It is little surprise that in decades of creating individual stars—maybe more individual stars than any other American sports league—the NBA has inadvertently created some individual officiating stars as well.
Indeed, over the course of three decades, referees like Tony Brothers, Joey Crawford and Scott Foster have risen to a level of notoriety that rivals some of the league's players—for good or for ill.
That notoriety is the reason a referee like Brothers, for instance, can get away with what he did after an unsuccessful challenge during Saturday's game between the Orlando Magic and Oklahoma City Thunder.
