Steph suggests ‘interesting’ change to NBA officiating transparency

Steph suggests ‘interesting’ change to NBA officiating transparency originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

If Warriors star Steph Curry were NBA commissioner for a day, what rule would he change?

He answered that question during NBA All-Star Media Day on Saturday at Oakland Arena, and the answer might not be what you’d expect in that had nothing to do with on-the-court stipulations.

“I would probably want to see the refs’ grading system probably, like let that be more public, the same kind of way our stats are shown on a nightly basis,” Curry told reporters. “Not to make their job any harder because it’s a really hard job, but it would be interesting from a fan and player perspective to know why a ref is a great ref and how they kind of rate their system a little bit. I’m curious about that.”

Curry has the utmost respect for NBA officials, even if Dub Nation believes they sometimes don’t treat him fairly when it comes to being fouled. But everyone involved in the outcome of a game should be held accountable, from the stars in uniform to the referees in stripes.

The Warriors dealt with their fair share of officiating woes in Wednesday’s 111-107 loss to the Dallas Mavericks, which featured an on-court tirade by coach Steve Kerr after a no-call that ended with him receiving a technical foul. Referees also seemingly missed a kicked ball foul on the Mavericks that played heavily into the outcome of the game.

The NBA’s internal officiating review system does hold referees accountable by using video and data to grade every call, though the public isn’t privy to that information. With the speed and skill of today’s game improving and changing every season, however, there’s no denying the refs have a tough job.

“The most misunderstood aspect of officiating is that we’re not held accountable, that we do whatever we want, that we care who wins,” NBA referee Scott Foster said recently on the “NBA Referee Roundtable” podcast (h/t CBS Sports). “That’s just not the case. I think that from my first day in the NBA, the accountability on Nov. 9, 1994, the day I started, to today, has gotten to an astronomical, exponential way of doing things.

“We are graded on every single play, we are graded on every single decision, we are held accountable when we don’t do what we’re supposed to be doing out there. We can’t be going out there doing what people accuse us of doing, which is getting plays wrong on purpose. That’s just not possible.”

That might be the case. But in Curry’s eyes, if fans can weigh in on his shooting percentage, they should be able to see the numbers behind referee performance as well.

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