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 |
| Kevin Scott | 0.326 | +2.6 |
| Sean Corbin | 0.450 | +1.1 |
| Jonathan Sterling | 0.318 | +2.3 |
| Derek Richardson | 0.548 | +1.2 |
| Marc Davis | 0.491 | +1.4 |
| Matt Kallio | 0.400 | +4.0 |
| Robert Hussey | 0.417 | +3.0 |
| Nate Green | 0.333 | +2.3 |
| Leon Wood | 0.510 | +1.1 |
| John Conley | 0.333 | +1.9 |
| CJ Washington | 0.318 | +1.5 |
| CJ Washington | 0.393 | +2.6 |
| Tony Brothers | 0.405 | +2.0 |
| Justin Van Duyne | 0.447 | +0.0 |
| Scott Twardoski | 0.178 | +1.4 |
| Josh Tiven | 0.587 | +0.7 |
| Andy Nagy | 0.235 | +1.6 |
| Scott Foster | 0.512 | +0.4 |
| Mousa Dagher | 0.222 | +2.0 |
| CJ Washington | 0.351 | +1.0 |
| Jonathan Sterling | 0.200 | +3.1 |
| Simone Jelks | 0.273 | +4.5 |
| Brandon Adair | 0.250 | +1.1 |
| Aaron Smith | 0.303 | +0.6 |
| Ben Taylor | 0.333 | +1.2 |
| Matt Myers | 0.389 | +2.3 |
| John Conley | 0.308 | +2.7 |
| Jenna Schroeder | 0.273 | +2.7 |
| Jenna Schroeder | 0.357 | +2.8 |
| Tyler Ford | 0.378 | +2.2 |
Philadelphia 76ers 
Milwaukee Bucks 
Chicago Bulls 
Cleveland Cavaliers 
Boston Celtics 
Los Angeles Clippers 
Memphis Grizzlies 
Atlanta Hawks 
Miami Heat 
Charlotte Hornets 
Utah Jazz 
Sacramento Kings 
New York Knicks 
Los Angeles Lakers 
Dallas Mavericks 
Brooklyn Nets 
Denver Nuggets 
Indiana Pacers 
New Orleans Pelicans 
Detroit Pistons 
Houston Rockets 
San Antonio Spurs 
Phoenix Suns 
Minnesota Timberwolves 
Portland Trail Blazers 
Golden State Warriors 
Washington Wizards 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).
