The NBA’s referee assignments for Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Saturday has everyone saying the exact same thing.
The league on Saturday announced its officiating crew for Game 5 in San Antonio, a game in which the New York Knicks will be looking to finish off the series and win a championship. The immediate headliner was Scott Foster as crew chief.
Scott Foster has been named crew chief for Knicks' potential NBA Finals clincher vs. Spurs in Game 5 👀 pic.twitter.com/hvAJyfGjZs
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 13, 2026
Even though there is no real statistical data to back it, Foster is nicknamed “The Extender” for the perception that underdogs win games he is assigned to in the playoffs, thus extending playoff series. With the Spurs down 3-1, the joke on social media immediately became that the league is looking to push the Finals to a sixth game.
Scott Foster https://t.co/VI49lHFfLO pic.twitter.com/JdaaLQ8qUh
— Sergio Rabinal (@S_Rabinal) June 13, 2026
Adam Silver has made a boss call for the Spurs.
— ArsMan (@shankha_79) June 13, 2026
Scott Foster aka THE EXTENDER is here. https://t.co/qUpj2kO7YT pic.twitter.com/c8w4m6LQJI
Scott Foster legacy game tonight 🤞🏼 https://t.co/KsWI4sUJMP
— Alex (@Alexzachary305) June 13, 2026
The Knicks actually have not lost in any of the three games Foster has officiated during these playoffs. He did make one notable call against them, though.
Ironically, the Knicks allegedly benefited from Foster’s “Extender” status in last year’s playoffs. If the Spurs win on Saturday, expect Foster to get a lot of the credit, whether it is deserved or not.
