Referees picked by the NBA for Game 7 are James Capers, Josh Tiven, Sean Wright
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — James Capers, Josh Tiven and Sean Wright joined a very small club on Sunday.
Capers, Tiven and Wright were announced by the NBA as the officiating crew for Game 7 of the NBA Finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers. It's the first Game 7 of a finals for all three, who are now the 22nd, 23rd and 24th referees in NBA history to land such an assignment.
Advertisement
'Being selected to work the NBA Finals is the top honor as an NBA official," Byron Spruell, the NBA's president of league operations, said earlier this month when the 12-person list of finals referees was revealed.
And Game 7, one would think, is the top of the top honors.
Scott Foster, a two-time Game 7 finals referee and generally considered one of the best in the game, was not picked for the crew. Had he been, he would have become the seventh referee picked to work at least three Game 7s in the title series. The referees in NBA history who have worked that many are Mendy Rudolph (six), Earl Strom (five), Sid Borgia (four), Dan Crawford (three), Joe Crawford (three) and Richie Powers (three).
Foster — who is frequently criticized online by fans — was defended by Indiana coach Rick Carlisle after Game 4, notable because it was a game that the Pacers lost.
Advertisement
'As far as officiating, I think it's awful some of the things I've seen about the officiating, and Scott Foster in particular,' Carlisle said before Game 5. 'I've known Scott Foster for 30 years. He is a great official. He has done a great job in these playoffs. We've had him a lot of times. The ridiculous scrutiny that is being thrown out there is terrible and unfair and unjust and stupid.'
The NBA had 75 full-time officials this season and 36 of those were selected to work the first round of the playoffs. The officiating roster is further trimmed going into each playoff round, with the league's referee operations management team determining who should advance.
Capers is working his 13th finals, Tiven his sixth and Wright is in the finals for only the second time. It's the second game of these finals for all three referees — Capers worked Indiana's win in Game 3, while Wright and Tiven were both on the crew for Oklahoma City's win in Game 4.
James Williams, who worked Games 2 and 5 of the series, was picked as the alternate for Game 7. David Guthrie, who officiated Games 1 and 6, was the referee assigned to the replay center in Secaucus, New Jersey, for Game 7.
Advertisement
Thunder coach Mark Daigneault addressed officiating — and how he and his team respect referees — from a general perspective Saturday, when asked how his team has avoided being called for very many technical fouls this season.
'The outcome of the game and the context of the game is outside of our control,' Daigneault said. 'In between the lines is inside our control. The referees (are) in that category, too. We can't control how they call the game and what they put a whistle on and what they don't. We can control a lot of other things in the game, and that's what we need to focus on.'
___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
26 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Colby Thomas' three-run homer (2)
Colby Thomas hits a three-run homer to left-center field to give the Athletics a 4-1 lead in the bottom of the 3rd inning
Yahoo
26 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Chiefs vs. Seahawks: QB Gardner Minshew finds veteran TE Robert Tonyan for TD in Seattle
The Kansas City Chiefs are in the midst of a tight game against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 2 of the 2025 NFL preseason. After a slow start that saw the Chiefs down 14-0 in the first quarter of Friday's tilt, Kansas City's offense began to claw its way back as the game approached halftime. Trailing with only ten minutes left in the half, quarterback Gardner Minshew manufactured a near-perfect drive that ended in a touchdown pass to veteran tight end Robert Tonyan in the red zone. Take a look at the connection, which was posted to Twitter by the Chiefs' official account: Despite a close game, Kansas City's defense has staggered against a much-improved Seattle team and will need to rely on its experience to stop quarterback Sam Darnold and company. Stay tuned to see if the reigning AFC champions can recover from last week's loss and head back to western Missouri with a win. This article originally appeared on Chiefs Wire: Chiefs vs. Seahawks: Gardner Minshew finds Robert Tonyan for first TD
Yahoo
26 minutes ago
- Yahoo
A special win: How the Brewers tied their franchise record with 13 straight victories
CINCINNATI (AP) — The Milwaukee Brewers just keep streaking, and now they've matched the franchise record for consecutive wins at 13. The Brewers rallied from seven runs down through two innings Friday night by scoring nine unanswered runs in thumping the Cincinnati Reds 10-8. Milwaukee opened the 1987 season winning the first 13. 'It's just a special win,' said Christian Yelich, who had two homers among four hits driving in five runs. This latest streak in a season in which the Brewers just don't lose very often or bash their way back to one big win after another has them atop all of Major League Baseball with a 77-44 record. That's six better than Toronto, and Milwaukee has opened up a nine-game lead inside the NL Central over Chicago. That success has fed their confidence. Yelich told manager Pat Murphy they were going to win even when trailing 8-1 after two innings. He played with a bat honoring Bob Uecker, the Brewers' former announcer who died in January at the age of 90, down to his signature home run call. Yelich said the Brewers have been in this situation before and always find a way to make it close. 'Just with the way that our team is I knew we weren't going to get our doors blown off,' Yelich said. "You know we're going to find a way to get our way back into that thing. We just got a roomful of fighters and guys who just don't care what the scoreboard says or anything like that.' Uecker, nicknamed Mr. Baseball, broadcast Milwaukee games for over half a century. Murphy said they just have to convince themselves that Uecker is still with them after what he meant to the organization. 'Somehow it seems like he's watching over us,' Murphy said. "I said he's not going to miss a game. Well, he was definitely here tonight. Yelly proved it. Special." Yelich nearly put his bat away after an opening home run only to keep swinging it the rest of the game. He was supposed to use the bat honoring Uecker last year, and Uecker loved the bat when he saw it. Yelich called this kind of a full-circle moment. 'If you know Ueck, you know like crazy things like that are going to happen when he's involved,' Yelich said. 'It just adds to like how special tonight was.' ___ AP MLB:
