The Internet about done broke itself (seriously) when Kobe Bryant scored 60 points in his career finale against the Utah Jazz. However, Wednesday night’s conclusion to the 2015-16 NBA season was monumental beyond that, as the Warriors broke the 1995-96 Bulls’ 72-10 regular-season record thanks to a comfortable win over the Memphis Grizzlies.
Even though the Warriors made no secret they were actively chasing the record, getting win No. 73 was still a surreal moment for the players and head coach Steve Kerr, who, of course, was part of the ’96 Bulls team.
Draymond Green: "We lucked our way to 73 wins this year."
— Diamond Leung (@diamond83) April 14, 2016
Draymond sarcastically talked about their "luck" title last year. He's in peak press conference form right now
— Ethan Strauss (@SherwoodStrauss) April 14, 2016
Tonight was special. #73. We did something thats never been done in the History of the league. Together. So… pic.twitter.com/UuQkVL4RoR
— Stephen Curry (@StephenCurry30) April 14, 2016
Steph Curry jokes that he might have kept going had he known Kobe was out scoring him: "Somebody should have told me!"
— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) April 14, 2016
"It's hard to put into words." – Klay Thompson on reaching win No. 73. pic.twitter.com/tGhxCwM6Fk
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) April 14, 2016
"When you have the opportunity for something like this, you go for it. And that's what we did." –@Money23Green pic.twitter.com/jT3yMhJnhZ
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) April 14, 2016
"If anybody asks me anything in 20 years, I'm going to say everyone sucks." – Bogut
— Zach Harper (@talkhoops) April 14, 2016
The other side of going for 73, though, was the state of the Warriors moving forward. Would they be fatigued moving into the playoffs? Would they get complacent? It’s hard to imagine the latter, seeing as they followed up an NBA championship with the best regular season in league history. And even Houston doesn’t feel good about its chances against Golden State in the first round.
Andre Iguodala on how he feels now that Golden State has the record: "It feels like we have practice tomorrow."
— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) April 14, 2016
https://twitter.com/SheHatesJacoby/status/720484068475957248
While everybody knew what the Warriors accomplished was rare, just how they went about it further proves that this team, should it repeat as NBA champs, will go down as the greatest ever. It will — at the very least — be in the conversation regardless of what happens in the playoffs, and it was the feather in the cap of the league’s best player and surefire MVP for a second-consecutive year.
Largest Increase in PPG From Previous Season – By Reigning MVP
2015-16 Stephen Curry +6.3
1984-85 Larry Bird +4.5
(via @eliassports)— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) April 14, 2016
Every member of the 50-45-90 club:
Stephen Curry
Stephen Nash
Stephen Kerr#stephenclub— Tom Haberstroh (@tomhaberstroh) April 14, 2016
73 wins and one dude shooting 50 shots in one game on the same night. Has that ever happened before? #awesome
— Chris Bosh (@chrisbosh) April 14, 2016
Draymond on 73: "That means I'm a part of the best team ever."
— Scott Cacciola (@ScottCacciola) April 14, 2016
Then, there were the reactions from the ’96 Bulls themselves. Staying true to their earlier tune, they were more than complimentary of the Warriors surpassing their regular-season record.
I'll translate that last sentence from Michael Jordan: "…Don't mean a thing without the ring." pic.twitter.com/an9zfB2cZB
— Alexis Morgan (@alexismorgan) April 14, 2016
Knowing what it takes to win 72, I've got to tip my hat to the @warriors for getting to 73. Good luck to @SteveKerr & Co. in the playoffs!
— Scottie Pippen (@ScottiePippen) April 14, 2016
https://twitter.com/BASportsGuy/status/720482899351465985/photo/1
With all of that said about the Warriors, there’s only one last thing to note: get ready for 74-8. For real, prepare for an entire offseason about whether the Warriors can do that.
https://twitter.com/abe_squad/status/720484438275186689/
Steve Kerr: "I don't think this one will ever be broken."
— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) April 14, 2016
