While the Golden State Warriors continue to shred defenses apart and look like the best team in the NBA as they should, their previous campaign is still fresh in the minds of many. Chalking up a record-shattering 73 wins didn’t come with a happy ending as we all know, as they fell in the NBA Finals to LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers after holding a gaudy 3-1 series lead.
Everyone had something to say about their historic regular season run not coming to fruition in the playoffs. Some thought their 73-9 record should still be viewed in a positive light, despite the disappointing ending while others argue the record means nothing without bringing home some hardware come season’s end.
Not surprisingly, the man whose record they broke, Michael Jordan, had something to say to Warriors owner Joe Lacob on their 2015-16 campaign. Lacob shared the story of his run-in with MJ on 95.7 The Game’s “The Afternoon Delight” show with Greg Papa on Tuesday:
“On the collective bargaining agreement, I was on the labor committee and I was in New York having a bunch of dinners with Michael Jordan and other owners. There were six of us. Actually, Dan was one of them, Dan Gilbert. Anyway, Michael Jordan — people are drinking and having a good time and all that, but there was a moment where he said, you know, ’73 don’t mean s—.’ He did it, Michael Jordan did that. And I looked at him and I just decided not to make a big deal of it. I said, you know, you’re right, we didn’t win it, we had to get better.”
During his legendary career in the NBA, Michael Jordan was known as one of the most competitive players to ever do it and clearly, not much has changed. As we all are well aware, Jordan never lost in any of his six finals appearances and that includes the Chicago Bulls 72-10 campaign in 1995-96.
Even though not winning it all, in the end, was brutal for Golden State, breaking any record of that magnitude is still impressive. While many may argue whether the 2015-16 Warriors are the best team of all-time, the fact that they couldn’t cap off their season with a championship should certainly put them behind Jordan’s Bulls, despite the superior regular season record.
