The Golden State Warriors needed to win their final four games to eclipse the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls for the best NBA regular season ever. Thanks to a 92-86 win at San Antonio Sunday night, which also gave the Spurs their first home loss of the season, the Warriors have at least tied the ’96 Bulls for most regular-season wins in history with 72.
Following the win, reactions from current and former players and coaches from across the league came in.
Latrell Sprewell, who spent the first part of his career in Oakland, reflected back on his own playing days with the Warriors while congratulating the current team. Warriors big man Marreese Speights also expressed his feelings about tying the Bulls:
https://twitter.com/REAL_SPREWELL15/status/719336994917093377
Really #72 blessing
— Marreese Speights (@Mospeights16) April 11, 2016
Naturally, someone had to get a Crying Jordan in there, which also worked because the Bulls were eliminated from the playoffs over the weekend:
https://twitter.com/jaycaspiankang/status/719338693459189761
When your franchise gets eliminated from the playoffs and the Warriors get to 72 wins on the same day. pic.twitter.com/hRB0TPj1Oj
— Basketball Forever (@bballforever_) April 11, 2016
Of course, the reactions most people are likely interested in came from the ’96 Bulls themselves. Phil Jackson, now working in the front office with the Knicks, and Scottie Pippen, lent tweets of support.
Way-to-Go!! Congrats to GSt Warriors,SKerr&LWalton et al. The journey to 72 wins is a remarkable achievement-very impressive-now get #73.
— Phil Jackson (@PhilJackson11) April 11, 2016
Giving credit where credit is due. Congrats to @SteveKerr and his @warriors on win no. 72. They earned it tonight.
— Scottie Pippen (@ScottiePippen) April 11, 2016
Warriors forward Draymond Green also spoke of the support he received from Pippen and Michael Jordan, which only goes to show that even the best know records are made to be broken. From ESPN.com:
“With Pip coming out and saying what he said, that’s cool,” Draymond Green said of Scottie Pippen’s recent prediction that the ’96 Bulls would sweep the 2016 Warriors. “At the end of the day, we respect those guys,” Green said. Then, he spoke of meeting Jordan and receiving a message. “Mike told me, at All-Star [Weekend], ‘Go win the record. Go get the record. If y’all don’t win this record, I’m ‘a be hot and I’m blaming you.’ We’re almost there. We got one more game or he gonna’ blame me.”
We knew head coach Steve Kerr was going to chase the record, but with fatigue always an issue this time of year, there was a legitimate concern about the Warriors not resting players. Besides, Golden State had locked up the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference anyway.
Against Memphis on Wednesday — the Warriors narrowly escaped the Grizzlies Saturday night — Golden State will go for coveted win No. 73.
