National Basketball Association (NBA)’s Post

Transcript

What does a day in the life of a ref in the NBA look like? Well, look no further. The crew arrives at the game roughly 2 hours before tip. They'll check in with the replay center before getting their bodies ready to keep up with some of the best athletes in the world. After a security brief, they'll get fully equipped from lacing up and miking up to grabbing whistles and testing game balls. Once on court, they'll start by testing those whistles. Then comes choosing the game ball, where a player Rep from each team helps decide. Then the crew chief checks that every available player is in fact on the court. Finally comes game time. Have a third team on the court. Add half, they'll head back to their locker room to review plates, and it's not just the place where the whistle was blown either. But watching down all instances they thought deserved another look, the Crew heads back to the court to finish out the final half. On average, a ref will run 4 to 5 miles per game as their final whistle blows. They'll wrap final review with the replay center. And this is just everything they do at the arena before heading back to make their game report, travel to the next city, and do it all again next game.