NBA expanding ‘Last Two Minutes’ officiating report criteria

IN LINE with its continued push for transparency and preserving the integrity of games, the National Basketball Association (NBA) announced last week that it is expanding the criteria for the “Last Two Minutes” officiating reports for the 2017 playoffs.

Set to begin on April 16 (Manila time), the NBA postseason will be used by The Association as a platform to institute further changes all in the hopes of improving how it conducts its affairs.

In an announcement shared to members of the local media, the NBA said it is expanding the Last Two Minute Reports to also include “all games within three points at any stage in the last two minutes of the fourth quarter or the last two minutes of any overtime period.”

This is on top of the play-byplay reports of all calls and material non-calls in the last two minutes of the fourth quarter or the last two minutes of any overtime period for all games within five points at the two-minute mark of the relevant period.

The change, the NBA said, continues recent efforts to bring additional transparency to the league’s officiating program.

Overseen by the NBA’s League Operations senior management team, the Last Two Minute Reports have created a more specific protocol for commenting on the most scrutinized calls in games.

The reports are one of several steps taken by the league to help build greater awareness and understanding of the rules and processes that govern the game.

This season marks the second full year that the Last Two Minute Reports are being implemented, and the league said it is bearing good results.

As per numbers shared by the NBA, for qualifying games this season through April 5, NBA referees’ call accuracy is 98% and their event accuracy is 91.3% in the periods covered by the reports.

Last Two Minute Reports are posted on NBA.com/official by 5 p.m. ET the day after each game. A complete archive of reports is available at NBA.com/official.