NEW YORK – The NBA and the National Basketball Referees Association announced today that they have entered into a new two-year labor agreement.  The agreement, which will cover the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons, ends the lockout of referees that commenced on September 18.

“We are pleased to reach this agreement,” NBA Commissioner David Stern said.  “The negotiations extended further than either side had hoped, but when our regular season tips off on Tuesday we’ll have the best referees in the world officiating our games.  We appreciate the job done by our replacement officials during the preseason.”
Per league policy, terms of the agreement will not be disclosed.

The NBA referees will begin a three-day training camp this weekend in order to prepare for the start of the regular season on Tuesday.

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