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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Bryan Kalbrosky

NBA refs suddenly have sponsored Emirates patches on their uniforms and fans weren’t happy

NBA Emirates

After the NBA’s All-Star break, officials have a new look on their jerseys.

The league unveiled a partnership with Emirates on Feb. 8, the same day as the NBA’s trade deadline. They announced the airline as the title sponsor for the NBA’s In-Season Tournament, now known as the Emirates NBA Cup.

Also included in that press release was the news that the Emirates logo will appear on all NBA referee jerseys, starting with the NBA’s 2024 All-Star Game. All referees in the WNBA (beginning in 2025) and G League (starting in 2024-25) will also wear Emirates patches.

Emirates is currently a sponsor across various international sports properties, including referee jersey branding for the FA Cup, Cricket World Cup, and the Rugby World Cup.

Although the news was picked up by several outlets, fans may have missed this information if they were focused on the winners and losers of the trade deadline. After the league returned from the brief All-Star break, though, it did not take long for fans to notice the sponsorship:

Here is more from Chris Herring (via ESPN):

“The move comes at a time when NBA viewership is up from last year on the major networks and at a time when the league’s referees are being shown on television far more than in the past.

Television cameras generally zoom in on lead officials as they finalize their rulings over an in-arena microphone following coach’s challenges, where referees review replays of debatable calls — a process that often takes minutes at a time. The number of reviews has increased in recent years, as league stakeholders voted in 2023 to allow clubs a third challenge if a coach requests and is successful with his first two tries.”

Now that the NBA patches are public, though, fans shared their thoughts:

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