Updated: September 16, 2011, 5:41 pm ET

Javie quits after 25 years as NBA referee

By HOOPSWORLD
Basketball News & NBA Rumors

NBA referee Steve Javie is retiring after a stellar 25-year career, ESPN.com reported Friday.

According to the report, Javie is retiring due to an athritic right knee. The injury forced him to miss a huge chunk of the 2009-10 season.

Javie returned last season and again was rated as the one of the NBA’s top officials, working Games 1 and 6 of the NBA Finals. He also worked the Finals in 2009 and had a reputation among coaches as the referee they wanted to see when their team had a big road game.

Javie is the latest highly rated referee to leave the NBA. Bob Delaney, who also has worked the NBA Finals, retired earlier this summer after a 25-year career. Joe DeRosa, another ref with Finals experience, left the NBA after the 2009-10 season to officiate in college, where he worked the 2011 Final Four.

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