2026-06-03 00:03:44
圣安东尼奥——周五整整一天，柯蒂斯·布莱尔 (Curtis Blair) 都在不停地查看电子邮件。周六也是，周日也是。联盟即将公布入选总决赛执裁名单的裁判，等待的过程令人备受煎熬。
“每隔两分钟，我就会查一次，”布莱尔说道。
柯蒂斯·布莱尔将首次在NBA总决赛中登场执裁，成为今年12人裁判组中唯一一位首次入选的裁判。该裁判组将负责执法圣安东尼奥马刺队与纽约尼克斯队之间的总冠军争夺战。卡洛斯·奥索里奥/美联社
周五，毫无音讯。周六，依然如此。周日也快过去了，布莱尔正从弗吉尼亚州父母家探亲结束开车回家。当他把车驶入自家车道时，他发现自己漏掉了一个电话。
来电者是NBA执行副总裁兼裁判运营主管阿尔伯特·桑德斯二世 (Albert Sanders Jr.)。事实证明，这通电话正是布莱尔苦等多年的“那封邮件”。
布莱尔给桑德斯回了电话，并得到了这个消息：他将首次执法NBA总决赛。在今年负责执法总决赛的12人裁判名单中，他是唯一一位首次入选的裁判。这轮总冠军争夺战将于周三在圣安东尼奥马刺队与纽约尼克斯队之间展开。
“这是一个非常激动人心的时刻，对我来说真的太激动了，因为这么多年来我一直临门一脚，就差最后一步，”布莱尔说，“是的，非常激动。这是我的第18个赛季，在这一路走来的过程中，我明白了一件事，那就是每个人都有自己的旅程，每个人都有自己的时间表。你成为一名裁判，从首轮、次轮执裁到分区决赛。你只需要专注于自己和自己的旅程。”
联盟于周二公布了完整的裁判名单。斯科特·福斯特 (Scott Foster) 入选，这将是他执法的第19次总决赛，在现役裁判中排名第一。除福斯特和布莱尔外，其他入选的裁判还包括：托尼·布罗瑟斯 (Tony Brothers，第15次总决赛)、马克·戴维斯 (Marc Davis，第15次)、詹姆斯·卡佩斯 (James Capers，第14次)、扎克·扎尔巴 (Zach Zarba，第13次)、约翰·戈布尔 (John Goble，第10次)、乔什·蒂文 (Josh Tiven，第7次)、詹姆斯·威廉姆斯 (James Williams，第6次)、考特尼·柯克兰 (Courtney Kirkland，第5次)、肖恩·莱特 (Sean Wright，第3次) 以及泰勒·福特 (Tyler Ford，第2次)。
联盟通常会在比赛日东部时间上午9点左右公布每场比赛的具体裁判组名单。
“入选总决赛执裁名单是NBA裁判的最高荣誉，我向他们取得这一杰出且实至名归的成就表示祝贺，”NBA联盟运营总裁拜伦·斯普鲁尔 (Byron Spruell) 表示，“我们非常感谢他们对篮球运动的坚守，以及在业务上对卓越的追求。”
布莱尔在1992年选秀大会上被休斯敦火箭队在第二轮选中，但他从未在NBA打过一场常规赛。在开始裁判生涯之前，他曾在海外联赛打球，自2008年以来，他已经执裁了1000多场NBA比赛。
总决赛裁判会获得一件特别的白色热身夹克，只有入选总决赛执裁名单的裁判才能获得。布莱尔在2021年和2022年担任替补裁判时已经拥有了两件，但这一次他得到的夹克将具有非同寻常的意义。
“这太有意思了，”布莱尔说，“有一位裁判打电话给我说：‘我知道你已经有两件白色夹克了，但那两件上面有星号。所以，你可以把它们扔掉了。现在你得到了一件货真价实的夹克。’”
由生成式人工智能翻译，译文内容可能不准确或不完整，以原文为准。
点击查看原文：Referee Curtis Blair to work NBA Finals, a first in his career
Referee Curtis Blair to work NBA Finals, a first in his career
SAN ANTONIO – Curtis Blair spent all day Friday checking his email. And Saturday. And Sunday. The list of referees that were selected to work the NBA Finals was about to be revealed by the league, and the waiting was brutal.
“Every two minutes, I’d check,” Blair said.
For the first time, Curtis Blair will work a game in the NBA Finals, becoming the only first-time selection in this year’s group of 12 referees who will officiate the series between the San Antonio Spurs and New York Knicks. Carlos Osorio/Associated Press
Friday, nothing. Saturday, nothing. Sunday was mostly gone and Blair was driving home from a weekend visit to his parents’ home in Virginia. As he pulled into his driveway, he realized that he had missed a phone call.
The caller was Albert Sanders Jr., the executive vice president and head of referee operations for the NBA. Turns out, that call was the email that Blair had waited years to get.
Blair called Sanders back and got the news: For the first time, he’ll work a game in the NBA Finals. He’s the only first-time selection in this year’s group of 12 referees who will officiate the title series that starts Wednesday between the San Antonio Spurs and New York Knicks.
“Very emotional moment, very emotional moment for me, because I’ve been right there on the doorstep for so many years,” Blair said. “Yeah, very emotional. This is my 18th year and one thing I had to realize going through this journey is that everybody has their own journey. Everybody has their own timetable. You become a referee, become an umpire, you get to the first round, the second round, third round. You just have to worry about yourself and your journey.”
The league released the full list of selections on Tuesday. Scott Foster was picked to work his 19th finals, the most among current referees. The other selections besides Foster and Blair: Tony Brothers (15th finals), Marc Davis (15th), James Capers (14th), Zach Zarba (13th), John Goble (10th), Josh Tiven (7th), James Williams (6th), Courtney Kirkland (5th), Sean Wright (3rd) and Tyler Ford (2nd).
The league typically reveals the crew that will work each game around 9 a.m. ET on game day.
“Being selected to work the NBA Finals is the highest honor for an NBA official, and I congratulate them on an outstanding and well-earned achievement,” said Byron Spruell, the NBA’s president for league operations. “We are grateful for their unwavering dedication to the game and pursuit of excellence in their craft.”
Blair was a second-round pick by the Houston Rockets in 1992, though never played a regular-season game in the league. He played internationally before starting his referee career and has worked more than 1,000 NBA games since 2008.
Finals referees get special white warmup jackets, only given to those selected to work the title series. Blair already has two of those from 2021 and 2022 when he was an alternate, but the one he gets this time will have much more meaning.
“This is so funny,” Blair said. “One referee called me and he said, ‘I know you got two other white jackets, but they had an asterisk on it. So, you can throw those away. Now you got a real one.’”
via ESPN