, Tyler Ford, Brian Forte, Scott Foster, Pat Fraher, Jacyn Goble, John Goble, David Guthrie, Bill Kennedy, Courtney Kirkland, Karl Lane, Eric Lewis, Mark Lindsay, Tre Maddox, Ed Malloy, Rodney Mott, Gediminas Petraitis, Michael Smith, Ben Taylor, Josh Tiven, Scott Twardoski, Justin Van Duyne, Tom Washington, James Williams, Sean Wright and Zach Zarba.
The following officials are alternates for the first round of the 2022 NBA Playoffs presented by Google Pixel:
Ray Acosta, Matt Boland, Derrick Collins, Lauren Holtkamp, Brett Nansel, Aaron Smith, Dedric Taylor and Leon Wood.
Playoff officials are selected by the NBA Referee Operations management team based on three specific criteria assessed 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 who will advance in the 2022 postseason.
The officials who comprise the 2022 playoff roster average 16 years of NBA experience, with 29 having 10 or more years of experience. Twenty-one officials have five or more years of playoff experience, highlighted by Tom Washington and Scott Foster, who will be officiating in the playoffs for their 24th and 22nd seasons, respectively.
Referees assigned to first-round games include nine with 100 or more playoff games worked: Foster (201), Washington (172), Tony Brothers (163), James Capers (163), Marc Davis (161), Ed Malloy (121), Bill Kennedy (120), Zach Zarba (117) and John Goble (100).
Making their debut as members of the playoff staff are Eric Dalen, Mitchell Ervin and Justin Van Duyne.
The Meta Quest NBA Play-In Tournament begins Tuesday, April 12. The first round of the NBA Playoffs presented by Google Pixel tips off Saturday, April 16. Individual game assignments for referees are posted at NBA.com/official at approximately 9 a.m. ET each game day.
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