Ford and Taylor debut in the NBA Finals: The dream of the golden whistle

The Whistle’s Reward: Ford and Taylor to Officiate NBA Finals

For NBA players, the prize is the gold trophy. For NBA referees, the prize is the white jacket. Tyler Ford and Ben Taylor have achieved that coveted recognition. Ford and Taylor were first selected to be part of the 12-referee group that will officiate the NBA Finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers. The series will begin on Thursday in Oklahoma City.

“That jacket is really special and it’s like our trophy,” Ford said. “There’s a special meaning to the white jacket. Everyone who’s been to the Finals or aspires to be there recognizes it. You get it when you’re a substitute because you go out and take a picture and you have to be prepared, but it’s a little different when you’re actually one of the 12 and you’ll be working on the court.”
Tyler Ford

Both have been substitutes before, so they know the look and feel of the white jacket. Taylor made sure to know the difference between the ones he received as a substitute and the ones he will get now as a finals referee.

“Literally, I wrote on each of them. I wrote ALT on the tag of each one I have so far,” Taylor said. “It’s the culmination of a lifetime’s work. I entered the minor leagues at 20 or 21. It’s all I’ve known and it’s all I’ve done. It’s the pinnacle. The extreme pinnacle is the team leader of Game 7, but this is a big step in that direction.”
Ben Taylor

Scott Foster is the most veteran of the Finals referees; he was selected to work the series for the 18th time. Tony Brothers and Marc Davis were selected for the 14th time, James Capers for the 13th time, Zach Zarba for the 12th time, and John Goble for the ninth time in his career. David Guthrie is now an eight-time selection for the finals, while Josh Tiven was selected for the sixth time, James Williams for the fifth time, and Sean Wright for the second time.

“We are grateful for these 12 individuals and their dedication to serving the game at the highest levels throughout the season,” said Byron Spruell, President of NBA League Operations. “Being selected to work the NBA Finals is the highest honor as an NBA official, and I congratulate this exceptional group on a worthy achievement.”
Byron Spruell, President of NBA League Operations

Courtney Kirkland and Kevin Scott were selected as alternates. Foster has officiated the most NBA Finals games among this year’s referees with 25, while Davis has worked 21 and Brothers has worked 17.

The NBA Finals officials were selected based on their overall performance during the first three rounds of the playoffs. The officials were evaluated by the NBA’s Referee Operations management team after each round to determine advancement in this year’s postseason, the league said.

Ford and Taylor received the calls informing them that they had been selected by Albert Sanders Jr., head of referee operations for the league. Neither of them knew when, or if, the call would come, and they knew they had no control over the decision.

“It takes a lot of mental capacity to be able to say: ‘OK, can I live with the work I’ve done and be okay with whatever comes?'”, said Taylor.
Ben Taylor

If the above format is maintained, each of the 12 will work one of the first four games of the series as part of a standard three-person crew. If the series goes past Game 4, the NBA will continue to assign as needed from the same group for the remainder of the matchup.

The lineups for each game are typically announced around 9 a.m. Eastern on game days. For Ford, it so happens that Game 2 is on his 40th birthday on Sunday, if that works out, and he worked the G League Finals the year he turned 30. Whatever game he works, it will be around his 40th birthday, so there’s a neat symmetry to the merging of a work milestone with a milestone birthday.