NEW YORK – The NBA today announced the list of 36 officials who have earned spots to work the first round of the 2024 NBA Playoffs presented by Google Pixel. The same group also comprises the officiating staff available for the SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament, which began April 16.
“Congratulations to these 36 officials on the well-earned and prestigious honor of being selected to officiate in the NBA Playoffs,” said Byron Spruell, NBA President, League Operations. “We appreciate the professionalism, dedication and teamwork that our officiating staff displays on a daily basis throughout the season.”
Below is the list of officials for the first round:
Ray Acosta, Brent Barnaky, Curtis Blair, Tony Brothers, Nick Buchert, James Capers, Sean Corbin, Kevin Cutler, Marc Davis, JB DeRosa, Mitchell Ervin, Tyler Ford, Brian Forte, Scott Foster, Pat Fraher, Jacyn Goble, John Goble, David Guthrie, Bill Kennedy, Courtney Kirkland, Marat Kogut, Karl Lane, Mark Lindsay, Ed Malloy, Ashley Moyer-Gleich, JT Orr, Gediminas Petraitis, Kevin Scott, Aaron Smith, Ben Taylor, Dedric Taylor, Josh Tiven, Justin Van Duyne, James Williams, Sean Wright and Zach Zarba.
Marat Kogut, Ashley Moyer-Gleich and J.T. Orr are making their debuts as members of the playoff staff. Moyer-Gleich becomes the second woman selected to officiate in the NBA Playoffs, joining Violet Palmer.
The following officials are alternates for the first round: John Butler, Derrick Collins, Eric Dalen and Scott Twardoski.
The officials on the playoff roster average 16.2 years of NBA experience, with 28 having 10 or more years of experience. Twenty-four officials have five or more years of playoff experience.
Fifteen referees assigned to first-round games have worked 50 or more playoff games. From that group, eight have officiated 100 or more playoff games: Scott Foster (241), Marc Davis (189), Tony Brothers (187), James Capers (178), Zach Zarba (146), Bill Kennedy (139), Ed Malloy (136) and John Goble (125).
Playoff officials are selected by the NBA Referee Operations management team based on three specific criteria assessed throughout the season: NBA Referee Operations grades and rankings, play-calling accuracy and team rankings. Officials will be evaluated after each round of the playoffs to determine advancement in the 2024 postseason.
The SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament concludes tomorrow as the Miami Heat host the Chicago Bulls on ESPN (7 p.m. ET) and the Sacramento Kings visit the New Orleans Pelicans on TNT (9:30 p.m. ET). The first round of the NBA Playoffs presented by Google Pixel tips off Saturday, April 20.
Individual game assignments for referees are posted at NBA.com/official at approximately 9 a.m. ET each game day.
