The Los Angeles Lakers’ (and, for now, L.A. Clippers’) home court, the freshly-rebranded Crypto.com Arena, is highly regarded among all NBA players.
According to an anonymous poll of 142 players conducted by Sam Amick and Josh Robbins of The Athletic (although only 138 players cast a vote regarding this particular topic), Crypto.com Arena is the third-most liked home floor among 29 contenders (at least until the Clippers move into their new Intuit Dome this fall).
The New York Knicks’ home floor, Madison Square Garden, almost doubles the next contender, capturing 34.1 percent of all total player votes. The Boston Celtics’ TD Garden notches 17.3 percent of all votes. Crypto.com Arena is right on its heels, with 13 percent of all player votes. The next-closest tally is 3.6 percent of all votes, a tie between the Golden State Warriors’ Chase Center and the Phoenix Suns’ Footprint Center.
The Lakers have resided in Crypto.com Arena, formerly known as the Staples Center, in downtown L.A., since the 1999-2000 season — the first of three consecutive years during which the Shaquille O’Neal/Kobe Bryant iteration of the franchise captured NBA titles. The 19,079-person capacity complex was rebranded as Crypto.com Arena during the 2021-22 NBA season, during which the Lakers posted a 33-49 record and missed the playoffs entirely. We’re not saying the Staples Center moniker was bad luck but, well, the Lakers have only advanced past the first round once in the three seasons following the rebrand.
More Lakers: LA Role Player’s Brother Represents Intriguing Draft Option