Chelisa Painter, a Chesapeake native who starred at Indian River High School and Old Dominion University, has been named a full-time NBA staff official for the 2026-27 season. The promotion caps a climb that took her from Hampton Roads gyms to college hardwood overseas and, eventually, onto NBA courts as one of the league's newest referees.
The NBA announced Painter's elevation on October 14, according to official.nba.com, which confirmed she had been named a staff official alongside two other referees. Painter had already worked three NBA regular-season games as a non-staff official during the 2025-26 season, the league noted. On October 26, she worked the Dallas Mavericks' 113-109 loss at the Miami Heat as official No. 79, per the official game book posted on statsdmz.nba.com.
A Long Road Through the G League and College Ranks
Painter's path to the NBA ran through five years and 215 games in the NBA G League, including playoff assignments in three different seasons, the league's announcement states. A separate source, RefMetrics, lists her G League total at 210 games — a discrepancy between the two accounts that remains unresolved. Before that, she spent seven years working games as an NCAA Division I official, officiating across conferences, the NBA's release notes.
Her basketball career began well before she ever picked up a whistle. Painter graduated from Old Dominion University with a bachelor's degree in sociology, according to her official NBA biography, and played two seasons of college basketball at Old Dominion and two more at George Washington University. After college, she played professionally overseas in Ireland, Italy and Luxembourg, the bio states.
Star Turn at Indian River High School
Long before her college and professional playing days, Painter made her mark at Indian River High School in Chesapeake. As a senior, she averaged 14.9 points, 12.0 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game, according to her NBA bio. That production earned her a spot on The Virginian-Pilot's All-Tidewater Second Team and a McDonald's All-American nomination, as detailed in the same biography. In its report on her promotion, The Virginian-Pilot highlighted her All-Tidewater selection and her Southeastern District Defensive Player of the Year award.
Painter's officiating career has included milestones of its own. She was part of the first all-female crew to work a Virginia High School League boys' varsity game, a state semifinal and a state championship game, according to her NBA bio. Back in 2019, the Daily Press described her as part of a growing number of female officials working men's games, a trend her own rise has continued to embody.
Part of a Wider Shift in NBA Officiating
Painter's promotion does not stand alone. Nate Cearley and Brent Haskill were promoted to staff officials alongside her, and all three will continue working NBA G League games in addition to their NBA assignments this season, according to a report from Yahoo Sports. The league's own announcement confirms that arrangement for all three new hires.
Her addition also moves the needle on representation at the league's highest officiating level. Painter's promotion brings the number of women on the NBA's full-time officiating staff to nine for the 2026-27 season, the league's announcement states. For a Chesapeake kid who once dominated the paint at Indian River, it marks a full-circle moment — from state championship floors in Virginia to the hardwood of the NBA.
