{"id":617832,"date":"2026-05-01T19:28:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-01T19:28:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/617832\/"},"modified":"2026-05-01T19:28:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T19:28:09","slug":"scott-foster-the-extender-explained-how-controversial-nba-referee-got-his-nickname","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/617832\/","title":{"rendered":"Scott Foster ‘The Extender,’ explained: How controversial NBA referee got his nickname"},"content":{"rendered":"

Scott Foster ‘The Extender,’ explained: How controversial NBA referee got his nickname<\/a> originally appeared on The Sporting News<\/a>. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Right or wrong, few officials in sports are as notable as the NBA’s Scott Foster.<\/p>\n

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Foster, who wears No. 48, has been an NBA official since 1994 and has called over 20 games in the NBA Finals.<\/p>\n

Throughout his officiating career, Foster has made headlines with a longstanding feud with Chris Paul<\/a>, his (un)familiarity with rapper Jack Harlow<\/a> and, notably, a tendency that led to him earning the nickname, “The Extender.”<\/p>\n

How did Foster earn this nickname? Here’s why the moniker has stuck with the veteran official.<\/p>\n

MORE:Inside Kevin Durant’s playoff record since leaving the Warriors<\/a><\/p>\n

Scott Foster ‘The Extender,’ explained<\/p>\n

Foster is called “The Extender” because fans have speculated that teams tend to stave off elimination when Foster is a member of the game’s officiating crew. It’s a nickname that often re-appears when Foster is assigned to an elimination game in the NBA playoffs.<\/p>\n

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For example, in 2024, Foster was on the call when the Timberwolves<\/a> faced a 3-0 series deficit to the Mavericks<\/a> in the Western Conference Finals. Coincidence or not, Minnesota<\/a> avoided a sweep with a five-point road win over Dallas<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In response to Foster’s alleged role in the series being extended by a game, 11-year NBA veteran Gilbert Arenas took to X (formerly Twitter) to add fuel to the fire of The Extender’s narrative.<\/p>\n

Arenas’ post was simple: Foster’s headshot with text reading “series extended” at the bottom.<\/p>\n

There are plenty of other examples of Foster-called games that are contrary to the narrative, however. In 2025, longtime NBA writer Tom Haberstroh cited<\/a> a study that showed there wasn’t much evidence to show Foster was really “extending” most series.<\/p>\n

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In fact, based on game data from\u00a0Basketball Reference<\/a> that shows the assigned officials for a playoff game, from the 2020 NBA Playoffs through the 2025 NBA Playoffs, there were 54\u00a0games in which Foster was an official and the series was not already tied \u2014 meaning a team held the advantage in the series.<\/p>\n

In those games, the trailing team in the series won the Foster-officiated game 27 times, which is a 50% win percentage. In other words, from 2020-25 in the NBA playoffs, trailing teams only “extended” the series half the time in Foster-officiated games \u2014 not as much as a nickname like “The Extender” might indicate.<\/p>\n

Here’s a look at all of the instances of Foster calling a non-series-tied NBA playoff game between 2020 and 2025:<\/p>\n

