The National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) has released the findings from its 2025-26 referee-player survey. The survey polled 411 players across all 30 teams. The results will be used as the official player recommendation for referee assignments in the 2026 playoffs and NBA Finals.
How NBA Referees Were Ranked
The players rated all 73 NBA officials on a scale of 1 to 5. Based on the rating scale, the officials were grouped into three tiers. Tier 1 was for “Elite & Top Performers”. Tier 2 was for “Solid Performers,” and Tier 3 officials were designated as “Need Improvement”.
The NBPA intends the survey to inform the NBA regarding which officials the players prefer for playoff games. They also advocate that only Tier 1 officials should be assigned to NBA Finals games.
Grant Williams commented on officiating at the “State of the Game” roundtable. He believes that officiating comes down to the individual, adding that people will make mistakes. He said that the best officials are great communicators who understand when they’ve made a mistake.
Top Ranked Referees
Zach Zarba was ranked as the No. 1 official. He was the only referee ranked in the top 12 by every team in the league. Tony Brothers, who recently had an incident with Minnesota Timberwolves coach Chris Finch, is also in Tier 1, along with Kevin Cutler.
- Zach Zarba was ranked the No. 1 official.
- Tony Brothers is among the 26 referees in Tier 1.
- Kevin Cutler also features in Tier 1.
Other Notable Mentions
Scott Foster was described in the NBPA release as one of the “league’s most polarizing officials”. He was listed in Tier 2 for solid performers. Ashley Moyer-Gleich and Sha’Rae Mitchell received positive feedback regarding their improvement and were placed in the second tier along with Foster.
John Goble was in Tier 3, designated as “Need Improvement”. He was the crew chief for Game 2 between the Los Angeles Lakers and Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference semifinals. During that game, LeBron James was heard berating and cursing at Goble.
Following that game, Austin Reaves and other Lakers players had a conversation with Goble. Reaves stated the conversation stemmed from an earlier interaction where Goble screamed in his face before a jump ball. Reaves felt Goble was disrespectful.
According to Reaves, he had been respectful to the officials all night. He added that he has said worse things in the past.
The survey data is intended to inform the NBA on preferred officials for playoff games.