Starting the 2015-16 NBA regular season 16-0 isn’t enough for the Golden State Warriors.
Yes, it’s the best start in league history. And sure, it’s left them as overwhelming title favorites once again. But the Warriors have more immediate goals in mind.
Like setting the record for most consecutive wins.
From the San Jose Mercury News‘ Diamond Leung (h/t CBS Sports):
“We talk about 33,” Curry said in a conference call with international reporters. “I think I’ve probably talked about it more than anybody else on the team, just because I know about the history and just really how hard it is.
“We’ve had like two 16-game winning streaks the last two years, and those are pretty special feats. For us to have to double that output, I mean we’re going to play hard and hopefully close in on that record, but it won’t be a disappointing effort if we don’t get there. Because there are so many talented teams in this league and for us to just be playing at a high level right now, that’s what we’re worried about. And if we close in and get to 29, 30 games, we’ll talk about it a little bit more.” …
“Thirty-three is a special number,” Curry said. “So there’s obviously still milestones that we can continue to go after, but you go after them by how you approach each day.”
Openly discussing records and streaks and future milestones and feats is often considered taboo. The superstitious people don’t want to jinx anything. The cranky men and women yelling at clouds don’t want you ruining the sanctity of the good ol’ days.
But the Warriors are special because they acknowledge the importance of what they’re doing beyond the end goal of winning a championship. Though they didn’t discuss going 16-0 until just before it happened, you could tell they were gunning for it in the way they were playing.
The come-from-behind win over the Los Angeles Clippers is the perfect example. They trailed by as many as 23 points, but interim head coach Luke Walton never folded. The Warriors instead kept fighting, trotting out their best players, placing obvious stock in remaining undefeated.
Now they’re gunning for this record, another steppingstone in their quest to win another title and go down as the greatest team ever.
And so long as they remain healthy, it’s difficult to envision them being remembered as anything else.
