How a Fired Ref Solved the NBA's Biggest Problem
Description
Jake and Tyler sit down with former NBA referee and inventor Mike Costabile, the founder of the Precision Time System—a game-changing piece of officiating tech that’s now used in every NBA and March Madness game.
In this episode, Mike walks through the controversial 1990 Bucks-Sixers game that cost him his job, the fallout that pushed him to invent a new way to keep time, and how he bootstrapped his garage-built prototype into a global product.
You’ll hear the full story behind the tech that changed how basketball is played—and how one bad call led to an idea the NBA couldn’t ignore.
⏱️ TIMESTAMPS
00:00 — Intro
01:50 — Getting into Officiating
04:30 — Politics of Refereeing
06:55 — Breaking into the NBA
09:20 — “Managing the Game”
12:15 — The 1990 Blown Call
15:00 — Fallout and Getting Fired
18:20 — Inventing Precision Time
21:10 — Early NBA Pushback
24:30 — How the System Works
27:10 — Bootstrapping the Business
30:05 — Landing the NBA Deal
33:00 — Lawsuits and Copycats
36:20 — Why Other Leagues Lag
38:40 — Human vs. Automated Refs
42:00 — When Tech Goes Too Far
45:00 — League Culture Differences
48:15 — Selling the Company
50:00 — Legacy and What’s Next
52:30 — Recap with Jake and Tyler
United States
