Adam Silver says NBA disciplines referees for missed calls

In the wake of a high-profile missed call that went against Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James last month, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said officials are «absolutely held accountable» and disciplined for making such errors.

«We don't publicize discipline for officials. We don't think that will be appropriate,» Silver said Friday in an interview with ESPN's Sage Steele on SportsCenter. «But their assignments are affected by the quality of their calls, whether or not they progress into the playoffs and then round by round is impacted by the accuracy of their calls and their demeanor on the floor. So there is a system for overseeing and making those judgements about officials. But more to your earlier point about getting the calls right, that's again not a new issue.»

James was fouled in the closing seconds of a tie game between the Lakers and Boston Celtics on Jan. 28, but the foul was not called. Boston went on to win in overtime.

The NBA's referees union posted a public apology a day later on its official Twitter account for getting the call wrong. One of the criticisms of how the moment played out was that there was no mechanism available to the referees to adjust the call, something Silver said the league needs to look at.

«I know some people in that particular call you mentioned in that Celtics-Lakers game were upset that there was no opportunity for replay,» Silver said. «Many people focused on the coach not having another challenge. But remember in our league, you can't challenge a non-call. And there's a lot of difficulty there when you get into non-call. You could suggest every moment of a game is a non-call when a call isn't being made in a way.

»But so what's the beginning and the end of the play? And if