James Capers

James Capers has officiated 1,634 regular-season games in 30 seasons as an NBA staff official. He has also worked 204 playoff games, including 17 NBA Finals games.

Capers officiated the NBA All-Star Game in 2010 (Arlington, Texas) and 2018 (Los Angeles). He has worked NBA games in Beijing, Johannesburg, London, Paris and Tokyo.

Capers considers his most memorable NBA assignment to be Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals between the Indiana Pacers and the Oklahoma City Thunder.

In addition to his NBA experience, Capers spent six years as a referee in the Continental Basketball Association, where he officiated three Finals and two All-Star Games.

The Chicago native has served on the Executive Board of the National Basketball Referees Association (NBRA) and helped negotiate collective bargaining agreements with the NBA. He is the liason between the NBRA and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Capers was also the first official appointed to serve on the NBA Competition Committee. He has been the referee representative on the Jr. NBA Board. Capers is the son of former NBA official James Capers Sr.