73 wins, 9 losses.
Tonight, the Golden State Warriors eclipsed the 72-win single season record set by the 95–96' Chicago Bulls when they defeated the Memphis Grizzlies 125–104 at Oracle Arena. They had just one shot to break the record and with the home crowd cheering them on, they did exactly that. For the Warriors, it was a storybook night in a fairytale season that now resets with the arrival of the NBA playoffs.
I wanted to take a moment to recap some of the highlights that made these 82 games so magical and why it will go down as one of the finest performances in professional sports history. Let’s begin.
24–0
The Warriors began the season with a blistering 24–0 start, an all-time record. The next closest stood at 15–0 by the 1948–49 Washington Capitols and 1993–94 Houston Rockets.
Oh, and they accomplished this with an interim coach who had never been the head coach of any NBA team previously.
Their actual head coach? He returned during the second half of the season after missing the first 43 games while recovering from back surgery. Come to think of it, there wasn’t a single starter who missed more than 10 games which is a testament to the team’s incredible ability to stay healthy.
It’s not just the assistant coaches who’ve stepped up in a major way for the Warriors this season. The team was ranked #1 in the league for assists per game (28.9) with 42 games with at least 30 assists. No team has ever has ever done it at least 20 times.
Speaking of assists…
Number 72
Let’s not forget about the Spurs though who pose the biggest threat to the Warrior’s chances at returning to the Championship. If there was ever a more satisfying win from the 73 victories, I would have to pick the Warriors beating the Spurs 92–86 on April 11, 2016.
Not only did this snap the Spurs’ home winning streak at 48-games (which threatened the 54 home wins set just a few weeks earlier by the Warriors as the longest active streak), this was the game that tied the Bulls’ 72-game record. Furthermore, this was the 34th victory on the road for the Warriors, which set another NBA record. Probably the most surprising (relieving?) streak that also ended is the Warriors’ 33-game losing streak in San Antonio dating back to 1997.
Make it splash
A recap of this season would not be complete without a splash. Make that 1077 splashes precisely.
Every sport has that electrifying play that jolts you with a shot of adrenaline. Baseball has the walk-off home run. Soccer has the game-winning goal. Football has the perfect tackle. Golf has the hole-in-one. Tennis has the dont-blink-or-you-will-miss-it ace. Basketball has the buzzer-beating bucket.
No NBA team has made the three-pointer a spectacle more so than the Warriors who did not shy away from launching impossible shots that made us routinely hold our breaths mid-flight every time.
I mean look at this insane 30-ft three-pointer that Curry drained in the closing seconds to beat the Thunder in OT!
Are. You. KIDDING ME!
The Warriors made 1077 3-pointers. The next closest team had 950.
402 of those 3-pointers belong to the sensational Steph Curry who owns the #1, 2, 3, and 7 in the all-time list.
His teammate and fellow Splash Brother (and this year’s 3-pt winner at the All-Star Game) Klay Thompson shares the number 3 spot with 276 3-pointers made this season. Suffice to say, good luck guarding the Warriors.
I think we’ve run out of superlatives to describe how remarkable Curry’s season has been. He will be named the MVP for a second season in a row. Everyone else is vying for second place.
For The Win!
Probably the most remarkable note in a laundry list of accolades is the fact that the Warriors never lost twice in a row nor did they ever lose to the same team more than once.
A final chapter of the 2016 NBA season is now about to begin. The slate is wiped clean and the top teams in the league are fighting for a chance to hold the Larry O’Brien Trophy this summer. For the Warriors, it’s been a season of so many memorable moments and phenomenal successes. Now, the stakes are higher than ever and every team will be gunning for them. Will this perfect season continue? We’re about to find about.
