Steve Kerr caught blasting ‘bulls–t’ Lakers favoritism on hot mic in Warriors loss

Golden State Warriors Head Coach Steve Kerr believes the Los Angeles Lakers received a favorable whistle during Wednesday night’s NBA season opener — and was caught saying as much on a hot mic.

During the third quarter of the Lakers’ 127–105 win over Kerr’s Warriors, the legendary coach pulled rookie Yaxel Lendeborg aside as he checked out of the game and told him, “[It’s] the bulls–t in the NBA. They call all that s–t here, they wouldn’t call it in any other arena,” which was audible on ESPN’s broadcast.

A clip of Kerr saying this to Lendeborg quickly went viral on social media, and already had over 450,000 views in about 11 hours.

Golden State Warriors Head Coach Steve Kerr thinks the Lakers received a favorable whistle during Wednesday’s game. AP Photo/Ali Gradischer

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." pic.twitter.com/FjGzYPdqg9

— BrickCenter (@BrickCenter_) October 22, 2026

The stats don’t back up Kerr’s sentiment, as the Lakers actually had more fouls called on then (25) than the Warriors did (19). The two teams also both shot 27 free throws.

However, many who watched the game on Wednesday felt like some fouls that the Lakers received were questionable, so those stats don’t tell the entire story.

Lakers superstar guard Luka Dončić was the subject of Kerr’s frustration. NBAE via Getty ImagesWarriors star Steph Curry warms up at Crypto Arena before the season opener in LA. London Entertainment

Lakers superstar guard Luka Dončić was the subject of Kerr’s frustration, as Lendeborg spent much of the game matched up on him.

Dončić had nine of the Lakers’ 27 free throws and finished with a game-high 28 points in the victory.

Kerr’s gripe seems to be that the Lakers playing at home is what led to their favorable whistle. In that case, maybe Golden State will get a better whistle when they play the Memphis Grizzlies at home tomorrow night.

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