NBA referee out of Finals for first time in five years amid ongoing investigation

Game 1 of the NBA Finals between the Denver Nuggets and Miami Heat is set for 8:30 p.m. ET on Thursday.

Multiple since-deleted tweets from an account with the name "blair cuttliff" were uncovered last week, and while it hasn't been determined if Lewis was operating the account, some of the posts defended Lewis from criticism, leading to suspicion.

According to an Associated Press and ESPN report, the account was "deactivated briefly last week" but was back up on Wednesday night.

After the tweets in question came to light, the NBA opened an investigation into whether Lewis "violated NBA rules by speaking about officiating in an unauthorized manner," per the report.

"The league has not revealed a timetable for the completion of its probe into whether Lewis used the Twitter account," the report said. "It also remains unknown what discipline from the league that Lewis could face if he broke policy by discussing officiating matters openly without approval."

Lewis is in his 19th NBA season and has officiated over 1,200 games.

According to the Associated Press and ESPN report, Kane Fitzgerald and James Capers are the only other officials who worked the 2022 NBA Finals between the Boston Celtics and Golden State Warriors who won't be back this year. The former didn't work on the hardwood during the 2022-23 season and took over as the NBA's vice president of referee operations and replay center principal in September, while Capers is injured.