Who is Refereeing Game 7 of the NBA Finals? Full List Announced

Game 7 tips off at 8 p.m. ET on Sunday night.
NBA Finals court in OKC, Oklahoma on June 16, 2025.
NBA Finals court in OKC, Oklahoma on June 16, 2025. / Logan Riely/NBAE via Getty Images)

The NBA has announced the referees for Sunday night's Finals Game 7 between the Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder—and one big name is notably missing from the list.

Refs James Capers, Josh Tiven and Sean Wright will be calling the contest on Sunday night, and Scott Foster—a longtime official who is frequently critiqued by fans online but also one of the game's strongest refs—will not.

As recently as last week, Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle defended Foster from the criticism, which is described as "awful," "stupid," and "unjust."

"As far as officiating, I think it’s awful, some of the things I’ve seen about the officiating, and Scott Foster, in particular,” Carlisle said after Game 4, a Foster-officiated contest that the Pacers (notably) lost. "I’ve known Scott Foster for 30 years. He’s a great official. He’s done a great job in these playoffs. We’ve had him a lot of times, and the ridiculous scrutiny that’s being thrown out there is terrible, and unfair, and unjust. It’s stupid."

This is Capers's 13th Finals, Tiven's sixth, and Wright's second. All three refs have already officiated another game in this series. James Williams will serve as an alternate.

Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET in Oklahoma City.


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Brigid Kennedy
BRIGID KENNEDY

Brigid Kennedy is a contributor to the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI in November 2024, she covered political news, sporting news and culture at TheWeek.com before moving to Livingetc, an interior design magazine. She is a graduate of Syracuse University, dual majoring in television, radio and film (from the Newhouse School of Public Communications) and marketing managment (from the Whitman School of Management). Offline, she enjoys going to the movies, reading and watching the Steelers.