Historically great NBA teams tend to downplay being historically great or having a shot to be historically great.
Not the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors.
It didn’t take long for people to start talking about them surpassing the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls’ record of 72 wins. The Warriors won 67 tilts last year, were talking about winning 70 ahead of this season and quickly proved to the world at large that they’re head and shoulders above everyone else in the NBA—even, more recently, the historically great San Antonio Spurs.
And while some teams would deny themselves the opportunity to talk about chasing 72-plus wins, the Warriors aren’t most teams. As Stephen Curry told Fox Sports’ Brett Pollakoff, if the record is there for the taking, the Warriors are going to snatch it:
Curry, however, promises that his team will go after that elusive record if it appears to be within its grasp.
“We’re obviously worried about what happens in the playoffs, and being healthy and full-strength playing our best come April 16 or whenever our last game is,” Curry told FOX Sports. “But if we have an opportunity to go for it, we’ll go for it. Because how many chances are you going to get to be a team that passes that record, and obviously everybody’s still talking about the 95-96 Bulls — one, because of their record, and two, because they finished it off with a championship.
“We want to be able to do both, too.”
Hopefully Curry and the Warriors are prepared to make good on those words.
Because the record is going to be there for the snatching.
It’s already just about there.
The Warriors are on pace to obliterate the Bulls’ record and snag between 75 and 76 wins. So long as they don’t lose Curry or Draymond Green to a serious injury, not even their inevitable decision to dole out rest days will prohibit them from making history and assuming their rightful, unassailable place in the record books as the greatest team the Association has ever seen.
