Referee Danny Crawford retiring after 31 NBA seasons
Andrew D. Bernstein / National Basketball Association / Getty
One of the longest-tenured officials in the game is turning in his stripes.
After 31 seasons calling games in the NBA, Danny Crawford is calling it a career, the referees association announced Wednesday.
Crawford officiated over 2,000 regular-season games and 300 playoff games since becoming an NBA ref in 1985. He's worked at least one NBA Finals game every year since 1995. The last game of his career came in Game 5 of the Finals this year, when the Golden State Warriors clinched the title.
"I wanted to leave with my gas in my tank," the 63-year-old told USA Today's Jeff Zillgitt. "I wanted to leave in a positive way."
Some NBAers took to Twitter to pay their respects.