NBA makes Scott Foster ref announcement for Game 7 of Finals

Billy Heyen

NBA makes Scott Foster ref announcement for Game 7 of Finals image

Scott Foster is the rare NBA official who is well known by basketball fans.

Some call him "The Extender," suggesting that he's the referee who the league calls in to help keep a series alive.

In reality, Foster is an uber-accomplished ref. Of the 12 referees selected for the 2025 NBA Finals, none have worked more Finals series or games than Foster.

But for Game 7, Foster won't be on the whistle.

The NBA announced Sunday morning that James Capers, Josh Tiven and Sean Wright will be on the court, with James Williams as alternate.

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Foster was the crew chief for Game 4.

The NBA of course hopes that the officials aren't a part of the story of Game 7. It's a huge boost for the league to get the Thunder and Pacers all the way to the final day of the season.

With a Game 7 comes an increase of millions to television viewership. The last thing the league needs is those viewers questioning the officiating.

Being an NBA referee is not an easy job, and they get heavy scrutiny. Foster won't be in that crucible on Sunday night.

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Billy Heyen

Billy Heyen is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. He is a 2019 graduate of Syracuse University who has written about many sports and fantasy sports for The Sporting News. Sports reporting work has also appeared in a number of newspapers, including the Sandusky Register and Rochester Democrat & Chronicle