Who is Eric Lewis? Looking at referee assigned for Lakers vs Warriors

The NBA has assigned Eric Lewis to be part of the officiating staff of Game 2 between the Golden State Warriors and the LA Lakers tonight.

Lewis was born in Daytona Beach, Florida, and played basketball for Mainland High School. Before becoming a referee, he stayed in Florida and went to Bethune Cookman College, a school in Daytona Beach.

He continued playing in college and transitioned into becoming a referee. Lewis started officiating in Bethune and stayed there for eight seasons. He gathered experience and became a game official in the collegiate level in various NCAA conferences.

Lewis first officiated in the NBA in the 2004-05 season. In 2019, he was one of the referees assigned for one of the games in the NBA Finals between the Warriors and the Toronto Raptors. The following year, he was tasked with officiating another game in the finals, this time between the Lakers and the Miami Heat.

The 2021 NBA Finals featured a best-of-seven series between the Phoenix Suns and the Milwaukee Bucks, and Lewis was one of the referees for one game.

This season is his 19th in the NBA. He has refereed 1,098 regular-season games and 82 postseason games in his career, including six in the Finals.

You might also be interested in reading this: NBA referee admits LeBron James was fouled by Jayson Tatum - "At the time, during the game, we did not see a foul"

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Eric Lewis officiated a controversial game this season

LeBron James failed to get a foul call in a crucial game against Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics

One of the biggest controversies of Eric Lewis' career happened this season during a game between the Lakers and the Boston Celtics. LeBron James drove to the basket and tried to lay the ball in, but was hit by Jayson Tatum on the arm.

The referee who was the closest at the time was Eric Lewis, and he failed to call a foul. He later admitted that he didn't see the foul on his end and it cost the Lakers the game.

James wasn't happy about not getting a foul and it was obvious with the way he reacted after the buzzer sounded.