Natalie Sago Becomes Third Woman Ever Selected to Referee NBA Playoffs

Natalie Sago thought she was about to get chewed out. Instead, she got one of the best phone calls of her career.

The NBA announced Monday that Sago made the cut for this season's playoff assignments, becoming just the third woman in league history to referee postseason games. She joins Violet Palmer and Ashley Moyer-Gleich as the only women to reach that milestone. The league selected 36 officials total for the play-in tournament and first round.

The Call That Changed Everything

Sago got the news Saturday from Albert Sanders, the NBA's executive director of referee operations. The timing? She was heading into Salt Lake City airport.

"I see his name pop up and I was like: 'Oh boy, here we go. Did we screw something up in the game last night in Utah?'" Sago said. "But then that phone call turned out to be a pretty awesome phone call."

For a veteran who has worked more than 400 NBA games, this is huge. Not every ref gets playoff work in any given season. Fewer than half the league's officials earn assignments each postseason.

What This Says About the NBA's Commitment

Sago and Moyer-Gleich both joined the NBA's full-time referee staff back in 2018, making them the fourth and fifth women in league history to reach that rank. Since then, more women have followed them into the profession.

Monty McCutchen, who oversees referee development and training for the NBA, is clear about what matters when it comes to putting officials on the court: "When you're on a high wire with no net under you and you're depending on the person to catch you, you don't really care what gender they are. What you care about is whether they've been trained properly, and whether you can trust that they will be there for you when you need them."

Sago's selection proves the league is getting that part right.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.