NBA Referee Kryptonite: The Referees That Give Every NBA Team The Most Problems

Discover which NBA referees teams dread the most, with insights on win percentages and foul differentials. Uncover your team's kryptonite today!
NBA Referee Kryptonite: The Referees That Give Every NBA Team The Most Problems
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Which referee does each NBA team want to avoid this season? And which crews should fans across NBA betting know by name?
 
Utilizing Basketball Reference, RotoWire.com found the active NBA referee that has been each club's kryptonite. After using a list of the active NBA referees for the 2025-26 season, we found the referee that teams have the worst combined win percentage and foul differential (more fouls called than opposing team).  

Note: Teams were required to have played 10 games under referee to be considered.

NBA Referees Most Feared by Each Team

Team 

Referee  

Win % 

Fouls Differential 

Philadelphia 76ers 

Kevin Scott 

0.326 

+2.6 

Milwaukee Bucks 

Sean Corbin 

0.450 

+1.1 

Chicago Bulls 

Jonathan Sterling 

0.318 

+2.3 

Cleveland Cavaliers 

Derek Richardson 

0.548 

+1.2 

Boston Celtics 

Marc Davis 

0.491 

+1.4 

Los Angeles Clippers 

Matt Kallio 

0.400 

+4.0 

Memphis Grizzlies 

Robert Hussey 

0.417 

+3.0 

Atlanta Hawks 

Nate Green 

0.333 

+2.3 

Miami Heat 

Leon Wood 

0.510 

+1.1 

Charlotte Hornets 

John Conley 

0.333 

+1.9 

Utah Jazz 

CJ Washington 

0.318 

+1.5 

Sacramento Kings 

CJ Washington 

0.393 

+2.6 

New York Knicks 

Tony Brothers 

0.405 

+2.0 

Los Angeles Lakers 

Justin Van Duyne 

0.447 

+0.0 

Orlando Magic 

Scott Twardoski 

0.178 

+1.4 

Dallas Mavericks 

Josh Tiven 

0.587 

+0.7 

Brooklyn Nets 

Andy Nagy 

0.235 

+1.6 

Denver Nuggets 

Scott Foster 

0.512 

+0.4 

Indiana Pacers 

Mousa Dagher 

0.222 

+2.0 

New Orleans Pelicans 

CJ Washington 

0.351 

+1.0 

Detroit Pistons 

Jonathan Sterling 

0.200 

+3.1 

Toronto Raptors 

Simone Jelks 

0.273 

+4.5 

Houston Rockets 

Brandon Adair 

0.250 

+1.1 

San Antonio Spurs 

Aaron Smith 

0.303 

+0.6 

Phoenix Suns 

Ben Taylor 

0.333 

+1.2 

Oklahoma City Thunder 

Matt Myers 

0.389 

+2.3 

Minnesota Timberwolves 

John Conley 

0.308 

+2.7 

Portland Trail Blazers 

Jenna Schroeder 

0.273 

+2.7 

Golden State Warriors 

Jenna Schroeder 

0.357 

+2.8 

Washington Wizards 

Tyler Ford 

0.378 

+2.2 

Remember, you can wager on NBA futures at top-rated NBA betting apps, like who will win MVP or Defensive Player of the Year, or which team will win the NBA Finals.

Which NBA Referee Do Teams Want To Avoid The Most?  

Across the 30-team league, there were only four officials that were the biggest foul differentials across multiple teams, those being Jonathan Sterling (Chicago Bulls and Detroit Pistons), John Conley (Charlotte Hornets and Minnesota Timberwolves), CJ Washington (Utah Jazz, Sacramento Kings and New Orleans Pelicans), and Jenna Schroeder (Portland Trail Blazers and Golden State Warriors).  

The referee across the NBA's officiating crew with the largest foul differential overall was Simone Jelks with the Toronto Raptors, with a gulf of +4.5, with Matt Kallio being the only other ref with a differential of +4 or greater, with the second year official from Calgary posting a +4 foul differential when officiating a game involving the Los Angeles Clippers.  

The only other NBA refs with foul differentials of +3 or greater were Sterling with the Detroit Pistons (+3.1 foul differential) and Robert Hussey with the Memphis Grizzlies (+3.0 foul differential), speaking to the intricacies that come from having a small cadre of refs cover a 30-team league. 

When broken down by win percentage, the team that got the shortest end of the stick was the Orlando Magic, who have a winning percentage of .178 in games that Scott Twardoski officiates, while the top winning percentage was the Dallas Mavericks, who have a .587 figure in contests when Josh Tiven wears the stripes. 

Seven teams in total had winning percentages of .300 or worse when paired with the referee who has overseen their downfall the most, including the Detroit Pistons (.200 with Sterling), Indiana Pacers (.222 with Mousa Dagher), Brooklyn Nets (.235 with Andy Nagy) and the Houston Rockets (.250 with Brandon Adair), while the Toronto Raptors and Portland Trail Blazers had matching .273 percentages in games that Simone Jelks or Schroeder officiated.  

While the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder have bad luck playing when Matt Myers referees, with a .389 winning percentage in those contests and a +2.3 foul differential, that doesn't appear to be a setback when it comes to 2025-26 NBA championship betting odds, with oddsmakers from FanDuel Sportsbook listing the Western Conference stalwarts as the preseason favorite to win it all at +220, ahead of the Cavaliers (+600), Denver Nuggets (+750) and New York Knicks (+1000).   

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Christopher has covered the sports betting industry for more than seven years, and takes the lead on both sports analysis and legislative developments for GDC Group. His work has also appeared on ArizonaSports.com, the Tucson Weekly and the Green Valley News.
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