In the 1995-96 season of the NBA, Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls pulled of a league record 72-10 season which lead to one of their six championships. The '96 Bulls were appropriately dubbed the "Unstoppabulls", one of the greatest sports teams in history with arguably the greatest basketball player of all-time. However, this legacy would be challenged 20 years later.
In the 2015-16 NBA season, the Golden State Warriors would seem undefeatable after a 25-0 start to the year. They would continue their dominance over the rest of the league as the season went on as they never lost any back-to-back games on their way to an NBA best 73-9 record. The Playoffs would see much of the same as the Warriors were able to defeat the Rockets and Trail Blazers in 5 games in the first and second round respectively.
They encountered their first real test against the Oklahoma City Thunder when they were down three games to won only to come roaring back to win the series in seven games. The Finals rematch against LeBron James and the Cavaliers started out great as Golden State built a 3-1 lead but would eventually lose to Cleveland in seven games. (All game results from Basketball Reference.)
A lot of criticism was shoved in the direction of the Warriors as they were not able to win a title despite having the best record ever in the regular season. Probably the biggest, and most impactful comment came from his "airness" himself, Michael Jordan during a team owners dinner in New York city as per the Chicago Tribune. Jordan told Warriors owner, Joe Lacob, "73 don't mean s**t..." referring to their 73-9 record and failing to win the championship.
As per The Washington Post, Lacob said that he was hurt by this but decided not to make a big deal out of it. He told Jordan "You know, you're right, we didn't win it, we had to get better." Lacob, in an interview over a Bay Area sports radio station, said that "[Jordan] was fantastic, and I'm not going to cross him, but that kind of hurt."
With a new arena, a new superstar in Kevin Durant and a renewed hunger for the title, the Golden State Warriors are looking for redemption this season. The Warriors have already lost eight games this season so beating the 73-9 record seems next to impossible. However, things are shaping up to set the stage for a third Cleveland vs Golden State NBA Finals for the third straight year.
