Lakers Fans Whine the Most About Officiating According to Study
Betonline conducted a study on Twitter that looked at the frequency of NBA fanbases that complained the most about officiating. Not surprising to most fanbases outside the Lakers, the purple and gold top this spot by a wide margin.
Lakers fans might get defensive over this, but the franchise is the most storied and successful. When the Lakers are on the road, droves of Lakers fans travel to support their team, and sometimes it makes it feel like a home game for the purple and gold. What usually comes with that are the quantity of fans, and that includes the uptick in casuals. Many casuals feel entitled that they should be getting most of the calls regardless of what is even happening on the floor.
The Knicks and Nets follow the Lakers on the rankings. It is apparent that the big market teams rank pretty high on this study, definitely due to the increased number of fans for these teams. Surprisingly, the Sixers rank 20th on the list. Considering the Philly fanbase come off as the most savage in sports, this surely seems surprising. Perhaps the study was only done for one month, so this is a small sample size.
Lakers fans are not alone. LeBron James is known for arguing with officials during calls he does not get, and refuses to run back to play transition defense. Russell Westbrook also usually is in the top tier of technical fouls on a yearly basis.