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

Steve Kerr believes the Los Angeles Lakers received a favorable whistle during Wednesday night’s NBA season opener, and was caught saying so on a hot mic.

During the third quarter of the Lakers’ 127-105 win over Kerr’s Golden State Warriors, the legendary head 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 went viral on social media, as it already has over 450,000 views in about 11 hours.

Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr calls out instructions to his team during the first half of a preseason NBA basketball game against the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026, in Portland, Ore. AP Photo/Ali Gradischer

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.

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

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

Luka Doncic #77 of the Los Angeles Lakers prepares to shoot a free throw during a game against the Golden State Warriors at Crypto.Com Arena in Los Angeles, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026. NBAE via Getty Images
Steph Curry warms up at Crypto.Com arena before a season opener between the Golden State Warriors and the Los Angeles Lakers in Los Angeles. London Entertainment

Doncic 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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