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NBA promotes 3 referees to 2020-21 officiating staff

NBA G League officials Simone Jelks, Suyash Mehta and Andy Nagy have been promoted to full-time NBA referee status.

NEW YORK — NBA G League referees Simone Jelks, Suyash Mehta and Andy Nagy have been promoted to full-time NBA staff officials, it was announced today by Monty McCutchen, NBA Senior Vice President, Head of Referee Development and Training.

“We are pleased to welcome Simone, Suyash and Andy to our full-time staff,” said McCutchen. “They have demonstrated through the growth and the quality of their performance, they warrant working NBA games on a regular basis.”

Jelks joins Lauren Holtkamp-Sterling, Ashley Moyer-Gleich, Natalie Sago and Jenna Schroeder as full-time female officials for the 2020-21 season.

New Full-Time NBA Staff Officials

Simone Jelks (Cleveland, Ohio) has officiated three seasons in the NBA G League. She also worked 16 regular-season NBA games as a non-staff official during the 2019-20 season. She has three years of collegiate officiating experience, with stints in the Mid-American Conference and Hori­zon League. Jelks played college basketball at the University of Southern California, where she was named to the 2007-08 Pac-12 All-Defensive Team.

Suyash Mehta (Baltimore, Maryland) officiated five seasons in the NBA G League. During the 2019-20 NBA season, he refereed 13 regular-season NBA games as a non-staff official. He has officiated in numerous collegiate conferences, including the Atlantic 10, Big South, Colonial Athletic Association and Conference USA. He also has NCAA Division III and junior college officiating experience. Mehta’s parents are from India and moved to the United States in the 1980s.

Andy Nagy (Toledo, Ohio) has six seasons of NBA G League experience. He worked 13 NBA regular-season games as a non-staff official during the 2019-20 season. His officiating experience also includes nine years of collegiate experience, refereeing Division I men’s and women’s games in the At­lantic 10, Atlantic Sun, Horizon League and Mid-Amer­ican Conference. Nagy unofficially began his officiating career at 14, when his father allowed him to referee a Youth CYO Christ­mas Tournament game.

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