NBA Referees to Begin Wearing Headsets to Communicate with Replay Center During Games

The NBA is taking steps to modernize its replay review process.

The league announced Friday that starting with Saturday's games all officials will use headsets to communicate with the NBA Replay Center. Officials will clip earpieces to their uniforms and then place them in their ears during instant replay reviews and certain stoppages to communicate in real time.

This is just the first phase of a two-phase plan that will enter the next stage starting in January.

Officials will wear earpieces throughout the game, including during live action, when the second phase is implemented. That will allow them to communicate with the Replay Center and each other in real time as the game is unfolding.

According to the NBA's release, the second plan will run through at least the All-Star break. 

The technology that will be used was previously tested during the preseason, NBA Summer League and NBA G League Winter Showcase at various times since 2023.

If everything goes according to plan, this new system will "improve game flow and enhance officiating accuracy."

This comes after the NBA instituted a new rule ahead of the 2025-26 season that said a replay center official can determine if a proximate foul should have been called after a coach challenges an out-of-bound call:

Previously, on-court crew chiefs would determine as much.

The NBA released data on coach's challenges at the end of the 2024-25 campaign and found that 62.7 percent of the overall calls were eventually overturned by officials following review.