Score vs average
222.4
+0.4 vs league average
373 games
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John Butler
#30NBA referee stats and assignments
NBA referee #30
NBA official profile
John Butler
Referee · NBA
Fouls vs average
40.9
+0.1 vs league average
373 games
Close-game scoring
223.9
+1.5 vs league in tight games
271 close games
How games feel
Typical historical game environment associated with this official. Descriptive history only.
Near-average scoring environment
High evidence
Combined points sit close to the league average (222.4).
League average 222.3 combined points
Near-average fouls volume
High evidence
Fouls volume tracks the league baseline (40.9, -0.1).
League average 41 fouls
Standout Cavaliers split
Limited evidence
Cavaliers is 3-10 (23.1%) across 13 games with this official, -40.1 percentage points below the team baseline (63.2%).
Team baseline 63.2% across 410 games
Fewer late-game whistles
High evidence
In close finishes, whistle rate historically drops versus earlier periods after intentional-foul filtering.
Late-game profile: Swallows Whistle
Low game-to-game volatility
High evidence
Whistle volume stays relatively steady game to game in the scouting sample window.
Descriptive stability of whistle volume, not a market forecast
Multi-season sample on file
High evidence
Profile spans 10 seasons in this dataset (2016-17–2025-26).
Team effects versus baseline
Win rate with this official compared with each team's overall win rate in the same seasons on file (2016-17 to 2025-26). A positive delta means the team wins more often with this official assigned; a negative delta means less often. Rows are sorted by the largest absolute gaps. Descriptive history only - not proof of cause. Minimum 8 shared games per row.
| Team | Games | W-L with official | Team baseline | Delta (pp) | Sample |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Cavaliers | 13 | 3-10 (23.1%) | 63.2% | Thin | |
 Magic | 18 | 13-5 (72.2%) | 46.1% | Thin | |
 Nuggets | 24 | 10-14 (41.7%) | 63.9% | Thin | |
 Nets | 19 | 6-13 (31.6%) | 51.0% | Thin | |
 Warriors | 19 | 7-12 (36.8%) | 55.6% | Thin | |
 Clippers | 19 | 14-5 (73.7%) | 55.9% | Thin | |
 Wizards | 17 | 8-9 (47.1%) | 29.3% | Thin | |
 Jazz | 20 | 11-9 (55.0%) | 38.0% | Thin | |
 Celtics | 17 | 13-4 (76.5%) | 60.2% | Thin | |
 Knicks | 12 | 5-7 (41.7%) | 58.0% | Thin | |
 Grizzlies | 15 | 10-5 (66.7%) | 50.5% | Thin | |
 Mavericks | 14 | 9-5 (64.3%) | 50.0% | Thin |
Historical environment
Scoring, whistle, and stability context from this official's verified sample versus league averages. Descriptive history only. Window: 2021-2026.
League comparison
Combined score
Official 222.4Baseline 222.3+0.1 vs leagueper game
Fouls-0.1 vs league
Whistle detail
Whistle profile
Whistle volume, penalty disposition, and high-leverage game-state tendencies.
50
Near-average foul-call profile
Administrative rate (freq)4.1+0.0 vs avg
Impact score (leverage-weighted)Withheld - needs 15 high-leverage subjective events (0 recorded)
Stability
- Sample size
- 373 games
- Seasons on file
- 2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20, 2020-21, 2021-22, 2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25, 2025-26
Officiating style
Official John Butler profiles as a game-flow (high subjective ratio) over the last 50 games. Whistle volume stays relatively stable in high-stakes settings.
- 90% subjective vs 10% procedural whistle mix.
- Not pressure-sensitive in the last 50 games.
Win/loss and line history
General stats
- Games
- 373
- Avg combined score
- 222.4
- +0.1 vs league avg
- Games over benchmark
- 66.8%
- Combined beat 222.3 benchmark
- Fouls per game
- 40.9
- -0.1 vs league avg
- Seasons
- 10 seasons
Pressure
Late-game whistle tendency versus earlier periods. Zero on the scale is the neutral / no-shift anchor for this official (same whistle rate late as earlier), not a league average and not a betting recommendation.
Tight-game proxy
Related officials
Explore officials who frequently work with this official or show similar historical officiating patterns.
Frequent crew partners
Officials who have appeared on the same crew most often in the available dataset.
Officials with similar historical profiles
Similarity is descriptive and based on available historical metrics. It does not imply identical decision-making.
- 67.3% over · +0.1 whistlesimilar over rate · similar whistle tendency
- 67.5% over · +0.1 whistlesimilar over rate · similar whistle tendency
- 68.1% over · +0.1 whistlesimilar over rate · similar whistle tendency
Pre-Game Context
Refficacy Dimensions
Referee Efficacy Radar
This officialLeague norm (50)
- Run stoppages80 index
How often this crew whistles during opponent scoring runs.
- Scoring pace52 index
Combined scoring in this crew's games versus league average.
- Whistle mix65 index
Contact and administrative whistle share relative to league norms.
3 metrics excluded due to insufficient event data
Index scores computed from 50 logged games in analysis window
How to read this profile
Scoring and foul totals come from NBA Stats API game logs. Ref×team win-loss records come from Basketball-Reference. Team foul splits live on team pages. Tonight's assignment signals are on the home page.
Ref×team W-L from Basketball-Reference (2021-22, 2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25, 2025-26). Foul and scoring from NBA Stats API game logs.