9 NBA Players Who Boldly Share Their Christian Faith

11. NBA Ref Pat Fraher

Christians are also in the NBA officiating ranks, as evidenced by referee Pat Fraher. The 51-year-old Minnesota native has worked more than 1,300 games during 22 NBA seasons. Fraher’s favorite book is “Be a Man,” by Fr. Larry Richards—because it changed his heart and his life.

Although Fraher grew up in a Catholic family that had “season tickets at church,” he didn’t know God personally. After reading Richards’ book in 2017, the ref gave his life to Jesus. In a 2020 “Sports Spectrum” interview, Fraher described how he began relearning his faith and that “when you repent, everything changes.”

The ref marveled at how God has used his career—“the very thing that I put ahead of him”—to call him back to faith. “Instead of taking [my job] away from me, he actually blessed me with it.”

In 2024, Fraher appeared on the “Sports Spectrum” podcast to discuss how his renewed faith has grown and matured. More than ever, the ref is now invested in eternal, not earthly, matters.