2016 NBA Finals

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Thank You Dub Nation

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2015-16 Season Highlights

Andy Fahey

2015-16 Warriors Set Numerous Records and Made 2nd Straight Trip to NBA Finals

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.

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Three Takeaways from a Historic Season

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It came down to the final minute, but ultimately, the Warriors fell short, losing 93-89 to the Cavaliers in Game 7 on Sunday.

Photo Gallery | Box Score | Interviews | Highlights

It came down to the final minute, but ultimately, the Warriors fell short, losing 93-89 to the Cavaliers in Game 7 on Sunday. Draymond Green put on a sensational performance, notching 32 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists, but it was Kyrie Irving’s three-pointer with 53.0 seconds left that proved to be the deciding basket.

Through the first six games of the series, both teams totaled the same amount of points, speaking to how evenly matched they were. That parity would persist to the final minute of Game 7, with the contest tied at 89 until Irving’s now-historic three-pointer. The two sides played it close all game long, with neither able to generate a lead of greater than eight points. There were 20 lead changes and 11 ties throughout the game, and when the final buzzer sounded, it was the Cavaliers on top.

Golden State got off to a significantly better start than the previous two games, this time trailing Cleveland by only a single point at the end of the first frame. The Warriors trailed by the same deficit three minutes into the second quarter before Draymond Green sank his second three-pointer of the night, in what would prove to be a sign of things to come. Green would add three more three-pointers in the quarter, all in succession, as part of a run in which he scored 12-straight points for the Warriors. Leandro Barbosa would follow up that stretch with a three-pointer of his own to put Golden State up seven, and they’d maintain that advantage going into halftime leading 49-42.

That lead would be completely erased by a 12-5 Cavs’ run to open the second half, and after Stephen Curry subsequently scored five-straight points, Cleveland would go on a 14-2 burst to take their largest lead of the entire night at 68-61 with 4:00 left in the third quarter. The Warriors would immediately battle back though, and Andre Iguodala’s hook shot with 4.1 seconds remaining gave Golden State a slim 76-75 advantage heading into the fourth and final frame.

After Cleveland had retaken an 83-80 lead, Curry ignited a 7-0 Warriors’ run to jump back in front. LeBron James would then go on to score six-straight points in a span of 31 seconds, and after Klay Thompson drained a jumper on the ensuing possession, the game was tied once again at 89-89 with 4:39 remaining in regulation. Unfortunately for Golden State, those would prove to be their final points of the night, and season. Both teams remained deadlocked at 89 for nearly three minutes until Irving’s three-pointer with 53.0 seconds left put the Cavs in front for good. James would split free throws to make it a two-possession game with 10.6 seconds left, putting the final touch on what was a tremendously competitive Finals game and series.

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Warriors Fall in Game 7

Strength in Numbers: 1 Nation (NBA Finals: Game 7 Trailer)

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A Brief History of Game 7's

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Warriors Fall to Cavs 115-101 in Game 6

The NBA Finals will come down to a winner-take-all Game 7 after the Warriors fell 115-101 to the Cavaliers in Game 6 on Thursday.

The NBA Finals will come down to a winner-take-all Game 7 after the Warriors fell 115-101 to the Cavaliers in Game 6 on Thursday. Stephen Curry scored 30 points and Klay Thompson added 25, but the Warriors were unable to overcome a large early deficit, thanks in large part to a dominant performance from LeBron James. The defeat evens the series up at three games apiece with Game 7 coming on Sunday.

Game 7 at Oracle ArenaSunday, June 19, at 5 p.m.Find Tickets

The Warriors’ second half struggles of Game 5 carried over to Game 6, as the Dubs stumbled out of the gates and put themselves in a deep hole early. Cleveland opened up on an 8-0 run, and built their advantage to as large as 22 points. That was immediately before Andre Iguodala made the final basket of the opening quarter, which closed with Golden State trailing 31-11. That proved to be the Warriors’ lowest scoring quarter of the entire season.

Stephen Curry accounted for Golden State’s first five points of the second quarter, and his three-pointer at the 9:39 mark gave the Dubs more points in the frame than they scored in the entire first. That cut the deficit to 15, and after a LeBron James three-pointer increased that by two, the Warriors responded with a 9-0 run to pull within 46-48 with 4:40 remaining in the first half. Unfortunately for Golden State, that’s as close as they’d get until the fourth quarter, as the Cavaliers responded by scoring the next eight points. Cleveland would maintain that 16-point advantage through the rest of the half, taking a 59-43 lead into halftime.

The Cavs opened the second half on an 8-3 burst in the first four minutes to take their largest lead of the night at 70-46. Golden State wouldn’t go away quietly, however, responding with a 9-0 run to pull within 15 points halfway through the third. After the two sides traded baskets, LeBron James scored four points in a span of 20 seconds, beginning a stretch in which he’d score 18-straight points for the Cavs, single-handedly carrying the scoring burden for Cleveland from the latter half of the third frame through the opening six minutes of the fourth. The Warriors have their fair share of superstars, too, and Klay Thompson responded in kind. He’d score all but two of Golden State’s points through the remainder of the third quarter, including the last eight points in the final 91 seconds, cutting the deficit to 80-71 heading into the fourth.

Golden State closed within seven points at 86-79 with just over eight minutes remaining in the game, marking the closest they’d been since their first basket of the night. But, James followed that with the final four points of his 18-point run, rebuilding the lead to double-digits, and the Cavs would run away with it from there.

The eventual 115-101 defeat forced the 19th Game 7 in NBA Finals history, which will take place at Oracle Arena this Sunday night.