Joey Crawford voted 2nd-best official by NBA players, coaches

The tables have turned on the referees, whose individual performances were assessed by the players and coaches for once.

Broderick Turner of the LA Times conducted a poll of nearly three dozen anonymous NBA players and coaches, asking respondents to name the three best and three worst officials.

The top-rated officials are Danny Crawford (30 votes), Joey Crawford (25), and Monty McCutchen (13).

The trio deemed the worst officials are Scott Foster (24), Lauren Holtkamp (14), and Marc Davis (12).

The biggest surprise from the survey results is the league's affection for Joey Crawford, who's best known for his disciplined approach and hilarious histrionics. His demonstrative demeanor routinely draws the ire of fans, but those in the industry appreciate Crawford's style, and insist his famously short fuse has grown much longer in recent years.

"There's no nonsense when Joey is doing stuff," one player said. "When Joey says, 'Y'all been warned,' everybody stops."

An NBA head coach said, "Once upon a time, you couldn't talk to Joey. He's cleaned that up - big time."

As for the league's least favorite ref, Foster is strongheaded to a fault, according to the coaches and players.

"You can't talk to him. He's never wrong," one player complained about Foster. "I like refs where they say, 'You know what, I made a mistake. I saw it at halftime. You were right.' But Scott Foster thinks he never makes a mistake. The players see the stats of how he is on the road. He always helps the road team out. He loves to stick it to teams."