Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr thought the Oklahoma City Thunder would break his 73-win regular-season record, which is the best in NBA history, as he explained why the defending champions won’t be able to. It’s too tall a task for any team, as the monotony of an 82-game season comes with unexpected hurdles, long-term injuries, and constant ups and downs despite the Thunder’s impressive 24-1 mark through 25 games.
Kerr revealed that the Thunder convinced him the 2016 Warriors’ 73-9 record would finally be broken a decade later, before Oklahoma City had a 6-6 stretch in December, he said, per The Athletic’s Nick Friedell.
“I remember at the time I thought, ‘No way,’” Kerr said before Saturday’s game against the Charlotte Hornets. “And then, about a month ago, I thought it would be broken. And now, I don’t think there’s any way anybody’s gonna break it again. It’s such a difficult thing, but Oklahoma City looked like they were on their way to doing it.
“But the reason it’s so hard is just you have to have good health — you have to have some luck. And most teams probably aren’t going to push themselves that hard to get there. It’s so difficult. My guess is it won’t be broken.”
The 2015-16 Warriors broke the 1995-96 Bulls' 72-10 record, which, for many, was thought to stand the test of time as the best NBA regular-season record ever, until the Warriors broke it 20 years later.
The Thunder, following a 122-120 loss to the Miami Heat, would have to win the remaining 39 games in the regular season to tie the Warriors' 73 wins. The league-leading Thunder dropped to 35-8.
Steve Kerr looks back on the Warriors' 73-win record
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Warriors head coach Steve Kerr at press conference at Intuit Dome
Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
While head coach Steve Kerr's been blunt about the Warriors' championship odds, he, Stephen Curry, and Draymond Green don't look back on the team's 73-win regular-season record the way some might think. Perhaps memories of setting the regular-season record, only to blow a 3-1 lead to the Cavs in the NBA Finals, make 2015-16 bittersweet.
“Never,” Kerr said of how often the 73-win record is mentioned. “We have a banner hanging in the facility commemorating the record, and, other than that, we never talk about it. It’s an incredible accomplishment. I mean, just stunning to think about winning that many games. I think my favorite stat from that whole stretch was — we went like 135 games without losing two in a row.
“Because losing two in a row in this league, it’s almost inevitable. Just given the way the schedule pans out and injuries, everything else. So, to go 130-odd games without losing two in a row was just stunning. So, I’m really proud to be part of that team, but I don’t spend a whole lot of time looking back at it,” Kerr concluded.
The Warriors beat the Hornets 136-116 on Saturday.