John Goble, the official Austin Reaves and Los Angeles Lakers surrounded following their Game 2 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, did not receive a favorable grading in a survey conducted by the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA).
Findings from the annual Referee Player Survey were publicly revealed one month after the results were delivered to the league office. The survey represented official player recommendations for referee assignments for the playoffs and a potential guide for selections for the 2026 NBA Finals.
The survey took feedback from 411 players across all 30 teams to evaluate officials on a 1-5 rating scale. The results then placed referees into three three tiers: Tier 1 (Elite and Top Performers), Tier 2 (Solid Performers) and Tier 3 (Needs Improvement).
The NBPA recommended to the league that only Tier 1 or Tier 2 referees be assigned to playoff games, and Tier 1 officials exclusively handling the NBA Finals.
Goble was among 20 referees to finish in the “Needs Improvement” section. Based on the results of the survey, the NBPA’s preference was that Goble would not have even been on the court for the Western Conference Semifinals game. The 2025-26 NBPA Referee Player Survey rated overall performance of all 73 referees.
Expectations with officiating was a talking point heading into the matchup between the Lakers and Thunder. Much of that stemmed from a reputation Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has developed, and also the Thunder having an aggressive defense.
“They don’t foul, so the whistles aren’t gonna be there. You accept that going in. They don’t foul,” Redick said in jest before the series began. “You’re talking about a team that is top five in every category that’s disruptive based; steals, blocks, turnovers forced, all that stuff.
“And they don’t foul. They somehow do all of that without fouling, which is one of the most remarkable things, I think, in NBA history.”
Why was Austin Reaves mad at the referee?
Beyond frustration that seemingly mounted amid a belief of there being missed calls during Game 2, Reaves felt like there was a line crossed in terms of professionalism between player and official during a late sequence.
“I felt like I was respectful to all of them all night,” Reaves noted after the Lakers’ loss. “A million times in the past, I’ve said way worse stuff. And when we were doing the whole tip ball and they were switching spots, I wanted to get on the other side because they had a guy on the other side, was just trying to keep an advantage.
“And he turned around and yelled in my face. I just thought it was disrespectful. The whole time that was going on over there, I don’t think he said much to them. I know Ben (Taylor) stepped in and said something. But at the end of the day, we’re grown men and I just didn’t feel like he needed to yell in my face like that. I told him that. I wasn’t disrespectful.
“I told him if I did that to him first, I would’ve gotten a tech. I feel like the only reason I didn’t get a tech was because he knew he was in the wrong. I just felt disrespected.”
NBPA Referee Player Survey results
Tier 1 (Elite & Top Performers): Ray Acosta, Brent Barnaky, Curtis Blair, Tony Brothers, Nick Buchert, John Butler, James Capers, Kevin Cutler, Eric Dalen, Marc Davis, JB DeRosa, Mitchell Ervin, Jacyn Goble, Nate Green, Bill Kennedy, Courtney Kirkland, Karl Lane, Mark Lindsay, Tre Maddox, Ed Malloy, Phenizee Ransom, Dedric Taylor, Josh Tiven, James Williams, Sean Wright, Zach Zarba
Tier 2 (Solid Performers): Brandon Adair, Derrick Collins, Sean Corbin, Mousa Dagher, Brian Forte, Scott Foster, Pat Fraher, Jason Goldenberg, David Guthrie, Matt Kallio, Marat Kogut, Sha’Rae Mitchell, Ashley Moyer-Gleich, Matt Myers, Andy Nagy, Brett Nansel, JT Orr, Gediminas Petraitis, JD Ralls, Kevin Scott, Aaron Smith, Jonathan Sterling, Ben Taylor, Scott Twardoski, Justin Van Duyne, CJ Washington, Leon Wood
Tier 3 (Needs Improvement): Dannica Baroody, John Conley, Che Flores, Tyler Ford, John Goble, Robert Hussey, Intae Hwang, Simone Jelks, Biniam Maru, Suyash Mehta, Rodney Mott, Pat O’Connell, Jenna Reneau, Tyler Ricks, Natalie Sago, Jenna Schroeder, Brandon Schwab, Danielle Scott, Evan Scott, Michael Smith
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