LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — NBA referees have not had the same opportunities as players have to knock off the rust from the shutdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Players have been back on the court for a few weeks, with the majority of that time spent getting in individual workouts before practices could resume when the 22 teams arrived at the Walt Disney World bubble.
The referees didn't have that chance.
Right now, there's a healthy amount of nervous anxiety for those who operate the whistles at NBA games with exhibition contests — the first opportunity for refs to call anything in roughly 4-1/2 months — set to begin next week.