Which NBA referees are officiating today's Game 6 of Playoffs? Games & officials revealed (May 2)

The NBA referee assignments have been released by the league ahead of Game 6 action tonight. Thursday's installment of playoff basketball will see an Eastern Conference double-header play out on National TV as two teams look to stave off elimination. Action will begin at 3:30 p.m. Pacific Time (5:30 p.m. Eastern) with the Milwaukee Bucks hoping to stay alive against the Indiana Pacers.

The game will be nationally broadcast on TNT and TruTV and will be streaming live on Max apart from streaming platforms like YouTube TV. Following the end of the game, coverage will shift to the second game of the evening, which will see the 76ers look to stay alive at home against the Knicks.

That game will begin at 6:00 p.m. Pacific Time (9 p.m. Eastern) with TNT and TruTV both continuing their broadcasting duties. Ahead of Thursday's full slate of action, the league has released the NBA referee assignments for both games.

---

All NBA referee assignments for Thursday's (May 2) Game 6 action of the 2024 NBA Playoffs

Milwaukee Bucks vs Indiana Pacers NBA referee assignments

(IND leads 3-2)

In the first of Thursday's double-header game of the day, Tony Brothers will serve as the Crew Chief, with Courtney Kirkland serving as the Referee for the game. Justin Van Duyne will be on hand as the Umpire.

Should his services be needed, Aaron Smith will also be on hand and ready to step in as the alternate.

New York Knicks vs Philadelphia 76ers NBA referee assignments (NY leads 3-2)

In the second game of the evening, Scott Foster will be the Crew Chief for the Knicks vs 76ers game. Meanwhile, Bill Kennedy will be the Referee, with Mark Lindsay as the Umpire for the evening and JB DeRosa as the Alternate.

---

Looking at what the various positions mean in the NBA referee assignments

As seen above, The NBA referee assignments list out three positions for officials, as well as an alternate in the event that a substitute is needed. What many fans are unaware of, though, is what the various referee positions specifically do.

NBA.com gives guidelines for fans to understand the various positions and what each one's role is in a game. The Crew Chief position is the lead official who is knowledgeable in both the other positions. Moreover, the Crew Chief is responsible for handling high-level calls that may come up during the game.

The Referee position works as a sort of middle-level official, who is familiar with the smaller role of the Umpire, but isn't quite at the Crew Chief level. The Referee position also notably is tasked with taking note of, and managing, the ebbs and flows of emotions throughout the game to ensure that things don't get out of hand.

Last, but certainly not least, the Umpire is the lowest level of position on the referee assignments and is tasked with making calls in their designated area. While they make contributions to discussions with other officials, they typically follow the lead of the Crew Chief and Referee when needed.