Marat Kogut (born 08/05/79) is an NBA referee from Brooklyn, New York with 11 seasons of on-court experience. He's had a major presence in the NBA, having refereed 562 regular-season games within 10 seasons. ^{[1] [2]}

Marat Kogut was born in Ukraine, but immigrated to Brooklyn, New York with his family at the age of two months in an effort to escape poverty and anti-Semitism.

The family endured hard times early on, being forced to sleep on an Ocean Parkway bench after being ejected from a Queens homeless shelter. Marat's father, Leon, got a job as a barber and opened his own shop in Kensington above the Newkirk station of the Q train. ^[1]

Marat is a huge fan of the New York Yankees, golf, piano, volleyball and performing magic tricks. ^[2]

Marat Kogut graduated from FDR High School in Brooklyn, New York. He attended St. John’s University and graduated with a degree in Computer science. ^{[2] [4]}

Before getting paid to referee, Marat was working as an insurance salesman and didn't like his job. His passion for officiating basketball games stemmed from an official visiting his high school. In 1995, NBA referee Dick Bavetta visited FDR High School and spoke to a young Marat about becoming an official, even mailing him an official ref jersey: ^[1]

At 16, Marat Kogut became the youngest person ever to be certified by the local International Association of Approved Basketball Officials.

He started out by refereeing recreational youth leagues.

^[1]

Marat got his big break after attending a four-day training camp in Tennessee. He was hired to officiate several Division I games. He later caught the eye of the director of NBA officials, Ronnie Nunn, who invited him to a NBA referee training camp and offered him a job working Developmental League games. He spent four years working on Development League Games, often officiating at WNBA games in the offseason. ^[1]

In March of 2019, Steph Curry from The Golden State Warriors called Marat "the MVP of the night" after their 131-130 overtime loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. After Kevin Durant was fouled during a three-pointer, Marat did not allow him to take a free throw which could have led to a 4-point play. When they were tied 130 -130 with 0.5 seconds left, officials called a foul on Durant, which brought Karl-Anthony Towns to the freethrow line, where he put up the game winning shot. ^[3]

Washington point guard Isaiah Thomas was ejected in the first quarter of the Wizards’ game against the Portland Trail Blazers on January 3rd, 2020, for making minor contact with Marat. The Wizards coach Scott Brooks felt that it was an accident: ^[4][13]