Year<\/p>\n

Round<\/p>\n

Game of Series<\/p>\n

Previous Series Score<\/p>\n

Winning Team<\/p>\n

Series “Extended”?<\/p>\n

2020<\/p>\n

West First Round<\/p>\n

2<\/p>\n

Clippers<\/a> 1, Mavericks 0<\/p>\n

Mavericks<\/p>\n

Yes<\/p>\n

2020<\/p>\n

West First Round<\/p>\n

6<\/p>\n

Clippers 3, Mavericks 2<\/p>\n

Clippers<\/p>\n

No<\/p>\n

2020<\/p>\n

West First Round<\/p>\n

5<\/p>\n

Jazz<\/a> 3, Nuggets<\/a> 1<\/p>\n

Nuggets<\/p>\n

Yes<\/p>\n

2020<\/p>\n

East First Round<\/p>\n

4<\/p>\n

Raptors 3, Nets<\/a> 0<\/p>\n

Raptors<\/p>\n

No<\/p>\n

2020<\/p>\n

East First Round<\/p>\n

3<\/p>\n

Celtics<\/a> 2, 76ers<\/a> 0<\/p>\n

Celtics<\/p>\n

No<\/p>\n

2020<\/p>\n

West Second Round<\/p>\n

2<\/p>\n

Rockets 1, Lakers<\/a> 0<\/p>\n

Lakers<\/p>\n

Yes<\/p>\n

2020<\/p>\n

West Second Round<\/p>\n

4<\/p>\n

Clippers 2, Nuggets 1<\/p>\n

Clippers<\/p>\n

No<\/p>\n

2020<\/p>\n

East Second Round<\/p>\n

3<\/p>\n

Heat 2, Bucks 0<\/p>\n

Heat<\/p>\n

No<\/p>\n

2020<\/p>\n

Eastern Conference Finals<\/p>\n

4<\/p>\n

Heat 2, Celtics 1<\/p>\n

Heat<\/p>\n

No<\/p>\n

2020<\/p>\n

NBA Finals<\/p>\n

3<\/p>\n

Lakers 2, Heat 0<\/p>\n

Heat<\/p>\n

Yes<\/p>\n

2021<\/p>\n

West First Round<\/p>\n

2<\/p>\n

Mavericks 1, Clippers 0<\/p>\n

Mavericks<\/p>\n

No<\/p>\n

2021<\/p>\n

East First Round<\/p>\n

4<\/p>\n

Hawks<\/a> 2, Knicks<\/a> 1<\/p>\n

Hawks<\/p>\n

No<\/p>\n

2021<\/p>\n

West Second Round<\/p>\n

2<\/p>\n

Jazz 1, Clippers 0<\/p>\n

Jazz<\/p>\n

No<\/p>\n

2021<\/p>\n

East Second Round<\/p>\n

4<\/p>\n

Nets 3, Bucks 1<\/p>\n

Bucks<\/p>\n

Yes<\/p>\n

2021<\/p>\n

East Second Round<\/p>\n

2<\/p>\n

Hawks 1, 76ers 0<\/p>\n

76ers<\/p>\n

Yes<\/p>\n

2021<\/p>\n

East Second Round<\/p>\n

6<\/p>\n

Hawks 3, 76ers 2<\/p>\n

76ers<\/p>\n

Yes<\/p>\n

2021<\/p>\n

Western Conference Finals<\/p>\n

2<\/p>\n

Suns 1, Clippers 0<\/p>\n

Suns<\/p>\n

No<\/p>\n

2021<\/p>\n

Eastern Conference Finals<\/p>\n

2<\/p>\n

Hawks 1, Bucks 0<\/p>\n

Bucks<\/p>\n

Yes<\/p>\n

2021<\/p>\n

NBA Finals<\/p>\n

3<\/p>\n

Suns 2, Bucks 0<\/p>\n

Bucks<\/p>\n

Yes<\/p>\n

2021<\/p>\n

NBA Finals<\/p>\n

6<\/p>\n

Bucks 3, Suns 2<\/p>\n

Bucks<\/p>\n

No<\/p>\n

2022<\/p>\n

West First Round<\/p>\n

2<\/p>\n

Suns 1, Pelicans 0<\/p>\n

Pelicans<\/p>\n

Yes<\/p>\n

2022<\/p>\n

West First Round<\/p>\n

6<\/p>\n

Grizzlies 3, Timberwolves 2<\/p>\n

Grizzlies<\/p>\n

No<\/p>\n

2022<\/p>\n

East First Round<\/p>\n

4<\/p>\n

Celtics 3, Nets 0<\/p>\n

Celtics<\/p>\n

No<\/p>\n

2022<\/p>\n

East First Round<\/p>\n

4<\/p>\n

76ers 3, Raptors 0<\/p>\n

Raptors<\/p>\n

Yes<\/p>\n

2022<\/p>\n

East First Round<\/p>\n

5<\/p>\n

Bucks 3, Bulls 1<\/p>\n

Bucks<\/p>\n

No<\/p>\n

2022<\/p>\n

West Second Round<\/p>\n

2<\/p>\n

Warriors<\/a> 1, Grizzlies 0<\/p>\n

Grizzlies<\/p>\n

Yes<\/p>\n

2022<\/p>\n

East Second Round<\/p>\n

4<\/p>\n

Heat 2, 76ers 1<\/p>\n

76ers<\/p>\n

Yes<\/p>\n

2022<\/p>\n

Western Conference Finals<\/p>\n

5<\/p>\n

Warriors 3, Mavericks 1<\/p>\n

Warriors<\/p>\n

No<\/p>\n

2022<\/p>\n

Eastern Conference Finals<\/p>\n

4<\/p>\n

Heat 2, Celtics 1<\/p>\n

Celtics<\/p>\n

Yes<\/p>\n

2023<\/p>\n

West First Round<\/p>\n

2<\/p>\n

Clippers 1, Suns 0<\/p>\n

Suns<\/p>\n

Yes<\/p>\n

2023<\/p>\n

West First Round<\/p>\n

5<\/p>\n

Nuggets 3, Timberwolves 1<\/p>\n

Nuggets<\/p>\n

No<\/p>\n

2023<\/p>\n

East First Round<\/p>\n

4<\/p>\n

Knicks 2, Cavaliers 1<\/p>\n

Knicks<\/p>\n

No<\/p>\n

2023<\/p>\n

East First Round<\/p>\n

3<\/p>\n

Celtics 2, Hawks 0<\/p>\n

Hawks<\/p>\n

Yes<\/p>\n

2023<\/p>\n

West Second Round<\/p>\n

4<\/p>\n

Lakers 2, Warriors 1<\/p>\n

Lakers<\/p>\n

No<\/p>\n

2023<\/p>\n

East Second Round<\/p>\n

2<\/p>\n

Heat 1, Knicks 0<\/p>\n

Knicks<\/p>\n

Yes<\/p>\n

2023<\/p>\n

East Second Round<\/p>\n

6<\/p>\n

Heat 3, Knicks 2<\/p>\n

