After Winning 73, What's at Stake Now for the Golden State Warriors?
The Golden State Warriors have created history right before our eyes.
— -- The Golden State Warriors have created history right before our eyes, winning 73 games and eclipsing the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls' all-time wins record.
What's at stake now for the Warriors? Are they about to take the crown of the GTOAT: Greatest Team Of All Time?
Our NBA experts go 5-on-5 to put Golden State into perspective.
1. The Warriors are the best NBA story since __________.
Micah Adams, ESPN Stats & Information: Ever. It's not about being a prisoner of the moment either. It's one thing to break a record many thought might never fall. It's another thing to do so while completely revolutionizing the sport in every possible way. The Warriors have taken 70 years of conventional NBA wisdom and turned it on its head.
Kevin Arnovitz, ESPN.com: MJ's return in 1995. It's easy to forget but, from the outside, there was no inevitability that Jordan would ever return, no social media to fuel speculation, no inkling in the public that we'd ever see him again on an NBA court. Then, the two-word release: "I'm back." In an instant, the NBA was resuscitated.
The Warriors' chase for 73 has obviously seen a much steadier build -- we've been handicapping the probability all season -- which makes it a different kind of "best."
Amin Elhassan, ESPN Insider: Though I'm tempted to say "the '95-96 Bulls," the real answer here is "since the inauguration of the big three in Miami."
No team garnered as much media attention in the modern era, which of course was spurred on by their dramatic formation and celebration before a single game had even been played ("not one, not two ..."). Love 'em or hate 'em, the success and failure of the Miami Heat dominated basketball's consciousness for four years.
Kevin Pelton, ESPN Insider: The Heatles. Since the noun here is "story" I'm still going to have to give the edge to LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and company.
They were a story in the truest sense of the word -- there was always something they said to parse or something on the court to analyze during the first two seasons of the big three era. By contrast, Golden State's dominance is relatively placid.
David Thorpe, ESPN Insider: The four year "Superfriends" run in Miami. Pick any of those years and, in terms of "story," there was similarly intense interest to what we see with Curry's team. Miami had more superstars, Golden State has the superior team, and they had parallel missions.
2. Steph Curry is having the best season since __________.
Adams: The NBA's other greats who changed the game. An abundance of metrics that can put Curry's season in statistical context. But I think even those largely miss the point in that they don't fully comprehend the transcendence of his style of play.
It's like Wilt Chamberlain essentially causing the NBA to widen the lane, Magic Johnson redefining the point, Jordan ushering in a guard-dominated dynasty and Shaquille O'Neal taking physicality to another level. So I'd say not since Shaq has a player had a larger impact on the game.
Arnovitz: The peach basket. With an appreciation of how difficult it is to measure seasons across eras, Curry's combo of scoring efficiency and usage this season is unprecedented, whether we're comparing it to any one of Jordan's killer 1987-1991 seasons, or Kareem's prime, or LeBron's supernova campaigns from his first Cavs' administration.
There's always the risk of recency bias here, but the more you dig, the harder it is to find any contrary evidence.
Elhassan: In terms of a reigning MVP significantly improving the next season? Nobody. Nobody has done this before.
Best overall season in general? This is right up there with Wilt's 48.5 minutes per game season, Oscar Robertson's triple-double season, Jordan's 1988-89, Shaq's 1999-2000, etc. I guess the most recent superlative season we saw of this caliber was LeBron's hyper-efficient 2012-13.
Pelton: The NBA started. I don't think he has had the best performance on the court by any NBA player ever. But in terms of the combination of player and team success? It's hard to think of a better campaign. Maybe LeBron James' 2012-13, but I'd give Curry the edge. And Michael Jordan's best individual seasons didn't match up with the Bulls' best as a team.
Thorpe: Jordan's 1995-96 run. Appropriately enough. I could argue that he's having the best season a basketball player has ever had as a pro, but certainly what Jordan did that season was the best in a long time, maybe ever, to that point. Looking at offense only, I just might rank Curry No. 1 all-time.
