NBA Finals officials include first-timer Curtis Blair

Field Level Media|published: Tue 2nd June, 16:43 2026

Jan 27, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; NBA referee Curtis Blair during the Phoenix Suns game against the Brooklyn Nets at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The league announced the 12 officials assigned to the 2026 NBA finals on Tuesday, with Curtis Blair making his first appearance and Scott Foster his 19th.

Game 1 between the New York Knicks and host San Antonio Spurs is on Wednesday night at 8:30 p.m. ET.

"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," said Byron Spruell, NBA President, League Operations. "We are grateful for their unwavering dedication to the game and pursuit of excellence in their craft."

The officiating crew was selected by the NBA Referee Operation management team based on their grades for play-calling accuracy and other factors during the regular season and throughout the postseason.

In addition to Blair and Foster, the official working the Finals will be Tony Brothers (15th Finals), Marc Davis (15th), James Capers (14th), Zach Zarba (13th), John Goble (10th), Josh Tiven (seventh), James Williams (sixth), Courtney Kirkland (fifth), Sean Wright (third) and Tyler Ford (second).

Blair, 55, was an alternate for the NBA Finals in 2021 and 2022. He has worked more than 1,000 NBA games since 2008.

"Very emotional moment, very emotional moment for me, because I've been right there on the doorstep for so many years," Blair told The Associated Press. "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."

Foster (26) has officiated the most Finals games among this year's crew, followed by Davis (23) and Brothers (19).

This year's alternates are Nick Buchert, JB DeRosa, Mitchell Ervin and Justin Van Duyne.

Individual game assignments are posted on the league website at approximately 9 a.m. ET on each game day.

--Field Level Media

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