As the Golden State Warriors endured a frustrating season-opening loss, head coach Steve Kerr resorted to accusing the referees of giving Luka Dončić and the Los Angeles Lakers a clear home court advantage.
With the Warriors trailing the Lakers 81-59 midway through the third quarter Wednesday night, Kerr pulled rookie Yaxel Lendeborg aside to offer the first-round draft pick some words of wisdom during the first game of his young NBA career. The conversation was likely meant to be private, but ESPN mics picked up Kerr’s comments.
Steve Kerr CALLED OUT the Lakers whistle on the hot mic:
“They call all that sh*t here, they wouldn’t call it in any other arena.” https://t.co/FjGzYPdqg9
— BrickCenter (@BrickCenter_) October 22, 2026
“It’s the bullsh*t in the NBA. They call all that sh*t here, they wouldn’t call it in any other arena,” Kerr told Lendeborg who picked up four fouls in 29 minutes.
This coming from the head coach of a team that was widely accused of benefiting from illegal screens to generate open shots for Steph Curry and Klay Thompson during the height of their dynasty. But maybe Kerr never thought the Warriors benefited from those calls in the Lakers’ building.
Dončić is often accused of receiving his own whistle advantage by foul-baiting and whining to officials. And Kerr appears to think it worked to the Lakers’ advantage Wednesday night, despite each team visiting the line 27 times.
Lendeborg did receive a technical foul for trash talking with Dončić in the first half that probably wasn’t warranted. And after the game, Kerr’s words appeared to resonate with Lendeborg. Because while it may not have been the head coach’s intent, Lendeborg went off during his postgame press conference, claiming he lost all respect for Dončić after witnessing his whining and complaining firsthand. Kerr similarly defended Lendeborg in his own press conference, claiming the rookie was called for at least three fouls that would not have been called in any other league.
But the Lakers got the last laugh, blowing out the Warriors 127-105 behind 28 points from Dončić. It’s hard to imagine the referees could have done much to overturn a 22-point blowout loss for Golden State, regardless of where the game was played.
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