NBA players who switched to refereeing

NBA players turning referees
Who would have thought?
Latest addition of Smush Parker
'I'm working on being the fourth'
Short NBA career
Who's made the transition before?
Leon Woods
Staying in basketball
Success as a referee
Haywoode Workman
Refereeing in Los Angeles
Joining the NBA again
Bernie Fryer
Legendary officiating career
Post referee career
Richard Jefferson
Officiating at NBA Summer League
'I didn't want to do this'
Will it continue?
NBA players turning referees

Few professions are vilified in the same way basketball refs are. Given that a lot of the flak actually comes from the players themselves, it's hardly an attractive job for most of us – let alone an ex-player!

Who would have thought?

Who would have thought that a few have made the shocking switch throughout history?

Latest addition of Smush Parker

Former NBA player Smush Parker recently created shockwaves in the sport when he announced on Twitter that he was intending to return to the NBA... but this time as an official!

'I'm working on being the fourth'

The tweet stated, "There have only been three former NBA athletes to make the journey back into the NBA as an official. I'm working on being the fourth..!!!"

Picture - Instagram @smush_parker_elite

Short NBA career

Parker had below par NBA career, playing in the league between 2004 and 2008 and having brief spells with five teams such as the LA Lakers and the Miami Heat.

Who's made the transition before?

Let's look back at some of the trailblazers who were the first to make the switch from playing to officiating.

Leon Woods

Former Olympic gold medallist Leon Woods started his NBA career in 1984 after being drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers. Woods played six years in the NBA before moving to play in the CBA in 1991.

Staying in basketball

After retiring from professional basketball in 1994, Woods wanted to stay involved in basketball and decided to get into officiating after a friend suggested it.

Success as a referee

According to basketball-reference.com, since refereeing his first NBA game in the 1995-96 season, Leon Woods has refereed over 1500 games in the NBA and continues to do so to this day.

Haywoode Workman

According to NBA.com, Haywoode Workman played 359 regular season NBA games over a ten-year career at basketball's pinnacle.

Refereeing in Los Angeles

According to NBA.com, after retiring at the start of the century, former NBA referee Bob Delaney suggested that Workman should look into refereeing. He proceeded to start officiating West Coast pro-am games.

Joining the NBA again

Once Workman started officiating pro-am games, his refereeing career really took off. He refereed 15 games in the CBA and was then eventually selected as a permanent NBA official in 2008 where he officiated 642 games, according to basketball-reference.com.

Bernie Fryer

The first referee to make the switch from player to official was Bernie Fryer. Once drafted in the 1972 NBA draft, Fryer only went on to play three seasons as a professional player.

Legendary officiating career

After retiring in 1975, Fryer embarked on a legendary officiating career that spanned over three decades in the NBA – officiating 1806 NBA games, according to basketball-reference.com.

Post referee career

After retiring in 2007 after 29 years in the job, the legendary referee became director of officials in July 2008, and to this day, he still works as an advisor to the NBA.

Richard Jefferson

According to NBC Sports, in 17 seasons playing in the NBA, Richard Jefferson was called for 2637 fouls in his career, 45 technical fouls, and ejected twice.

Officiating at NBA Summer League

Prior to the start of the current NBA season, Jefferson officiated a Summer League game between the New York Knicks and the Portland Trailblazers.

'I didn't want to do this'

According to NBC Sport, Jefferson said, "I didn't want to do this, the NBA asked me if I was interested. I like talking about the game of basketball so now I get a new opportunity to learn a whole new piece of the game."

Will it continue?

With the scrutiny and heavy media coverage referee gets these days, will future NBA players be willing to make the jump from playing to officiating?

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