The Golden State Warriors Are One Game Away From the NBA History Books

Their only company at the top is Michael Jordan’s legendary ’95 Chicago Bulls — for now.

Move over Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, you’ve got company at the top.

With its 72nd win of the season on Sunday, the Warriors tied the ’95-’96 Chicago Bulls for the NBA’s all-time win record. And they might not be done. On Wednesday, the Dubs return to Oakland for their final game of the season and a chance to notch their 73rd win, putting them all alone in the record books. 

A few weeks ago, few thought the final two games of Golden State’s season would matter. Most assumed they would have already broken the Bulls record. But surprise loses to the Boston Celtics and Minnesota Timberwolves made a win against the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday essential. And unlike most of the times the Warriors step on the court, that wasn’t a given. 

Not only were the Spurs 39-0 home coming into the game, but they were 65-14 overall. You know how many NBA teams have won 65 games? Only 18. This Spurs team is historically great. They just happen to be playing at the same time as a team that’s historically better. On top of all that, the Warriors played Saturday night and NBA teams are famously sluggish on the second night of a back-to-back

The stage was set for something special on Sunday. And, well, it didn’t really look like it was going to deliver. The 35-35 halftime score told the story of a disastrous first half. But in the second half, things got good. Steph Curry caught fire, scoring 24 of his 36 total points on wild shots like this.

The Warriors’ attention now turns to Wednesday, when the Memphis Grizzlies come to Oracle Arena to stop history from happening. The odds won’t be in their favor. 

If you’re a fan of subplots, Wednesday’s got a fun one. Curry will start the game with 392 three-pointers on the year, already 106 more than the previous record, which he held. Eight more would put a nice round number on his historic season and emphasize the enormity of his achievement. Winning number 73 and surpassing the Bulls will obviously be the priority, but don’t be surprised to see Steph get to 400 either.

For a little perspective, in his 15-year career, Jordan knocked down 581 threes total.