NBA announces 12 officials selected for 2026 NBA Finals

NEW YORK The NBA today announced the game officials assigned to the 2026 NBA Finals.  The championship series between the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs tips off on Wednesday, June 3 at 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC.

“Being selected to work the NBA Finals is the highest honor for an NBA official, and I congratulate them on an outstanding and well-earned achievement,” said Byron Spruell, NBA President, League Operations. “We are grateful for their unwavering dedication to the game and pursuit of excellence in their craft.”

NBA Finals officials are selected by the NBA Referee Operations management team based on key criteria assessed throughout the season: NBA Referee Operations grades and rankings, play-calling accuracy and team ratings.  Officials are evaluated after each playoff round to determine advancement in the NBA Playoffs 2026 presented by Google.

The referees assigned to the 2026 NBA Finals are below:

Curtis Blair (1st Finals) John Goble (10th Finals)
Tony Brothers (15th Finals) Courtney Kirkland (5th Finals)
James Capers (14th Finals) Josh Tiven (7th Finals)
Marc Davis (15th Finals) James Williams (6th Finals)
Tyler Ford (2nd Finals) Sean Wright (3rd Finals)
Scott Foster (19th Finals) Zach Zarba (13th Finals)

 

Blair will make his NBA Finals debut after serving as an alternate in 2021 and 2022.

Foster has officiated the most NBA Finals games among this year’s Finals referees (26), followed by Davis (23) and Brothers (19).  NBA officials Nick Buchert, JB DeRosa, Mitchell Ervin and Justin Van Duyne have been assigned as alternates for the 2026 NBA Finals.

Individual game assignments for referees are posted at NBA.com/official at approximately 9 a.m. ET each game day.