Top 5 NBA referees of all time

#3 Joey Crawford

Joey Crawford

Joey Crawford retired in 2016 after a 39-year NBA career filled with controversy. He has built a reputation for assessing technical fouls and ejections to both players and coaches. He became famous for throwing out Tim Duncan while the star forward was just laughing on the bench. The incident got him suspended from the league and broke his streak of NBA Finals appearances. He officiated every NBA Finals from 1986 to 2015 except the 2007 one.

Joey Crawford on NBA career: "Sometimes I would get rattled” https://t.co/eH2iYWsbq3 pic.twitter.com/XcaQrb7eZc

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 18, 2016

However, he is one of the most respected NBA officials by the league and coaches. San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich said Crawford "will definitely be missed" when the latter announced his retirement. As of 2015, Joey Crawford had worked in more NBA playoffs (313) and NBA Finals (50) games than any other active referee. He was one of the few referees to cross the 2000-game mark.

#4 Earl Strom

Earl Strom in 1978 [Source: The Spokesman Review]

One of the greatest but most controversial NBA referees of all time, Earl Strom was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1995. He was nicknamed "The Pied Piper" as he blew his whistle by using a "tweet-pause-tweet-tweet" tune. In his 32-year officiating career, he worked on 29 NBA and ABA finals, 2400 regular-season games, and 295 NBA playoff games.

The NBRA congratulates Earl Strom on his induction into the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame! https://t.co/BehkTO450k via @PhillyInquirer

— NBA Referees (@OfficialNBARefs) November 9, 2020

Strom was famous for fighting with other referees, including resorting to physical violence when they disagreed with their calls. Incidents like these have led to fines and suspensions by the NBA. He worked in the NBA and ABA from 1957 to 1990.

#5 Darell Garretson

Darell Garretson [Source: Basketball Hall of Fame]

Darell Garretson is another NBA official who has been inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. He was looked up to by many referees and was inducted in the Hall of Fame after a 27-year career. He worked as an NBA referee from 1967 to 1994 and then as the NBA Supervisor of Officials from 1981 to 1998. Garretson has officiated 1798 regular season games, 269 NBA playoff games and 39 NBA Finals games in his career.

Darell Garretson left lasting legacy on NBA officiating #16HoopClass https://t.co/5P8vG03odz

— NBA (@NBA) September 9, 2016

He left an incredible mark in his time with the NBA. Darell Garretson was credited with creating the first union for NBA referees, a predecessor to the current NBRA (National Basketball Referee's Association). He was also an advocate for increasing the number of officials on the court from two to three. Garretson also developed the concept of "refereeing the defense," a practice in which officials focus attention on a defensive player instead of watching the ball.