Players Rank Referee John Goble in Lowest Tier After Reaves Confrontation
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John Goble, the official approached by Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves after Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals on May 7, has been rated among the NBA’s poorest-performing referees in the National Basketball Players Association’s latest survey.
Survey places Goble in “Needs Improvement” group
The 2025-26 NBPA Referee Player Survey gathered responses from 411 players across all 30 teams, asking them to grade 73 referees on a 1-to-5 scale. Results sorted officials into three tiers: Tier 1 (Elite & Top Performers), Tier 2 (Solid Performers) and Tier 3 (Needs Improvement). Goble landed in Tier 3 alongside 19 other referees.
The union recommended that only Tier 1 and Tier 2 referees work playoff games and that Tier 1 officials exclusively handle the NBA Finals. Under those guidelines, Goble would not have been assigned to the Lakers-Thunder series.
Flashpoint in Oklahoma City
Reaves’ frustration boiled over late in the 109-104 defeat at Paycom Center. After the final horn, he told reporters the official “yelled in my face” while players were positioning for a jump-ball situation.
“I just felt disrespected,” Reaves said. “If I did that to him, 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.”
Officiating already under scrutiny
Before the series began, ESPN analyst JJ Redick noted the Thunder’s aggressive, low-foul defense, predicting fewer whistles. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s knack for drawing contact and Oklahoma City’s disruptive style had made officiating a talking point heading into Game 2.
Breakdown of NBPA referee tiers
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, ShaRae 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.
The survey results were delivered to the league office last month and are expected to influence postseason referee assignments.
Source: LakersNation.com
