OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — James Capers, Josh Tiven and Sean Wright joined a very small club on Sunday.
Capers, Tiven and Wright were announced by the NBA as the officiating crew for Game 7 of the NBA Finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers. It's the first Game 7 of a finals for all three, who are now the 22nd, 23rd and 24th referees in NBA history to land such an assignment.
“Being selected to work the NBA Finals is the top honor as an NBA official," Byron Spruell, the NBA's president of league operations, said earlier this month when the 12-person list of finals referees was revealed.
And Game 7, one would think, is the top of the top honors.
Scott Foster, a two-time Game 7 finals referee and generally considered one of the best in the game, was not picked for the crew. Had he been, he would have become the seventh referee picked to work at least three Game 7s in the title series. The referees in NBA history who have worked that many are Mendy Rudolph (six), Earl Strom (five), Sid Borgia (four), Dan Crawford (three), Joe Crawford (three) and Richie Powers (three).
Foster — who is frequently criticized online by fans — was defended by Indiana coach Rick Carlisle after Game 4, notable because it was a game that the Pacers lost.
“As far as officiating, I think it’s awful some of the things I’ve seen about the officiating, and Scott Foster in particular,” Carlisle said before Game 5. “I’ve known Scott Foster for 30 years. He is a great official. He has done a great job in these playoffs. We’ve had him a lot of times. The ridiculous scrutiny that is being thrown out there is terrible and unfair and unjust and stupid.”
The NBA had 75 full-time officials this season and 36 of those were selected to work the first round of the playoffs. The officiating roster is further trimmed going into each playoff round, with the league's referee operations management team determining who should advance.
Capers is working his 13th finals, Tiven his sixth and Wright is in the finals for only the second time. It's the second game of these finals for all three referees — Capers worked Indiana's win in Game 3, while Wright and Tiven were both on the crew for Oklahoma City's win in Game 4.
James Williams, who worked Games 2 and 5 of the series, was picked as the alternate for Game 7. David Guthrie, who officiated Games 1 and 6, was the referee assigned to the replay center in Secaucus, New Jersey, for Game 7.
Thunder coach Mark Daigneault addressed officiating — and how he and his team respect referees — from a general perspective Saturday, when asked how his team has avoided being called for very many technical fouls this season.
“The outcome of the game and the context of the game is outside of our control,” Daigneault said. “In between the lines is inside our control. The referees (are) in that category, too. We can’t control how they call the game and what they put a whistle on and what they don’t. We can control a lot of other things in the game, and that’s what we need to focus on.”
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Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle argues with referee Josh Tiven during the second half of Game 4 of the NBA Finals basketball series against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Friday, June 13, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Monday to clear the way for an executive order from President Donald Trump that could dramatically change mail-in voting ahead of November’s midterm elections.
The Justice Department asked the justices to halt for now lower court decisions blocking the sweeping changes in nearly half the country.
The request comes shortly after Trump delivered a primetime address elevating his yearslong push to raise doubts about the legitimacy of elections, and could be one of several voting-related challenges before the court ahead of the high-stakes midterm contest.
Trump ordered the government in March to create a “state citizenship list” of eligible voters and deliver mail ballots only to people on that list.
Democratic officials in 23 states and the District of Columbia sued, saying the Constitution gives states and Congress the authority to set election rules, not the president. Their attorneys have said Trump's proposed changes are ripe for abuse and could cause chaos.
A judge in Massachusetts blocked the executive order for the plaintiff states, and a divided 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel left her ruling in place over the weekend.
The executive order calls for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the commissioner of the Social Security Administration to send state officials federal citizenship lists to determine eligible voters. It tells the U.S. Postal Service to deliver mail ballots only to people on the lists.
The order also calls for ballots to have secure envelopes with unique barcodes for tracking. Federal funding could be withheld from states and localities that don’t comply.
The appeal argues that Trump's order lays out “general policy guidance” and doesn’t directly dictate how states run their elections. Solicitor General D. John Sauer asked the high court to freeze the judge's order as lawsuits play out, calling it indefensible.
“And the injunction is especially indefensible because the agencies are still deliberating over how (if at all) to implement the Order, yet the district court preemptively decided that whatever the agencies may choose to do will necessarily be unlawful,” Sauer wrote.
He urged the high court to move quickly, arguing that any new policies would have to be in place as soon as August to be effective for the November elections. A response to the appeal is due Aug. 3.
Mail balloting has long been a favorite target for Trump, even as he has used the method to cast his own votes. He has blamed it for his loss to Democrat Joe Biden in 2020 and has claimed without evidence that it opens the door to fraud. He returned to that theme Monday during an appearance at a General Motors facility in Michigan as he was making an appeal for Congress to pass his voter ID and proof-of-citizenship bill.
“And hopefully there will be no mail-in ballots,” he said, calling them 'inherently corrupt."
Using mail ballots has become increasingly popular with voters of both parties, with about 30% of all ballots cast that way during the 2024 presidential election, according to federal data. The process also is secure. A 2025 Brookings Institution study found only about four cases of fraud out of every 10 million mail ballots cast.
The Supreme Court has ruled against the Trump administration before on mail-in ballots, finding in June that states can count ballots that arrive after Election Day.
Trump has promoted the proposed changes in his executive order as safeguards to keep non-U.S. citizens from voting. He's also repeatedly pressed for the passage of the legislation that requires proof of citizenship to vote.
Noncitizen voting has been shown to be rare, and is a felony that can be punishable by deportation.
U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani in Boston, who was nominated by Democratic President Barack Obama, agreed in June to halt implementation for the Nov. 3 elections.
Her ruling differed from that of another federal judge based in Washington. U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, who was appointed by Trump, found in May that it was too early to block the order because it had not yet been implemented.
The office of California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who is leading the lawsuit for the states, did not immediately comment on the Trump administration’s appeal. New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office declined to comment.
The Postal Service also would not discuss its plans regarding implementing Trump’s order or its rule, citing the ongoing litigation. In Kansas, Republican Secretary of State Scott Schwab’s office said it has not heard from the Postal Service about plans going forward.
Associated Press writer John Hanna in Topeka, Kansas, contributed to this story.
President Donald Trump gestures as he departs after speaking at General Motors proving ground, Monday, July 27, 2026, in Milford, Mich. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Visitors walk in front of the Supreme Court Friday, July 24, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)
