In my career, I’ve been one of the more outspoken critics of the NBA’s officials, either with snarky barbs on Twitter or missives in my post-game Triple Teams. At times, they’ve deserved that criticism. For the most part, it turns out that my disappointment is the result of holding them to an impossible standard.
This realization came after meeting with leaders from the NBA’s refereeing division here at All-Star Weekend. Truthfully, it was impossible to come away with anything but respect and understanding about the job that these officials are doing, and the direction that they’re going to improve the league overall.