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"&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Dick Bavetta, the NBA's longest-tenured referee, has retired, the league announced Tuesday. The 74-year-old Bavetta had officiated 2,635 consecutive regular season games.&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In his career, Bavetta worked 270 playoff games, including 27 Finals games, and three All-Star games. He also worked the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona.&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;More: Veteran free agents still on the market&lt;/strong&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;NBA president of basketball operations Rod Thorn released a statement on Bavetta's retirement:&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\"Dick's dedication and commitment to his craft has been an inspiration to all NBA officials,\" said Thorn. \"We are grateful for his contributions to our league, and we wish him the best as he enjoys his well-earned retirement.\"\r\n\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;With Bavetta retired, Joe Crawford is the league's longest-tenured ref. Next year will be his 38th season. &lt;em&gt;-- Alex Hampl&lt;/em&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u200B&amp;nbsp;\r\n&lt;/p&gt;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.si.com/nba/2014/08/19/nba-referee-dick-bavetta-retires>