Tyler Ford | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 8, 1985 Lima, Ohio, U.S. |
| Nationality |  United States |
| Education | Ball State University (B.A., M.A.) |
| Occupation | NBA referee |
Tyler Ford (born June 8, 1985) is an American professional basketball referee in the National Basketball Association (NBA), wearing number 39. As of the 2020-21 NBA season Ford has officiated 333 regular-season games and 15 playoff games. He is in his seventh season as an NBA referee. [1]
Ford was born on June 8, 1985, in Lima, Ohio. He graduated from Allen East High School in Lafayette, Ohio. [1]
Ford officiated Division I college basketball for four seasons. Working games for the Big Ten Conference, Mid-American Conference and the Summit League. [1] He also spent four seasons officiating the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). [1] Before Ford joined the NBA officiating staff, he officiated five seasons in the NBA G League, where he worked the 2014 NBA G League All-Star Game and the 2015 NBA G League Finals. [1] As of the 2020-21 NBA season Ford has officiated 333 regular-season games and 15 playoff games. He is in his seventh season as an NBA referee. [1] [2]
Ford resides in Westfield, Indiana. From 2009 to 2015 Ford worked as the assistant director of Intramural Sports at Purdue University. He has a bachelor's and master's degree in Sport Administration from Ball State University. [1]
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams. It is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada and is considered the premier professional basketball league in the world.
Violet Renice Palmer is a retired American basketball referee in the NBA and WNBA and the first female official to reach the highest competitive tier in any major U.S. professional sports league. She also earned recognition as a member of two NCAA Division II women's championship basketball teams. Palmer was the first woman to officiate an NBA playoff game when she did so in the April 25, 2006 match between the Indiana Pacers and New Jersey Nets. In the NBA, Palmer wore uniform number 12. She retired in 2016.
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 greatest 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.
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.
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.
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.
Hubert "Hugh" Evans was an American basketball referee in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 28 seasons. He worked 1,969 regular season NBA games and 35 NBA Finals games during his NBA officiating career from 1972 to 2001. He subsequently served as an assistant supervisor of officials in the NBA front office.
Bernie W. Fryer has been Vice President and Director of Officials for the National Basketball Association since July 2008. He was a player in the NBA and American Basketball Association (ABA) from 1973 to 1975 before serving as a referee from 1978 to 2007.
Robert J. Delaney is a former undercover New Jersey state trooper and professional basketball referee in the National Basketball Association (NBA) who officiated from the 1987–88 NBA season up until the 2010–11 NBA season. Beginning the 2006–07 NBA season, Delaney had officiated in 1,182 regular season games, 120 playoff games, and seven NBA Finals games. In addition, he was assigned to the 1998 NBA All-Star Game. He wore the uniform number 26.
Ken Mauer Jr. is a former official in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from the 1986–87 NBA season to the 2021-22 NBA season. He believes he was forced to resign for refusal to take the COVID-19 vaccine and was denied a religious exemption. He cited a widely debunked theory that aborted fetal tissue are used in the vaccines as the reason for his refusal. As of the beginning of the 2017–18 NBA season, Mauer officiated in 1,717 regular season and 229 playoff games. Mauer wore uniform number 41.
The National Basketball Association (NBA) playoffs is the annual elimination tournament held to determine the league champion. The four-round, best-of-seven tournament is held after the league's regular season and its preliminary postseason tournament, the NBA play-in tournament. Six teams from each of the two conferences automatically advance to the playoffs based on regular season winning percentage, while those teams finishing 7 through 10 from each conference compete in the play-in tournament to determine the final two playoff seeds.
Eddie F. Rush is a professional basketball referee in the National Basketball Association (NBA). As of the 2006–07 NBA season, he had officiated 1,245 regular season, and 140 playoff games, including nine NBA Finals games.
Zachary Zarba is an American professional basketball referee in the National Basketball Association. He wore uniform number 58 until the 2012–2013 season, when he changed to 28, and currently wears uniform number 15. Zach has officiated 1,182 regular-season games in 19 seasons as an NBA staff official, beginning in 2004. He has also refereed 133 playoff games, including 11 NBA Finals games. Other assignments have included the 2016 NBA All-Star Game in Toronto.
Joseph M. DeRosa is an American retired collegiate and professional basketball referee. DeRosa and Joe Forte are the only two people to have officiated both the NBA Finals and the NCAA Men's Final Four. He was one of the three officials selected to work the 2012 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament semifinal game between Louisville and Kentucky. DeRosa also officiated both the 2014 National Championship game between Kentucky and Connecticut, and the 2015 National Championship game between Duke and Wisconsin. He has officiated in the Southeastern and Big 12 Conferences since 2010. DeRosa started his officiating career as a high school referee in the Western Kentucky Region 1. While he owned a liquor store in Paducah, Kentucky.
Greg Willard was an American professional basketball referee in the National Basketball Association (NBA) since 1988 and wore the uniform number 57. Willard officiated 1,515 regular season, 134 playoff, and three NBA Finals games.
Tony Brothers is an American professional basketball referee who works in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has been a referee in the NBA since the 1994–95 season. Now in his 29th year, Brothers has officiated in over 1,700 regular season games, 186 playoff games and 16 NBA Finals games. He officiated the 2009 NBA All-Star Game in Phoenix, Arizona. In a survey of NBA players, Brothers was voted the best referee, though at the same time, many voted him amongst the least favorite referees. He wears the uniform number 25.
Simone Marie Jelks is an American professional basketball referee in the National Basketball Association (NBA), wearing number 81. Jelks became the seventh woman to be a full-time NBA referee. As of the 2020–21 NBA season Jelks has officiated 49 regular-season games, including 16 regular-season games as a non-staff official during the 2019–20 NBA season. She is in her second season as an NBA referee.
JB DeRosa is an American professional basketball referee for the National Basketball Association (NBA), wearing number 22. As of the 2021-22 NBA season DeRosa has officiated 256 regular-season games and 3 playoff games. He is in his sixth season as an NBA referee. DeRosa is the son of former NBA official Joe DeRosa.
Scott Foster is an American professional basketball referee for the National Basketball Association (NBA). He began officiating games for the NBA in the 1994–95 season and wears number 48.