Consistency, communication focus for NBL officials

As the Hungry Jack's NBL26 season heads towards the pointy end of the campaign, every moment and play becomes more important, but also more scrutinised.

That applies to all parts of the game, including players, coaches and referees.

In a recent interview with ESPN, NBL CEO David Stevenson threw his support behind the refs.

"Officiating is one of those things in every sport around the world that no one ever feels like is perfect, and that's certainly our reflection too," Stevenson said to ESPN.

"We're proud of the work the officials do and the initiatives that we've brought in, like more full-time referees and more referees coming from the United States.

"But we're not perfect and we're not getting 100 per cent of the calls right. In much the same way as a player or a coach doesn't get 100 per cent of the calls right, we think we can improve in that area.

"I've got a lot of confidence in the team that we'll take those steps forward. One of those areas is around communication, because we know that whenever we speak to coaches and teams the two things they always talk about is consistency and communication.

"We're on a journey with those and I know that each game we're going to get better with some of the initiatives we're putting in place."

Round 18 of the NBL26 season tips off on Wednesday night with an Ignite Cup double-header, starting with Melbourne and Brisbane at 5.30pm AEDT before South East Melbourne hosts New Zealand at 7.30pm AEDT.

Both games will be broadcast live on ESPN.