Natalie Sago becomes the third female official selected to officiate in the NBA playoffs.

NBA referee Natalie Sago anticipated an unfavorable call was imminent. A poor phone call, to be precise.

She was mistaken.

On Monday, the NBA revealed the roster of 36 officials chosen to officiate this season’s play-in tournament and the initial round of the playoffs. Sago is included in this selection, making her the third woman in the league’s history—following Violet Palmer and Ashley Moyer-Gleich—to be appointed for postseason duties.

Sago received the notification on Saturday from Albert Sanders, the NBA executive overseeing referee operations. She was at the airport in Salt Lake City when the call arrived.

“I saw his name come up and thought: ‘Oh boy, here we go. Did we mess something up in the game last night in Utah?'” Sago, who has officiated over 400 NBA games, recounted. “But then that phone call turned out to be a pretty amazing phone call.”

Clearly, she has been part of numerous favorable calls.

Fewer than half of the NBA’s referees receive playoff assignments each season. Sago pondered when her opportunity would arise; she and Moyer-Gleich were elevated to the league’s full-time staff in 2018, becoming the fourth and fifth women in the league’s history to achieve that status. More have since followed.

“When you’re on a high wire with no net beneath you and relying on someone to catch you, you don’t really care about their gender,” stated Monty McCutchen, who manages referee development and training for the NBA. “What matters is whether they’ve been properly trained and if you can trust that they will support you when needed. That’s one of the aspects we’ve gotten right, in my view.”

The league indicated that playoff officials are chosen “based on key criteria evaluated throughout the season: NBA Referee Operations grades and rankings, play-calling accuracy, and team rankings.” Additional assessments occur after each playoff round.

“It’s such an honor,” Sago expressed. “I couldn’t be more thrilled and prepared to deliver a performance for the other women following me and all the young girls who will be watching the playoffs.”

Palmer officiated nine playoff games from 2006-12; Moyer-Gleich officiated two in 2024. Sago’s first assignment this year—the league does not disclose referee assignments until the day of the game—will mark the 12th for a woman in NBA playoff history.

“I hope it becomes the norm,” Sago remarked. “As long as we can perform the work effectively and diligently, it’s the same as what the men do on the staff. I just want us all to be NBA referees. I don’t want to be recognized as, ‘Oh, you’re the fifth female hired in the NBA ever.’ That’s great, but we’re all the same individuals. We perform the same role.”

Referee list The playoff referees include Ray Acosta, Brent Barnaky, Curtis Blair, Tony Brothers, Nick Buchert, John Butler, James Capers, Sean Corbin, Kevin Cutler, Eric Dalen, Marc Davis, JB DeRosa, Mitchell Ervin, Tyler Ford, Brian Forte, Scott Foster, Pat Fraher, Jacyn Goble, John Goble, Jason Goldenberg, Courtney Kirkland, Marat Kogut, Karl Lane, Mark Lindsay, Tre Maddox, Ed Malloy, Andy Nagy, Gediminas Petraitis, Kevin Scott, Ben Taylor, Josh Tiven, Justin Van Duyne, James Williams, Sean Wright, Zach Zarba, and Sago.

Foster (262), Davis (218), Brothers (216), Capers (204), Zarba (173), John Goble (151), Malloy (150), Wright (104), and Corbin (100) have all officiated at least 100 playoff games.

Sago—whose father has officiated basketball for over 30 years—and Goldenberg are the two first-time selections to the playoff officiating staff.