Lakers News: Klay Thompson Takes Shot at LA Crowd Following Warriors Matchup

Yikes.

The Los Angeles Lakers hosted the Golden State Warriors for the first time this season on Saturday. The Lakers had previously played the Warriors in San Francisco twice this season, going 1-1 in those games. 

The game was a significant one for both teams, with seeding position on the line in the Western Conference. After the Warriors got the 128-121 win, they moved ahead of the Lakers to ninth, while the Lakers dropped to tenth.

Despite the importance of the game, Warriors star Klay Thompson did not feel the presence of the LA crowd matched a playoff-like atmosphere or one of an important game. Rather, Thompson was impressed by the amount of Warriors fans at the Crypto.com arena.

"No offense to the LA crowd, but you couldn’t really tell. I’ve been here during Finals games ... it didn’t quite feel the same, but it was still a very important game and I was very happy with the turnout from our fans. It was cool to see how many Warriors fans showed up."

— Klay Thompson, via

Ben Golliver of the Washington Post. 

Klay Thompson on whether Warriors/Lakers on Saturday had a playoff atmosphere: “No offense to the LA crowd, but you couldn’t really tell. I’ve been here during Finals games… it didn’t quite feel the same… I was very happy with the turnout from our fans.” pic.twitter.com/NWAerGrc7m

— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) March 17, 2024

Though Thompson didn't feel the energy from the home crowd, the Lakers average higher attendance at home games than the Warriors this season. The Lakers are currently ranked 11th in home game attendance in the NBA with an average of 18,887 fans. The Warriors rank four spots behind at 15th with an average of 18,064 fans at each home game. 

A higher number of home fans on average doesn't guarantee that the Lakers had great attendance on Saturday, or that their crowd is one of the rowdier. Either way, it's still not a great look for Thompson to not feel the home crowd in a late regular season game.