Curtis Blair anxiously monitored his inbox throughout the weekend, waiting for word from the NBA about Finals referee selections. The anticipation was excruciating.
“Every two minutes, I’d check,” Blair explained.
After three days of silence, Blair was returning from visiting his parents in Virginia when he discovered a missed call in his driveway. The caller was Albert Sanders Jr., who oversees NBA referee operations as executive vice president.
That phone call delivered the news Blair had been hoping to receive for years.
When Blair returned the call, he learned he would join the NBA Finals officiating crew for the first time. Among the dozen referees chosen to work the championship series starting Wednesday between San Antonio and New York, Blair stands as the sole rookie selection.
“Very emotional moment, very emotional moment for me, because I’ve been right there on the doorstep for so many years,” Blair expressed. “Yeah, very emotional. This is my 18th year and one thing I had to realize going through this journey is that everybody has their own journey. Everybody has their own timetable. You become a referee, become an umpire, you get to the first round, the second round, third round. You just have to worry about yourself and your journey.”
The NBA announced the complete roster Tuesday. Scott Foster leads the group with his 19th Finals assignment, setting the record among active officials. Joining Foster and Blair are: Tony Brothers (15th Finals), Marc Davis (15th), James Capers (14th), Zach Zarba (13th), John Goble (10th), Josh Tiven (7th), James Williams (6th), Courtney Kirkland (5th), Sean Wright (3rd) and Tyler Ford (2nd).
Game crews are typically announced at 9 a.m. EDT each game day.
“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,” stated Byron Spruell, the NBA’s president for league operations. “We are grateful for their unwavering dedication to the game and pursuit of excellence in their craft.”
Blair was drafted by Houston in the second round of 1992 but never appeared in an NBA regular season contest. After playing overseas, he transitioned to officiating and has worked over 1,000 NBA games since joining in 2008.
Officials chosen for the Finals receive distinctive white warm-up jackets exclusively for championship series participants. While Blair owns two from serving as an alternate in 2021 and 2022, this jacket carries deeper significance.
“This is so funny,” Blair noted. “One referee called me and he said, ‘I know you got two other white jackets, but they had an asterisk on it. So, you can throw those away. Now you got a real one.’”