3. Better league/better game: 2015-16 NBA or 1995-96 NBA?
Adams: 2015-16 NBA. It's a more free-flowing game today. Fouls are down, turnovers are down, pace and scoring are up. From strictly a talent perspective, there were 22 Hall of Famers that played in 1995-96, 23 if you include Kevin Garnett who will be there someday. You can go through current rosters and talk your way to 30 pretty easily.
Arnovitz: Basketball is like any other art form -- taste is subjective. And if you like an airy floor plan, clean lines and lots of light, then the present-day NBA is for you. Pace, flow, long-range shooting give the game a rhythm it lacked 20 years ago, when it resembled trench warfare.
That's not taking anything away from legends like MJ or players who relied on a more raw physicality. It's just an aesthetic preference.
Elhassan: I can't say what was a better league but I can definitively say we have a better game now. Skill and IQ dominate the day, and it's harder to overpower your opponent by brute force.
Basketball has always been a thinking man's game, but the emphasis on decision making and mental concentration has never been higher than in today's game, and "dumb" players and teams are penalized more than ever.
Pelton: 2015-16 NBA. As I noted in a story Wednesday comparing the 1995-96 Bulls to the 2015-16 Warriors, the league's quality of play has improved substantially in the past 20 years. Skill is better, as players shoot more accurately from a longer 3-point line. And pace is actually up slightly from then too. The NBA game is in a great place.
Thorpe: Better league and much better game now. The game is truly global now, and that alone adds so much texture (and talent) to how games are played. Better ball movement, mandated by improved defense off the ball, and better metrics to help coaches lock in on more efficient play combine to make this the best basketball we have ever seen.
4. The skepticism about the Warriors' greatness is ___________.
Adams: To borrow a quote from Seinfeld's Jackie Chiles: "It's outrageous, egregious, preposterous." Seventy-three wins are not good enough? Going 21-2 against the other top-10 teams. The best offense and defense in the clutch. The two best five -man lineups in the NBA. The best shooting team in NBA history.
Arnovitz: Overstated. Aside from a small handful of basketball Luddites who regard progress as some kind of repudiation of the past, who is denying the Warriors' their rightful place in history?
Elhassan: Absurd, but perhaps slightly overblown. I say "slightly" because whenever I talk to team personnel and players from around the league, the reaction to Golden State is always equal parts reverence, awe and fear.
I find that most of the skepticism comes from fans and/or media members (some of the latter are difficult to differentiate from the former) who still cannot reconcile how the game has shifted and how the Warriors are almost uniquely equipped to dominate.
Pelton: Limited, and predictable. There's always going to be a backlash to any team that gets as much attention as the Warriors understandably have, particularly among fans of teams whose own success has been overshadowed by Golden State. (A group that may include Bulls fans.) But I'm not sure that's skepticism so much as envy.
Thorpe: Divided into those that are paying attention and those who just watch with emotion. Anyone reading ESPN.com, for example, and watching TrueHoop TV, is getting a weekly education on how amazing the game is now, which shows just how special the Warriors have been.
5. Fact or Fiction: GTOAT* is at stake for the Warriors this postseason.
Elhassan: Greatest season of all-time is definitely in the cards when they win the title. But what makes the '95-96 Bulls great is they came back the next season and won 69 (and the title), then 62 (and the title).
One more 60-plus-win season and a title and I think we can say this Warriors team is in the small circle of teams with a claim to greatest of all time. And that doesn't even take into account the possibility of Kevin Durant in a Dubs jersey.
Pelton: Fact. Of course it is. The Warriors have a chance to win two more games than any other team in NBA history, including playoffs, and at the same time despite their 73 wins they won't even be in the discussion without a championship. So there's plenty of room for Golden State's legacy to be determined in the postseason.
Thorpe: Fiction, in the short term. Fact, if we look farther down the road. The Bulls were already legends when they had their greatest season, while the Warriors are still riding their wave to legendary status. Should they win three titles in a row, or four in five years, it will be likely that we will look back and see this as the best team of all time. Provided they win 16 more games this postseason.
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