NBA Officials Revealed for Heat vs. Nuggets Finals; Eric Lewis Not Picked amid Probe

The NBA announced Thursday its referees for the 2023 NBA Finals between the Miami Heat and Denver Nuggets.

Scott Foster is the most tenured of the group as he approaches his 16th Finals. Tony Brothers and Marc Davis will each be officiating in their 12th Finals.

Eric Lewis was a notable omission after having become a regular on the Finals crew since making his first appearance in 2019.

"Regarding Eric Lewis and the social media posts, we are continuing to review the matter and he will not be working the Finals," NBA spokesman Mike Bass told NBA insider Marc Stein.

The league has opened an investigation after Lewis allegedly maintained a burner account on social media.

Per ESPN, the tenured referee purportedly posted under the username "Blair Cuttliff" and defended calls made by himself and other officials. Refs are prohibited from commenting on individual decisions without authorization.

The Associated Press' Tim Reynolds noted the NBA's inquiry remains ongoing. It's unclear when the process will end and what punishment Lewis might receive.

The consequences are already being felt to a degree since he presumably would've been on the 2023 Finals crew were it not for the investigation. Meadowlark Media's Tom Haberstroh noted he's missing out on the pay bonus referees receive when they're selected for Finals duty.

The series gets underway Thursday night in Denver, with tipoff scheduled for 8:30 p.m. ET. Davis, David Guthrie and Ed Malloy will officiate Game 1, per Reynolds.