Three Takeaways from a Historic Season

Three Takeaways from a Historic Season

The sting of falling just short in Game 7 of the NBA Finals is undeniable, but it should not diminish the incredible season that was for the Warriors. The best regular season record in NBA history, three All-Stars, unanimous MVP selection and Coach of the Year are just some of the accomplishments that are part of the fabric of the 2015-16 Warriors, a team that made its second straight trip to the NBA Finals.

The Warriors’ 88 victories (regular and postseason combined) were the most ever in a single season. The tally started at the opening tip of the regular season, as the Dubs reeled off an NBA-record 24 straight wins to start the season.

Early in the season, Coach Kerr stated his goal of finishing atop the West to lock in homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs. Due to an incredible season by the Spurs, the Warriors had to wait until their 70th win to officially accomplish that mission, marking the second straight year that the Dubs secured the best regular season record in the West, and the entire NBA.

The Dubs went on to set an NBA record with 73 wins in the regular season, and they never lost consecutive games until the Western Conference Finals. The resilient Dubs were 14-1 in games following a loss going into the NBA Finals. And despite the way the Finals ended, the Dubs did typically play their best against the best, going 16-1 in the regular season against teams with a .600 winning percentage or better.

The Warriors made an NBA record 1,077 3-pointers in the regular season, besting the mark set by the 2014-15 Rockets with 933, and they followed that with 306 more in the postseason, also an NBA record. Remarkably, their team-wide 41.6 shooting percentage from distance was the second highest in league history. The net result was the league’s best offense in terms of efficiency: Their 112.5 points per 100 possessions and 48.7 overall shooting percentage were both tops in the NBA.

Splash Brothers Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson – more on them later – led the Dubs’ season-long 3-point parade, but Draymond Green, Harrison Barnes, Andre Iguodala, Leandro Barbosa, Brandon Rush and Marreese Speights all proved their ability to join the Splash Party, each player shooting at least 35 percent from the perimeter.

The plethora of on-court success enjoyed by the 2015-16 Warriors trickled down to several individual awards and honors.

Stephen Curry earned his second straight MVP Award and was the first-ever unanimous recipient of the award, meaning he received all 131 first place votes by the panel that determined the award. The NBA’s 2015-16 scoring (30.1) and steals (2.14) leader had a seemingly endless supply of jaw-dropping, did-you-see-that moments, and his teammates share their favorites in the video below.

Voted as a starter in the All-Star Game for the third straight season, Curry obliterated his own single-season 3-point record. He finished with 402 made treys this season, a 41 percent increase in his previous record of 286 treys set in the 2014-15 season.

Klay Thompson had his best season of his career to date as well, averaging a career-best 22.1 points per game. He further solidified his status as one of the top two-way players in the game with his second straight All-Star selection and a spot on the All-NBA Third Team. Thompson combined with his Splash Brother to form the highest scoring duo in the league, and his 276 made 3-pointers was the highest single-season total in league history by a player not named Stephen Curry. Thompson, however, got the best of his MVP teammate at All-Star Weekend in Toronto, where he tied the all-time single-round record with a 27 in the final, besting 2015 Three-Point Contest champion Curry and making the Splash Brothers the first set of teammates to win the competition in consecutive seasons.

Draymond Green’s rise to an elite player was recognized with a trip to his first All-Star Game and an All-NBA Second Team selection. He set the Warriors’ franchise record with 13 triple-doubles, and as indicative of that fact, he did a little bit of everything for the Dubs. He led the team in assists (7.4) and rebounds (9.5) and was the third leading scorer, while also playing elite defense. He was the runner-up to Defensive Player of the Year and an All-Defensive First Team selection for the second straight year, and his net rating of +18.9 was tops in the NBA, meaning that for every 100 possessions in which Green was on the court, the Warriors outscored their opponents by 18.9 points.

Steve Kerr became the first Warriors coach to earn Coach of the Year Honors in two and a half decades, but he hardly looks at that as an individual award. It’s an honor shared with Luke Walton, the now Lakers head coach who guided the Dubs to a 39-4 record while Kerr recovered from complications related to a pair of offseason back surgeries, and the rest of the Warriors coaching staff, players and front office. Here’s what some closest to Kerr had to say about the 2015-16 Coach of the Year.

The Warriors have made two consecutive trips to the NBA Finals, winning a Championship in one and falling just short of another. While drafts, trades and free agency can always affect a roster, the Dubs do have their three 2015-16 All-Stars, the 2015 NBA Finals MVP and their starting center all under contract for next season. Whether or not that means the Dubs are bound for a third straight trip to The Finals remains to be seen, but the squad is certainly in a favorable position for this golden era of Warriors basketball to continue.

For more on the season that was, including a look at some notes and numbers that the team and individuals achieved along the way, check out the photos below.