Ron Garretson

Last updated
Ron Garretson
Born (1958-07-01) July 1, 1958 (age 66)
Education Golden West Junior College
Basketball career
Position NBA referee
Officiating career1987–2019

Ron Garretson (born July 1, 1958, in Long Beach, California) is an American former professional basketball referee for the National Basketball Association (NBA). In his 30-plus NBA seasons, from 1987 until 2019, he had officiated over 1,600 games, including 1,397 regular season NBA games, 157 playoff games and 11 Finals games. He also officiated the 1993 Europe Tour in London and the 1997 and 2013 NBA All-Star Games. [1] [2] He is the son of former NBA referee Darell Garretson, [2] who died in April 2008 at the age of 76. [3]

Career

Garretson attended Servite High School in Anaheim, California, where he played basketball and football. He then earned an Associate of Arts degree from Golden West Junior College. Before joining the NBA as a referee, he spent two years officiating high school games in Arizona and two more in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA). [1]

In a game during the 1995–96 season, Garretson was involved in an on-court incident with Los Angeles Lakers guard Nick Van Exel. After a timeout with 3 minutes left, Garretson called a technical foul on Van Exel for arguing a call. Van Exel continued to argue and reportedly called Garretson a "little midget." Garretson then called another technical foul, which automatically ejected Van Exel. He walked toward the locker room before returning to shove Garretson into the scorer's table. He was immediately restrained by teammates as he continued to swear at the referee. [4] [5] The league later fined him a record-high $25,000 and suspended him for seven regular-season games. [5] Van Exel publicly apologized for his action, though he refused to apologize to Garretson. [6]

In a 2000 playoff game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Portland Trail Blazers, Garretson ejected then-Blazer Rasheed Wallace after granting a timeout to Los Angeles because he believed that Wallace displayed a negative attitude towards him. Wallace's former teammate, Steve Smith, argued to Garretson that Wallace did not say anything to him. Garretson told Smith that Wallace was warned three times about staring at him.

Garretson was one of three referees who worked the Pacers–Pistons brawl at The Palace of Auburn Hills on November 19, 2004, which ended in a fight between Pacers players and Pistons fans. [7] [8] [9]

Garretson was inducted into Servite High School's Athletic Hall of Fame in May 2000. [1] [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rasheed Wallace</span> American basketball player (born 1974)

Rasheed Abdul Wallace is an American basketball coach and former professional player. A native of Philadelphia, Wallace played college basketball at the University of North Carolina before declaring for the draft in 1995. He played 16 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

In basketball, a technical foul is any infraction of the rules penalized as a foul which does not involve physical contact during the course of play between opposing players on the court, or is a foul by a non-player. The most common technical foul is for unsportsmanlike conduct. Technical fouls can be assessed against players, bench personnel, the entire team, or even the crowd. These fouls, and their penalties, are more serious than a personal foul, but not necessarily as serious as a flagrant foul.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metta Sandiford-Artest</span> American basketball player (born 1979)

Metta Sandiford-Artest, previously legally named Metta World Peace, is an American former professional basketball player who played 19 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Under the name Ron Artest, he played college basketball for the St. John's Red Storm. He was drafted by the Chicago Bulls in the first round of the 1999 NBA draft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malice at the Palace</span> 2004 NBA game ended by a brawl

The "Malice at the Palace" was a fight involving both players and fans that occurred during a National Basketball Association (NBA) game between the Indiana Pacers and the defending champion Detroit Pistons on November 19, 2004, at The Palace in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The Associated Press called it "the most infamous brawl in NBA history".

Elliott Lydell "Dale" Davis is an American former professional basketball player who played center and power forward.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nick Van Exel</span> American basketball coach and former player

Nickey Maxwell Van Exel is an American professional basketball coach and former player who last served as an assistant coach for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Van Exel played for six NBA teams from 1993 through 2006. He was an NBA All-Star with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1998.

In basketball, a flop is an intentional fall or stagger by a player, after little or no physical contact by an opponent, to induce an official to call a personal foul on the opponent. The move is sometimes called acting, as in "acting as if he were fouled". Because it is inherently designed to deceive the official, flopping is considered unsportsmanlike, but it is widely practiced. The player who commits the act is called a flopper.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rick Adelman</span> American basketball player and coach

Richard Leonard Adelman is an American former professional basketball player and coach. He coached 23 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Adelman served as head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers, Golden State Warriors, Sacramento Kings, Houston Rockets and Minnesota Timberwolves. He was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in the class of 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Earl Strom</span> American basketball referee (1927–1994)

Earl "Yogi" Strom was an American professional basketball referee for 29 years in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and for three years in the American Basketball Association (ABA). Strom is credited as one of the great referees in the history of the NBA and was known for his flamboyant style and ability to control the game. Nicknamed "The Pied Piper", the assertive Strom made foul calls with his whistle by using a "tweet-pause-tweet-tweet" tune and pointing at the offending player. In addition to calling fouls with flair, he was known for ejecting players from games with style and he sometimes supported his rulings with physical force.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1990 NBA Finals</span> 1990 basketball championship series

The 1990 NBA Finals was the championship round of the 1989–90 National Basketball Association (NBA) season, and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The series pitted the defending NBA and Eastern Conference champion Detroit Pistons against the Western Conference champion Portland Trail Blazers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1989 NBA Finals</span> 1989 basketball championship series

