The Warriors

and the Greatest Regular Season of All Time

Justin Rossi /EL OBSERVADOR

On Wednesday the Golden State Warriors broke the 20-year-old single season record of 72 wins set by the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls. Before this season, no team had come relatively close to challenging the record.  The Warriors did it in such compelling fashion, revolutionizing the game of basketball and winning the hearts of basketball fans everywhere. This is not just a great team, this is a great team that everyone loves. Most historically great teams are disliked outside of their home fans, but the Warriors and Steph Curry, are making fans out of everyone.

Last year, the Golden State Warriors were the best team in the league. They went on to win the championship and Steph Curry won his first MVP.  It was their finest season. The craziest thing about this year? The Golden State Warriors are so much better than they were last season. After winning the chip last year, many pundits and opposing players wanted to discredit the Warriors for their championship run, noting how many injured star point guards they were able to avoid during the playoff gauntlet. And then in the finals, played a Cleveland team down two of their best three players. Unfortunately for the rest of the league, this did nothing but add fuel to the Warriors’ fire.

Using the naysayers as motivation, the Warriors just became the most dominant team of all time. They did it by revolutionizing the game. No longer do teams pound the rock and play inside-out. Teams now play outside in, using the threat of the three point shot to set up the rest of the offense. Players no longer dominate on the block like they used to. Teams want to play faster and get more shots up than ever. Isolation ball that made Kobe and Jordan who they are is now losing favor to ball movement and spacing. The pick and roll has been around forever, but shooting threes off of picks is something Steph popularized.

Deploying small ball lineups with versatile long athletes is a trend the Warriors set the league on fire with. More and more teams are trying to be like the Warriors, because they are the best team ever.

At the helm of this squad is Stephen Curry. He will win league MVP again this year. He may even be the first player to ever be chosen unanimously as MVP. Even though he was the best player in the game last year, one could make the argument that Stephen Curry also deserves the most improved player of the year award as well. He took his game to a place no one else expected him to. He entrenched himself as the best player in the world and the face of the NBA. He had the most efficient and dominant season ever, and is one of the most likable and relatable superstars of all time. During the Warriors trouncing of the Memphis Grizzlies, Steph reached a couple of absolutely historic statistical milestones. He joined the elite 50-40-90 club of shooting efficiency. Doing it with volume and flair while leading the league in scoring is what makes it so special. He shattered his own his single season record of 3 point shots made in a season. Last year he set that record with 286 made 3s. This year he made 402. He also joined a small list of players that have enjoyed a season of over 30 points per game, and was the first guard since Michael Jordan to do it on better than 50% shooting efficiency. He had a truly masterful season and has become the darling of the NBA. His impact on the game is being likened to the G.O.A.T. (Greatest Of All Time), Michael Jordan.

As we gear for the playoffs, one can’t help but wonder what Steph, Draymond, Klay and the rest of the boys in Golden State will do and what type of run they will make in this year’s post season. They are the favorites to win it all again, and if they do, you can bet that people won’t want to discredit their road to the championship again. If they do, we might have to watch another season of the Warriors and Curry with a chip on their shoulder. We just saw how that one played out. Adding motivation to the best team ever is something no other team wants to deal with. For the Warriors, all of their success is a product of one goal. To win the championship. As long as this is their priority, there is no reason to expect a drop off, and my guess is that we will see them holding up another trophy to cap off a truly historic season.

Categories
Sports

RELATED BY

0