[Law Murray] The NBA Players Association TheNBPA just released released three tiers of officials. Tier 1: Elite and top performers. Tier 2: Solid performers. Tier 3: Needs improvement
Based on a 1-5 rating scale, officials have been grouped into three tiers: Tier 1 (Elite & Top Performers), Tier 2 (Solid Performers), and Tier 3 (Needs Improvement). The NBPA recommends that only Tier 1 or Tier 2 referees be assigned to playoff games, with Tier 1 officials exclusively handling the NBA Finals. By putting the highest-ranked referees on the floor, the league can make sure the spotlight stays on the players and the competition instead of officiating or tense interactions with referees.
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
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
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
The 2025-26 NBPA Referee Player Survey collected data from all 30 NBA teams, rating the overall performance of all 73 referees on a scale of 1-5. Names listed in alphabetical order.
Update:
https://www.nbpa.com/news/nbpa-announces-findings-from-2025-26-referee-player-survey
“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 at the State of the Game roundtable. “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.”
You can watch NBPA Vice President Jaylen Brown and NBPA First Vice President Grant Williams, alongside NBPA Executive Director Andre Iguodala and incoming Executive Director David Kelly, discussing officiating and other key basketball topics in episode two of “State of the Game” with Kenny Beecham and Enjoy Basketball. Click here for episode one featuring NBPA President Fred VanVleet, Head of Elite Youth & Basketball Activation Shaun Livingston, Iguodala, and Kelly.
Additional survey highlights include: