5 records the Golden State Warriors set this year

At this point of the season, it is almost becoming tiresome to write about the Warriors and all of their exploits in what they hope will be the most satisfying of record-breaking seasons. However, every time I watch them play, I am immediately filled with joy and appreciation all over again because they are so fun to watch as they whip the ball around on offense, talk, help and recover on defense, and show how much they enjoy playing with each other every night.Put it this way, if you were at the gym trying to get on a pick-up team, you would fight tooth and nail to play with these guys because you would know that you’re going to get some shots, everyone will be working for the same goal (staying on the court as long as possible), and you are never going to have to worry about running smack dab into a pick because someone will always call it out. When you see teams like this play (the Spurs are also in this category), it’s no wonder that they have made records fall by the wayside during this season. They now have their sights set on two more regular season records that would put them in the pantheon of best regular season teams.

#1 24-0 to open the season.

The Warriors opened the season with a record 24 straight wins

The first record the Warriors made fall this season was the most wins to start a season when they reeled off 24 straight wins at the beginning of the season. It’s not like anybody expected the Warriors to be anything less than the third or fourth best team in the league this year, but when they hit about 15 games without a loss this year, people started to truly realize that this team is absolutely at another level. To make it to 24 wins, you are no doubt going to survive a few games that you had no business winning, and the Warriors are no exception.

Case in point, when they beat the Brooklyn Nets to win their 11th game of the streak, they had to rely on sheer luck. That came in the form of an Andre Iguodala made three to tie the game followed by a Brook Lopez missed bunny that would have won the game in regulation for the Nets. But if you are destined to be one of the best teams of all time, these are the exact types of games you win and the Warriors find a way to win these games all the time. When the streak finally came to an end on the fifth road game in eight days, the Warriors had given us a glimpse of what was going to come this year.

#2 Best Record at the All-Star Break

Stephen Curry led the Warriors to an unprecedented record by the All-Star break.

48-4. .923. That is the record and win percentage the Warriors sported when they headed into All-Star break this season, both of which stood as records in the NBA. One can say, “duh, of course, they had the record after starting 24-0,” but to me, it doesn’t make it any less amazing. They have spent the season laying waste to records we use to define great teams by, and having that record sit at the top of the standings for one solid week, was a sight to behold. I mean, last year at the All-Star break people were starting to wrap their mind about how good the Warriors were and they were “only” 42-9 at the break.

What this team does is make us think of the great teams we hold on a pedestal, the 96’ Bulls, 87’ Lakers, 86’ Celtics, and 67’ Sixers. And by the break, they had blown past each one of those teams’ record. Their All-Star record had some people talking as if it was almost a foregone conclusion that they were going to break the all-time wins record. I mean shoot, they “only” had to go 25-5 to break it.

#3 Stephen Curry breaks the Single Season 3\'s Record

Golden State Warriors Stephen Curry (30) in action, hitting the game winning three point shot in overtime vs Oklahoma City Thunder.

Curry has now broken the record for threes in a season in three of the last four years. This year he just did it by breaking the record in the 58th game of the season. Wrap your mind around that for a second, the most prolific three-point shooter of all time broke his own record for threes, with more than 20 games left in the season. He was already great and found a way to completely blow past his mark like it was nothing. Another way to put this in perspective, this is the earliest a counting stats record has ever been broken by a player in the NBA.

Other people have redefined the game, but no one has taken ownership of a singular aspect of the game and made it their own like Curry has done with three point shooting. He is averaging an insane 5.1 threes per game, and what might be even more mind-blowing is that he has 12 games this year where he has made eight threes. For perspective, Ray Allen, the former best three-point shooter of all time, had nine in his CAREER. Steph has now passed 300 threes for a season and has an outside chance to hit 400 on the year (He needs to make 4.95 threes per game over the last 20 to get 400).

#4 Consecutive Home Wins

The Warriors found a way to hold on vs the Magic on Monday night.

January 27th, 2015 is the last time the Golden State Warriors lost a regular season home game. That night, they lost a tight overtime game to Chicago Bulls team that would finish up the season as the three seed in the East. Since then, they have won every single game they have played at home and, after last night’s victory over the Orlando Magic, now hold the record for most regular season home wins in a row at 45. They broke the record of 44 set by the 95-96 Chicago Bulls, the team they are chasing for the best record in a season.

With this notch on the belt, they now have their sights set on running a perfect home record for the season at 41-0, something that has never been done. The best a team has done is go 40-1, which the 86’ Boston Celtics pulled off on the way to an NBA title. Since then, the best a team has done is the 2010 Cleveland Cavaliers who went 39-2. If they Warriors run the table at home, it will be one of the more impressive feats we have ever seen. Also, don’t forget that the San Antonio Spurs are also on a quest to go 41-0, as they currently sit at 30-0 on their home court.

#5 Still chasing records

The 1995-96 Chicago Bulls ended the regular season with a 72-10 record on their way to a championship.

Now that we have looked at some of the records the Warriors have broken so far this season, there are still a few records that they can make fall. Previously discussed was a perfect home record, and with that would most likely come the all-time wins record of 73 wins in a season. Currently at 56-6, they would have to go 17-3 to close out the season, something that is no doubt doable for a team sporting a .903 winning percentage right now. Looking at the schedule right now, they have three losses that look very possible, including playing in San Antonio twice on the second night of back to backs. Couple this with a home game against San Antonio as well, and the Warriors definitely have some business to take care of.

Another record that the Warriors are chasing is the all-time best point differential record of 12.28 set by the 72’ Los Angeles Lakers, a team that won an NBA record 33 games in a row. Right now the Warriors are at 10.7, which would place them 7th all time. The reason they would be 7th is because those aforementioned Spurs are currently on pace to set the record for the best point differential. For the Warriors to knock off this record and pass the Spurs, they need to stop letting huge 4th quarter leads slip and beat the Spurs all three times.