Written by Andy | 26 March 2011

Michael E. Lee/FlickrDuring a postgame dinner at an Oklahoma City restaurant, the veteran officiating crew of Dick Bavetta, Greg Willard and Derrick Collins went back and forth, sharing tales about the most outstanding no-calls they had made throughout their careers.

"One time it looked like Kobe (Bryant) may have been knocked to the ground by—I think it was Bruce Bowen," recalled Bavetta in between bites. "He threw is arms wildly in the air, yelling in my direction while the ball flew away. Since I wasn't one-hundred-percent sure if a foul had been committed, I shook my head and said 'No, no, no! Play on!' I'm really proud of that one."

The trio traded story after story, reminiscing for hours as they one-upped each other with boastful tales of no-calls despite players shooting airballs, hitting the floor or falling awkwardly out of bounds.

"We've all looked the other way and refrained from blowing our whistle in displays of impressive officiating," Collins pointed out, "but no ref will ever top the greatest no-call in NBA history made by Joey Crawford, when he famously allowed Shaquille O'Neal to get away with decapitating Vlade Divac."

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