The 1989 NBA Finals was the championship round of the 1988–89 National Basketball Association (NBA) season, and the conclusion of the 1989 NBA Playoffs. The series was a rematch of the previous year's championship round between the Eastern Conference playoff champion Detroit Pistons and the defending NBA champion and Western Conference playoff champion Los Angeles Lakers. This, along with the 1983 NBA Finals, were the only two NBA championships of the 1980s not to be won by either the Lakers or the Boston Celtics; every NBA Finals of that decade featured either the Lakers or Celtics, and sometimes both. Coincidentally, the Lakers were also swept in the 1983 NBA Finals, that time by the Philadelphia 76ers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dick Bavetta</span> American basketball referee (born 1939)

Richard W. Bavetta is an American retired professional basketball referee for the National Basketball Association (NBA). He debuted in the league in 1975 and never missed an assigned game, and he holds the league record for most officiated games with 2,635.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2002 NBA playoffs</span> Basketball competition

The 2002 NBA playoffs were the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 2001–02 season. This was the final postseason that held a best-of-5 first-round series; the 2003 NBA playoffs saw those series expand to a best-of-7 format. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers defeating the Eastern Conference champion New Jersey Nets 4 games to 0 in the 2002 NBA Finals. Shaquille O'Neal was named NBA Finals MVP for the third straight year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Javie</span> American basketball referee (born 1955)

Steve Javie is an American retired professional basketball referee who refereed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from the 1986–87 NBA season to the 2010–11 season and is currently an analyst with ESPN and a Catholic permanent deacon. Javie officiated 1,514 regular season, 243 playoff, and 23 NBA Finals games and is one of few NBA referees to officiate 1,000 games. According to Referee magazine, Javie was a highly regarded referee in the NBA, and he was respected within the officiating community for his game management skills. He was also notable during his NBA officiating career for his quickness in assessing technical fouls.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joey Crawford</span> American basketball referee (born 1951)

Joseph Crawford is an American retired professional basketball referee who worked in the National Basketball Association (NBA) between 1977 and 2016. Crawford, who wore uniform number 17, was regarded as one of the most punitive and controversial officials in the NBA and developed a reputation for assessing technical fouls against both players and coaches. As of the conclusion of the 2014–15 NBA season, Crawford had worked more playoff (313) and NBA Finals games (50) than any other active referee in the league. He officiated in every NBA Finals series from 1986 to 2015, only missing 2007 due to suspension. In addition to playoff games, Crawford officiated the NBA All-Star Game in 1986, 1992 and 2000.

The National Basketball Association (NBA) has faced a multitude of criticisms from sports publications, fans, and its own players.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Knicks–Nuggets brawl</span> On-court altercation at a National Basketball Association game

The Knicks–Nuggets brawl was an on-court altercation at a National Basketball Association (NBA) game between the New York Knicks and Denver Nuggets at Madison Square Garden in New York City on December 16, 2006. This altercation became the most penalized on-court fight in the NBA since the Indiana Pacers–Detroit Pistons brawl, otherwise known as the Malice at the Palace, which occurred on November 19, 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tim Donaghy</span> American basketball referee

Timothy Francis Donaghy is a disgraced former professional basketball referee who worked in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 13 seasons from 1994 to 2007 until he was caught in a gambling scandal. During his career in the NBA, Donaghy officiated in 772 regular season games and 26 playoff games.

The 1999–2000 NBA season was the Pacers' 24th season in the National Basketball Association, and 33rd season as a franchise. It was also their first season playing at the Conseco Fieldhouse. During the off-season, the Pacers acquired top draft pick and high school star Jonathan Bender from the Toronto Raptors, and acquired rookie center Jeff Foster from the Golden State Warriors. The Pacers played around .500 with a 7–7 start to the season, but then won 15 of their next 17 games, and held a 32–16 record at the All-Star break. The team finished first place in the Central Division with a 56–26 record, highlighted by a franchise-best 25-game winning streak at home, which was worthy of the Eastern Conference first seed in the playoffs, guaranteed home-court advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs for the first time in franchise history, and an all-time franchise best win–loss record.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lakers–Pistons rivalry</span> National Basketball Association rivalry

The Lakers–Pistons rivalry is an American professional basketball rivalry between the Los Angeles Lakers and Detroit Pistons. This rivalry, which was showcased three times in the NBA Finals, pitted the All-Star filled Lakers teams against the blue collar, team-first oriented Pistons squads. Despite playing the role of underdog in all three of their final round meetings with Los Angeles, Detroit enjoyed significant success against the Lakers, claiming the NBA title against them twice.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "NBA 2008–09 Officials Media Guide" (PDF). NBA.com . Retrieved 2009-05-24.
  2. 1 2 3 "Ron Garretson #10". National Basketball Referees Association. Retrieved 2009-05-24.
  3. "Garretson, former director of NBA officials, dies at 76". ESPN.com. Associated Press. 2008-04-23. Retrieved 2024-01-24.
  4. "Results Plus". The New York Times. April 10, 1996. Retrieved May 26, 2009.
  5. 1 2 Litsky, Frank (April 11, 1996). "Pro Basketball;Van Exel Receives 7-Game Suspension". The New York Times. Retrieved May 26, 2009.
  6. "Sports People: Basketball;Van Exel Apologizes To All But Referee". The New York Times. April 12, 1996. Retrieved May 26, 2009.
  7. "Carlisle: 'I was fighting for my life out there'". ESPN. November 19, 2004. Archived from the original on November 25, 2004. Retrieved July 29, 2009.
  8. "Indiana Pacers vs. Detroit Pistons – Box Score – November 19, 2004". ESPN. February 8, 2009. Archived from the original on October 31, 2011. Retrieved July 29, 2009.
  9. Johnson, Kevin; McCarthy, Michael (July 20, 2007). "FBI probes whether NBA ref bet on games". USA Today . Archived from the original on August 4, 2010. Retrieved July 23, 2010.