Heat<\/p>\n

No<\/p>\n

2023<\/p>\n

Western Conference Finals<\/p>\n

3<\/p>\n

Nuggets 2, Lakers 0<\/p>\n

Nuggets<\/p>\n

No<\/p>\n

2023<\/p>\n

Eastern Conference Finals<\/p>\n

4<\/p>\n

Heat 3, Celtics 0<\/p>\n

Celtics<\/p>\n

Yes<\/p>\n

2023<\/p>\n

NBA Finals<\/p>\n

4<\/p>\n

Nuggets 2, Heat 1<\/p>\n

Nuggets<\/p>\n

No<\/p>\n

2024<\/p>\n

West First Round<\/p>\n

4<\/p>\n

Timberwolves 3, Suns 0<\/p>\n

Timberwolves<\/p>\n

No<\/p>\n

2024<\/p>\n

West First Round<\/p>\n

2<\/p>\n

Nuggets 1, Lakers 0<\/p>\n

Nuggets<\/p>\n

No<\/p>\n

2024<\/p>\n

East First Round<\/p>\n

6<\/p>\n

Knicks 3, 76ers 2<\/p>\n

Knicks<\/p>\n

No<\/p>\n

2024<\/p>\n

East First Round<\/p>\n

5<\/p>\n

Pacers<\/a> 3, Bucks 1<\/p>\n

Bucks<\/p>\n

Yes<\/p>\n

2024<\/p>\n

East First Round<\/p>\n

3<\/p>\n

Cavaliers 2, Magic 0<\/p>\n

Magic<\/p>\n

Yes<\/p>\n

2024<\/p>\n

West Second Round<\/p>\n

4<\/p>\n

Timberwolves 2, Nuggets 1<\/p>\n

Nuggets<\/p>\n

Yes<\/p>\n

2024<\/p>\n

West Second Round<\/p>\n

2<\/p>\n

Thunder 1, Mavericks 0<\/p>\n

Mavericks<\/p>\n

Yes<\/p>\n

2024<\/p>\n

Western Conference Finals<\/p>\n

4<\/p>\n

Mavericks 3, Timberwolves 0<\/p>\n

Timberwolves<\/p>\n

Yes<\/p>\n

2024<\/p>\n

Eastern Conference Finals<\/p>\n

2<\/p>\n

Celtics 1, Pacers 0<\/p>\n

Celtics<\/p>\n

No<\/p>\n

2024<\/p>\n

NBA Finals<\/p>\n

4<\/p>\n

Celtics 3, Mavericks 0<\/p>\n

Mavericks<\/p>\n

Yes<\/p>\n

2025<\/p>\n

West Second Round<\/p>\n

2<\/p>\n

Nuggets 1, Thunder 0<\/p>\n

Thunder<\/p>\n

Yes<\/p>\n

2025<\/p>\n

East Second Round<\/p>\n

4<\/p>\n

Knicks 2, Celtics 1<\/p>\n

Knicks<\/p>\n

No<\/p>\n

2025<\/p>\n

Western Conference Finals<\/p>\n

2<\/p>\n

Thunder 1, Timberwolves 0<\/p>\n

Thunder<\/p>\n

No<\/p>\n

2025<\/p>\n

Eastern Conference Finals<\/p>\n

3<\/p>\n

Pacers 2, Knicks 0<\/p>\n

Knicks<\/p>\n

Yes<\/p>\n

2025<\/p>\n

NBA Finals<\/p>\n

4<\/p>\n

Pacers 2, Thunder 1<\/p>\n

Thunder<\/p>\n

Yes<\/p>\n

MORE:Every No. 8 seed to beat a No. 1 seed in the NBA Playoffs<\/a><\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

Scott Foster stats<\/p>\n

Foster has refereed 1,929 games in his NBA career, according to Basketball Reference<\/a>. The home team has won 59.6% of those games while the road team has come out on top 40.4% of the time.<\/p>\n

The two teams Foster has refereed the most in his career: Dallas (153) and Boston<\/a> (141).<\/p>\n

MORE:14 most devastating playoff injuries in NBA history<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Scott Foster ‘The Extender,’ explained: How controversial NBA referee got his nickname originally appeared on The Sporting News.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":617833,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[64],"tags":[66348,8731,13034,6420,7630,1062,27365,25178,9891,5556,25169,6306,765,6429,355,5489,13331,6428,4140,15990,13142,99,6427,4202,69310],"class_list":["post-617832","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-76ers","tag-boston","tag-celtics","tag-chris-paul","tag-clippers","tag-dallas","tag-gilbert-arenas","tag-hawks","tag-jazz","tag-kevin-durant","tag-knicks","tag-lakers","tag-mavericks","tag-minnesota","tag-nba","tag-nba-finals","tag-nba-playoffs","tag-nets","tag-nuggets","tag-pacers","tag-scott-foster","tag-sports","tag-timberwolves","tag-warriors","tag-western-conference-finals"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/617832","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=617832"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/617832\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/617833"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=617832"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=617832"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=617832"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}