NBPA referee-player – The NBA Players Association has released results from its 2025-26 referee-player survey, rating 73 officials across three tiers. Zach Zarba ranked No. 1 as the only referee named in the top tier by players on every team, while John Goble landed in Tier 3 after
The next batch of NBA playoff whistle decisions may be influenced by something that rarely makes it to the public: what the players think.
For the first time, the National Basketball Players Association has publicly released its findings from the 2025-26 referee-player survey. The NBAPA release says the results are intended as the official player recommendation for further referee assignments for the 2026 playoffs and for assignments in the 2026 NBA Finals.
The survey pulls from a poll of 411 players across all 30 teams. Players rated all 73 NBA officials on a 1-to-5 scale. The officials were then grouped into three tiers based on those ratings: Tier 1, “Elite & Top Performers”; Tier 2, “Solid Performers”; and Tier 3, “Need Improvement.”
The point of the exercise is direct: the survey is meant to inform the NBA on which officials the NBPA prefers be assigned to playoff games, and to advocate that only Tier 1 officials be assigned to NBA Finals games.
At a “State of the Game” roundtable, Grant Williams put it in personal terms. He said officiating comes down to the person, not a system of perfect fixes. “I think officiating comes down to the person. I don’t think you can reform the calls themselves. People are human, and they’re going to make mistakes,” Williams said. “But the best officials in the league. according to the players. are the great communicators. the ones who understand when they’ve made a mistake.”.
Within Tier 1, Zach Zarba stood at the center of the league’s praise. He was ranked the No. 1 official as the only person ranked by players in the top 12 by every team in the league. Joining Zarba among the 26 referees in Tier 1 were Tony Brothers, Kevin Cutler, and others.
Brothers is also tied to a recent flashpoint: he recently got in a spat with Minnesota Timberwolves coach Chris Finch. The NBPA release lists him among the league’s top tier based on player feedback.
Scott Foster, on the other hand, was framed differently by the survey. The NBPA release noted him as one of the “league’s most polarizing officials” and placed him in Tier 2 for solid performers.
Ashley Moyer-Gleich and Sha’Rae Mitchell were highlighted for receiving positive feedback on their improvement and landed in the second tier alongside Foster. The release also includes a sharp line about representation at the very top: no female referee made it into the first tier. according to player feedback.
Tier 3, “Need Improvement,” brought the most familiar kind of tension—one tied to a specific game, a specific referee, and the kind of frustration that can be heard even in the stands.
John Goble, the crew chief for Game 2 between the Los Angeles Lakers and Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference semifinals, was included in Tier 3. In that game, LeBron James could be heard by reporters from The Athletic in attendance loudly berating and cursing at Goble.
After the game ended, Austin Reaves and other Lakers players crowded around Goble and had a spirited conversation with him before leaving the floor. Reaves later said the conversation stemmed from an earlier interaction.
In the fourth quarter, Reaves fought for position on a jump ball with Thunder guard Cason Wallace. According to Reaves, Goble screamed directly in his face before the ball went up in a manner Reaves deemed “disrespectful.”
“I felt like I was respectful to all of them all night,” Reaves told reporters afterward. “I mean, there’s a million times in the past I’ve said way worse stuff. And when we were doing the whole tip-ball when they were switching spots. I wanted to get on the other side because they had a guy on the other side. was just trying to keep an advantage.”.
Goble was one of 20 referees voted into Tier 3.
Taken together, the player survey paints a league where communication and consistent control matter as much as calls themselves. Williams’ remarks about players adapting while officials maintain control thread through the results: the top tier leans toward communicators and those players trust. while the bottom tier captures the officials players most openly criticized.
And at the end of the same roundtable, Williams returned to that theme. “As long as you’re calling a game consistently, guys are willing to adapt,” he said. “It’s about having control of the game while also respecting the players and their different personalities.”
NBPA NBA referees referee-player survey Zach Zarba John Goble Scott Foster Tony Brothers Kevin Cutler Ashley Moyer-Gleich Sha’Rae Mitchell Chris Finch Lakers Thunder 2026 playoffs 2026 NBA Finals
Zarba #1?? That tracks, I swear he always seems to get the benefit of the doubt.
Tier 3 for Goble… so basically the NBA is just gonna ignore player feedback until it’s convenient? lol. Also why do they keep talking like “reforms” can’t happen.
Wait I thought Zarba already retired or something? Maybe I’m mixing him up with another ref. But if players rate them on comms then how is that even fair, like the whistle is still the whistle.
NBA players really said “only Tier 1 in the Finals” like it’s a menu. Grant Williams saying it’s the person and they’re human… okay but then why do we even do surveys. I’m just imagining Goble out there thinking he did fine and then he’s getting dragged into Tier 3 forever. Also 411 players?? feels like too many opinions that won’t matter at the end.