Has a referee ever broken character...

[jlip]

...by showing amazement at a spectacular move by a player? We've seen opposing benches "inappropriately" demonstrate excitement (if only for a brief second) after a fierce dunk or breathtaking play by a player from the other team, but has a referee ever, even if just for a split second, had a public "WOW!" moment after an amazing play?

[Heavincent]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwx9HiM4Aw0

Look at the ref on the baseline.

[Rake2204]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwx9HiM4Aw0

Look at the ref on the baseline.

Geez, haven't seen that dunk in a while. Transfixing to watch. It was tough to tell whether the ref was pumped or just got lost in what to call and made up for it with emphasis, haha.

Interesting topic nonetheless. I'm sure it happens, but I've also always been under the impression that ensuring visible neutrality is one of the absolute top priorities of NBA officials. There's been times where I've seen refs at other levels get a little too excited over a great play, where it's clear they're hyped about the move, and it always looks really unprofessional, probably because NBA refs virtually never do that. I assume it has to be a golden rule in the officiating game.

[TemporaMutantur]

Geez, haven't seen that dunk in a while. Transfixing to watch. It was tough to tell whether the ref was pumped or just got lost in what to call and made up for it with emphasis, haha.

Interesting topic nonetheless. I'm sure it happens, but I've also always been under the impression that ensuring visible neutrality is one of the absolute top priorities of NBA officials. There's been times where I've seen refs at other levels get a little too excited over a great play, where it's clear they're hyped about the move, and it always looks really unprofessional, probably because NBA refs virtually never do that. I assume it has to be a golden rule in the officiating game.

I believe it's important for them to maintain an image of impartiality. The second you start to show excessive excitement over a play, it may be seen as bias in favor of that team, even if it's clearly not and is simply their love of the game of basketball. However, you don't even want to be accused of favoring a team later on in the game on a controversial play and then have that shoved in your face.

[HylianNightmare]

I've always wondered this and always kept an eye on refs during games and replays and never seen anything