ESPN Reporter Nick Friedell caught up with some members of the 1995-96 Bulls team that won 72 games this week, interviewing Toni Kukoc, Bill Wennington and Randy Brown about whether they thought this year’s Warriors team could break their record or compete with the 95-96 Bulls in a hypothetical series.
Kukoc had no doubts that the Bulls would win, but Wennington thinks the Bulls record may be in jeopardy.
“I’ve thought a lot more this year about the 72-10 season than I have in the past because they’re so close to doing it,” Wennington said. “Now they’ve just picked up their fourth loss in Detroit the other day, so I’d lie to you if I say I wasn’t happy about it. But records and rules are made to be broken. It’s going to happen one day. The longer it lasts, the better it is. But they’re a great team, they play in a great system, they move the ball well, they play together well … they’re fun to watch.”
Backup guard Randy Brown didn’t hide his desire for the record to stand:
“It might be a little champagne flowing when they lose that 11th game,” Brown said.
Brown also remarked on how Michael Jordan set the tone for the Bulls to be special that season from the first day of training camp.
“I remember Michael in training camp, he said every game was going to be like a playoff game to him,” Brown said. “We had a veteran team. We had a system in play. We had limited injuries, we were lucky with that, and I just remember we were more serious than we were from the other two title teams. That ’95-’96 team was all business.”
Jordan was also highly motivated by being eliminated by the upstart Magic in the 1995 Eastern Conference Finals the year before, the only series in his career that he lost once he started winning championships in 1991.
One positive for the Warriors in their journey to break the Bulls 72-win record is the fact that the Spurs are hot on their trail and may compete with the Warriors for the top seed all season long.
Although we’ll never get to see it, I have a hard time imagining the Warriors beating Jordan and Pippen at their peak for the ultimate prize, but the Warriors have a realistic chance to break their 72-win mark in 2015-16.
