The NBA has named the 12 officials who will work the 2026 NBA Finals, putting Tony Brothers and Marc Davis on the championship stage as the series is set to open Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC.
For Brothers, the assignment adds another layer to a long Finals résumé. He was assigned to his 19th NBA Finals game among this year’s Finals referees, while Scott Foster brings 26 Finals games, Davis has 23 and Brian Blair is set for his debut after serving as an alternate in 2021 and 2022.
The selection gives the league its officiating crew for a series that will be decided under the same scrutiny as the teams on the floor. The NBA said the officials were chosen by Referee Operations management using season-long evaluations that weighed grades and rankings, play-calling accuracy and team ratings, with officials reviewed after each playoff round during the 2026 NBA Playoffs presented by Google.
That process explains why experience and first-time selection are both part of the list. Blair’s first Finals call stands next to the deeper track records of Foster, Davis and Brothers, a contrast that signals the league is rewarding both recent performance and long-term consistency as it locks in its biggest crew of the year.
The full group also includes alternates Nick Buchert, JB DeRosa, Mitchell Ervin and Justin Van Duyne. Individual game assignments are not yet set, and the NBA said they will be posted at NBA.com/official at about 9 a.m. ET each game day, leaving the first whistle’s officials to be revealed one game at a time.
