Steve Kerr and Draymond Green feel the regular-season win record they helped the Golden State Warriors set in 2016 might not stand for long.
Kerr and Green both spoke Tuesday about the possibility that the Oklahoma City Thunder could improve on the 2015-16 Warriors’ 73-9 record this season.
The Thunder moved to 21-1 by beating the Warriors on the road Tuesday night. The defending champions could set a new single-season wins record by going 53-7 or better for the remainder of the campaign.
“They have a deeper level of confidence now that they’ve won it all… they have a little more motion than they did a year ago,” Kerr told reporters ahead of Tuesday’s matchup (h/t Joseph Dycus of the Mercury News). “These are all things that, in my experience, happen after the championship.”
The Warriors coach went on to speak about similarities between the Thunder and two other historic teams he was involved with.
Kerr coached the 2015-16 Warriors, who went 73-9 with Green and Stephen Curry, and played for the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls, who went 72-10 behind Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen.
“Overall, a team mindset of zero agenda. Just win, every night,” Kerr said. “Obviously, great talent. But I think high IQ players… both had really high IQs, individually and as a team, and that’s what I see with OKC. Really, really smart players, great coach, really connected.
“And they’re on pace to shatter the record. It’s pretty remarkable, what they’re doing.”
Green similarly compared the Thunder to the Warriors’ dynasty teams after Tuesday’s 124-112 loss at home.
“You have to like each other, which you can tell, they love each other, which leads to all the magic,” Green said. “You have to understand roles, which, they definitely understand their roles. They’ve got their top dog. They’ve got their No. 2. Everybody comes in, they know their role. And that’s the way it has to be in order to win in this league.
“And they’re doing that, man. They are a well-oiled machine. They kind of just plug and play, which is how we were, during those times.”
When asked if he believed the Thunder could match the level of the Warriors dynasty, Green answered, “It’s hard, man. But I do think they’re capable.”
Green the a caveat, however, that the Thunder would need “so many things to go right.”
“Health, which they kind of plow right through health, it really don’t matter, it seems,” Green laughed. “You need a lot of breaks to go your way. But they’re on the right track, and like I said, they’re more than capable.
“I think 73 wins took some years off my life. It’s hard. But, like I said, they’re capable of a lot.”
The Thunder played the first 19 games of the season without Jalen Williams. Williams had returned by last Tuesday’s matchup, but the Thunder were still missing key players including Alex Caruso, Lugentz Dort and Isaiah Hartenstein.
That didn’t stop the defending NBA champions from claiming a 13th straight win over the Warriors.
Whatever the results of the regular season, the Thunder will hope to have a fully healthy roster this spring in time to make a push for back-to-back titles behind reigning NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.