The Warriors entered Oracle Arena on April 13, 2016 with a record of 72-9, tied with the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls for the most wins in a regular season in NBA history. The squad was on a three-game win streak, and had finally distanced themselves from the second place San Antonio Spurs who had an amazing season in their own right at 67-15.
2015-16 Golden State Warriors
G Stephen Curry
G Klay Thompson
F Draymond Green
F Harrison Barnes
C Andrew Bogut
G Leandro Barbosa
G Ian Clark
C Festus Ezeli
G/F Andre Iguodala
G Shaun Livingston
F/C Kevon Looney
F/C James Michael McAdoo
G/F Brandon Rush
F/C Marreese Speights
F/C Jason Thompson
C Anderson Varejão
Head Coach: Steve Kerr
Interim Head Coach: Luke Walton (started season 39-4)
Now sitting alone in first place in the Western Conference with the top seed in the playoffs secured, there was just one question on Dub Nation’s mind: could the team win their final game of the season against the Memphis Grizzlies for their record-breaking 73rd victory?
The Dubs went petal to the metal, dropping 37 points in the first quarter while holding the Grizzlies to 10 field goals on 38.5 percent shooting in the opening frame. Stephen curry led the charge with 20 points on six 3-pointers made.
In the second quarter, the barrage continued, but from a different culprit: Klay Thompson was a perfect 4-for-4 from beyond the arc for 12 points in under eight minutes played in the frame.
Up 20 points at the half, the Warriors rode the home court energy from Dub Nation to a historical 125-104 win over Memphis.
Twenty years before, the 1995-96 Bulls, featuring Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Dennis Rodman, set the record on April 21, 1996. Steve Kerr was a reserve guard on that Bulls team, and almost two decades to the day later, Kerr was leading the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors as a second-year head coach in eclipsing his former team’s record.
While the Warriors as a whole set a new NBA team record in that game, Curry made his own bit of history that April evening.
With 10 splashes as part of a 46-point night against Memphis, Curry set a record for 3-pointers in a season with 402, making him also the only player in NBA history to reach that plateau. To this day, nobody else has reached the 400-splash threshold.
Win in hand and history made, the Warriors went into the 2016 NBA Playoffs and made the second of what would be five straight trips to the NBA Finals.