Intae Hwang and Sha’Rae Mitchell have been elevated to the NBA‘s full-time referee crew for the next season.
Hwang, a South Korean native, relocated to New Jersey in 2020 in an effort to work as a referee in the United States. He has also officiated in the Summer Olympics, the G League, the WNBA, the Basketball World Cup, and seven games last season as a non-staff official.
According to information provided by the Washington Post Sports, Hwang developed a passion for basketball at a young age and got obsessed with knowing everything there was to know about it while attending Busan University of Foreign Studies. This obsession began when Hwang met Kirok Shin, a senior who worked as a basketball referee.
Hwang was seen by the NBA while he was working with FIBA, and in 2016 they extended an invitation for him to take part in their referee development program. Hwang told the Post that despite not having a full-time employment promise, he “didn’t hesitate for one second” before moving 7,000 miles.
Mitchell has previously worked in the WNBA and the G League. Last season, he officiated 11 games as a non-staff official. Additionally, she spent five years working collegiate games in the Pac-12, West Coast, Big Sky, and Western Athletic conferences.
Monty McCutchen, senior vice president of the NBA for referee training and development, said, “We are happy to welcome Intae and Sha’Rae to our full-time staff. They have acquired the right to officiate NBA games regularly by excelling in their respective performance areas.
This season, both will officiate G League games, as is required of all NBA referees with under four years of experience.
This season, the NBA will use 74 full-time referees and eight additional non-staff officials.