President of NBA operations Byron Spruell details how the changes being implemented to officiating will help the game. (1:11)

NEW YORK -- The NBA will increase its officiating staff by 25 percent over the next three seasons and launch a new Officiating Advisory Council as new initiatives to improve officiating.

The NBA announced a comprehensive plan on Thursday, introducing several initiatives to "further strengthen its officiating program" and "bring additional transparency to the program." This came after a six-month review conducted by Byron Spruell, the new president of league operations.

Officiating and the NBA's Last Two Minute Report became a storyline at times following some controversial finishes during last year's playoffs. The league decided to increase its staff of referees by 10 percent starting next season, increasing the current number of 64 referees for this season to close to 70 for next season.

The NBA plans to keep stats on referees to improve performance. AP Photo/Carlos Osorio

The staff of officials will increase up to 25 percent over the next three years. The NBA said it will implement a "more diverse and comprehensive approach to sourcing and hiring." There also will be a new scheduling system to "optimize the chemistry and composition of officiating crews" and help with more rest to keep officials fresh.

"They are the best at what they do," Spruell told ESPN. "There is no question about that. The accuracy, the numbers really play that out. That is from someone coming from the outside taking a fresh look at this over six months.

"But having said that, performance is performance, and you can always get better. Think of teams. They are trying to add players to get better. Think of the individual player. He is trying to add something to his or her game. And that is what this is. We got great men and women who do this, but we can always get better."

The Officiating Advisory Council is made up of current and former players and coaches. It was created to focus on areas of improvement for officials and the future of officiating. Members include retired General Martin E. Dempsey, who is also the chairman of USA Basketball, former U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, former NBA players and TV analysts Doug Collins and Kenny Smith, and former longtime veteran referee Steve Javie. The council -- which will also include current players, coaches and referees to be named later -- is a think-tank-type group focused on generating ideas and how the rules are enforced, and finding better ways to do it. Any future changes or initiatives with officiating rules will be separate from what the council does.

"The key is independent minds that aren't emotionally attached to a specific team, but at the same time can come up with innovative thoughts," Spruell said of the council. "... one group that has independent thinking that can really bring this forward with new ideas for the future of officiating, decorum, technology [and] other best practices that we can apply to the officiating program."

The NBA will also use new technology, such as a data-driven game-review system that will create "objective referee measurement standards and track progress regarding call accuracy and errors per game over multiple seasons" and look at innovative methods such as virtual reality to train referees.

The NBA also plans on finding new ways to involve teams and coaches in the improvement of officiating. The process by which teams can inquire about specific plays or calls and offer input will be expanded, and coaches will take a postgame survey to share officiating feedback.

Officiating and the league's Last Two Minute Report became a hot-button issue during last season's playoffs. One of the most glaring officiating controversies from last postseason transpired near the end of Game 2 of the Oklahoma City Thunder-San Antonio Spurs series, when the "L2M" report referenced five incorrect non-calls, highlighted by an elbow on an inbounds pass by Thunder guard Dion Waiters.

The National Basketball Referees Association admitted on its official Twitter account that what happened at the end of Game 2 "was one we've never seen before & we missed it. We'll incorporate this in training moving forward."

The NBA has continually looked at ways to improve its officiating, expanding the use of the replay center. NBA commissioner Adam Silver has also made transparency a major emphasis.

"You can say while we are putting this as a high priority and people are saying, 'Well, there must be something broken,' that is really not the story here," said Spruell, who was a professional consultant for 20 years at Deloitte before joining the NBA. "It's actually working really well. And we just want to take it to another level."