Sports inevitably involve failure, but accepting it is not always simple. This is due to the word’s frequent misinterpretation. Failing, in technical terms, is not reaching a reasonable aim. However, there may be a number of achievements within that broad flaw that warrant recognition and self-satisfaction. Because the Golden State Warriors’ spectacular 2015–16 season did not culminate in a championship parade, many NBA fans overlook it.
A season’s highlights are usually surrounded by a postseason blemish. Losses that receive a lot of media attention do not take away from the hard work and dedication that first enabled such a run.
There isn’t much talk about a best-ever 73-9 record at water coolers or barbershops. In actuality, it’s occasionally employed as a joke. But for those who were present for the Warriors’ historic season, it is an indelible achievement that is unlikely to be topped.
Bob Myers hypes up 2015-16 Dubs
“When we lost to Cleveland that year in ‘16, we were 73-9, and a lot of people used that word ‘failure,”‘ former Warriors general manager Bob Myers said on The Old Man and The Three with JJ Redick and Tommy Alter. “‘You failed, your team failed, you didn’t win a championship.’ At the time, I said to Steve (Kerr) ‘no, no, no we get to decide what this season meant, nobody else does.”‘
Greatness in the NBA is typically not a subjective concept. Banners and rings have frequently been used as a benchmark for assessing a player’s legacy and are unquestionably the most important factor in determining the order of the greatest teams in history. Because the 2015–16 Dubs failed to cement their regular season domination in the NBA Finals, it is nearly hard to rank them higher than the Chicago Bulls of 1995–96 or the franchise’s past championships.
Of course, context matters because Draymond Green’s suspension in Game 5 dramatically turned the series upside down. A 3-1 deficit was overcome by LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Nonetheless, Golden State still had a chance to win the series at home or on the road. The Cavaliers made a huge play right at the end of the game.
The season is a bust when the reigning champion, who has dominated the league the whole year, drops three straight games in the Finals. That is a hard point to dispute objectively. However, the record ought to remain in the annals of history.
Warriors’ regular season dominance stands in a class of its own
Although it is entirely reasonable for supporters to decline bestowing an honorary crown upon the 73-9 Warriors, their feat might never be matched. If nothing else, Bob Myers feels that way.
“That record is not going to be broken, 73 and 9 is not happening, nobody is going 74 and 8,” the four-time NBA champion and two-time Executive of the Year said. “I’m sorry you can tell me I’m wrong, but I just think that’s just not happening.”
Myers is not entirely wrong. In this day and age, it is unrealistic to think that superstars and important supporting players could maintain their health long enough to list an incredible number of victories. Despite the league’s incentive-based strategy to restrict load management, athletes nonetheless experience injuries during an 82-game season. Team records are negatively impacted as a result. Examine the Philadelphia 76ers, for example.
Veterans value the playoffs so highly that they will forgo one or two winter games in order to improve their physical condition before the start of crucial competition. It’s mind-boggling how committed Golden State’s big three were to this record-breaking season. In the 2015–16 season, Steph, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green missed a total of six games.
Even though the outcome was clearly disappointing, that team’s tenacity, camaraderie, and steady excellence deserve a great deal of respect. It is important to keep in mind that Golden State established the 82-game requirement, even in an era when the NBA and its supporters urge players to treat the regular season with more seriousness.
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