NBA announces 12 officials selected for Thunder-Pacers Finals series
The NBA announced the pool of 12 referees selected for the 2025 NBA Finals series between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers.
On Tuesday, the association revealed that Scott Foster, in his 18th NBA Finals, will return to officiate the championship series. Marc Davis and Tony Brothers will be making their 14th Finals appearances while James Capers and Zach Zabra make their 13th and 12th, respectively,
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Other experienced Finals referees include John Globe (9th), David Guthrie (8th), Josh Tiven (6th) and James Williams (5th). Sean Wright will be returning to the NBA Finals for the first time while Tylor Ford and Ben Taylor will be working their first Finals assignments.
'We are grateful for these 12 individuals and their dedication to serving the game at the highest levels throughout the season,' NBA President of League Operations Byron Spruell said. 'Being selected to work the NBA Finals is the top honor as an NBA official, and I congratulate this exceptional group on a worthy achievement.'
Foster leads the pack in Finals experience with 25 games, followed by Davis' 21 and Brothers' 17. Referees Courtney Kirkland and Kevin Scott have also been named as alternate referees.
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The officials assigned to each game will be announced around 9 a.m. ET each game day, starting with Thursday's series opener.
Oklahoma City is making its first NBA Finals appearance as the Thunder since 2012, when a young, Kevin Durant-led squad fell to LeBron James and the Miami Heat. With league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the forefront, the Thunder secured the top seed in the Western Conference with a 68-14 record.
The Thunder swept the Memphis Grizzlies, went seven games with the Denver Nuggets and bested the Minnesota Timberwolves in five games to make the Finals.
On the other hand, Indiana came out of the East as the fourth-seeded team with a 50-32 record. The Pacers nearly swept their way through the playoffs by beating the Milwaukee Bucks and upsetting the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers in five games before taking care of the New York Knicks in six.
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Tyrese Halliburton and Co. look to secure Indiana's first title in their first Finals berth since 2000.
The NBA Finals begin at 8:30 p.m. ET on Thursday from the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City.
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