The Golden State Warriors have indeed been a team to reckon with over the last decade, establishing a dynasty with four championships and six Finals appearances between 2015 and 2022.
However, there was something special about the 2015-16 lineup.
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Coming off a championship season, the Warriors were in the hunt for a repeat. Making a thunderous 24-0 start to their 2015-16 campaign, Steve Kerr and crew looked better than ever. Adding to the magic was Stephen Curry, who not only continued his MVP form but also took it to the next level, with several analysts calling it the greatest individual season in NBA history.
The Warriors had everything going for themselves, even earning comparisons to the 72-10 Chicago Bulls team because of a similar dominance. However, Curry kept his excitement in check, wanting to focus on the primary goal of winning a title.
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“Yeah, but we have to do it the right way. We want to keep getting better and be at our best come April. If we don’t win the championship, what good is 73?” replied Curry on his desire to win 73 games and edge past the 1996 Bulls team.
Steph unknowingly sealed the fate of the Warriors
Curry could never have imagined that his comments would turn out to be precisely how the Warriors’ season unfolded. Registering their 73rd win, the Dubs were now the greatest regular season of all time. Adding to the jubilation was Steph becoming the first-ever unanimous MVP.
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Storming into the playoffs, the Warriors almost came to the brink of elimination against the OKC Thunder in the 2016 Western Conference Finals. They were down 3-1 in the series, but they managed to pull themselves back in, making it to the 2016 Finals and facing the Cleveland Cavaliers for the ultimate prize.
Setting the tone from the start, the Warriors took a 3-1 lead to start the series, but ended up being the first team ever to lose that kind of lead in the Finals.
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No doubt, it was an embarrassing loss for Golden State, which, despite all the great moments in the season, failed to achieve the results when it mattered the most. The Cavs had indeed stolen all the glory from the Dubs, with LeBron James cementing his legacy as arguably the greatest player in the world despite Steph being the regular-season MVP.
Former Warriors GM refused to see the season as a failure
The Warriors were now subjected to endless mockery and trolling. All of a sudden, the regular season accolades and wins seemed pointless. That said, former GM Bob Myers had a different take on the matter.
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“When we lost to Cleveland that year — we were 73-9 — a lot of people said your team failed, you didn’t win a championship. And at the time, I said to Steve, ‘No, no, no, we get to decide what this season meant; nobody else does.’ That record’s not gonna be broken,”said Myers.
While calling the season a failure may be a stretch for some, the harsh reality is that the Dubs faltered when the stakes were the highest. Hence, despite clocking 73 wins, the Warriors failed to make the case that they were better than the 72-10 Bulls.
That Chicago team won a title in the end.
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This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Sep 27, 2025, where it first appeared in the Old School section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.