The sports world has not seen a team as dominant as the Golden State Warriors in years. Sure, maybe the 2007-2008 Celtics, or the 2012-2013 Heat, but they are still not as dominant as the Warriors. The only team to compare to this team is the 1995-1996 Chicago Bulls. The 1995-1996 Bulls team is known for being one of the best teams to ever play an NBA season. The Bulls set an all-time season record of 72-10. Ever since that season, no team has even come close to this statistic. But here come the Warriors, with a different style of play than that of the Bulls, but just as effective.
The Warriors are sinking three pointers like it’s NBA all-star weekend night in and night out. With only about 10 games remaining in the regular season, the Warriors have a very real chance to break the Bulls record if they can finish the season strong. Although it is a tough task comparing teams from two different eras of basketball, it is possible. The Warriors may not have as many championships as the Bulls had in the ’90s, but if they manage to break the record this year, it gives them motivation that one day they could surpass the old Bulls team. Premature prediction? Maybe so, but the Warriors are coming.
Everyone is so quick to look back on the Bulls during the Michael Jordan era, and only remember the championship years. In fact, it took Jordan six seasons in the NBA before he won his first championship. In Jordan’s first three years in the league, he barely even made the playoffs each year, securing two eighth seeds in the Eastern Conference and one seventh seed.
Stephen Curry, the leading scorer for the Warriors, also took six seasons in the league before he hoisted up his first championship. Curry was in a rebuilding period with the Warriors during his first three seasons, making his first playoff appearance during his fourth season, and eventually winning the championship his sixth season.
The Bulls of the ’90s revolutionized the game of basketball. The NBA wasn’t as popular as it was today in the early ’90s. The Bulls brought the game of basketball to the spotlight with their winning ways and Jordan’s fascinating play. Anything you try to buy today from the store that has a Jordan logo on it is most likely out of your price range. That is how good the Bulls and Jordan were. Trying to Compare the Bulls to the Warriors may be unfathomable to some critics. The Bulls absolutely dominated the ’90s, and should have had seven, maybe even eight championships if Jordan hadn’t left and tried to play professional baseball.
Even if the Warriors do break the Bulls’ season record this season, and win the NBA championship for the second straight year, they still won’t be considered as good as the Bulls. But it doesn’t mean they aren’t knocking on the Bulls’ door.
The key to the Bulls’ success in the ’90s was their offense. The Bulls could flat out score the basketball no matter what. When the two-headed monster of Jordan and Scottie Pippen were in sync, the Bulls could not be stopped. To beat them you would have to shut down both in the same game, which would happen just about as often as a solar eclipse. How could you not say that Jordan and Pippen are similar to the combination of Curry and Klay Thompson? I don’t think you fully could do that. Pippin averaged less than 20 points per game (ppg) in the majority of Bulls’ championships seasons. This season, Curry is averaging over 30 ppg and Thompson is averaging 22. The bottom line is that Warriors can score just as much as those Bulls can, if not a little more. The Warriors, up to this point in the season, average about 115 PPG as a team, compared to the Bulls who finished their 1995-1996 season scoring 105 ppg. The Bulls never averaged over 115 ppg in any season during their championship years.
It’s no secret that if you can score the basketball as a team consistently, you will have success in the NBA. The high flying, three-point shooting style of the Warriors looks unrealistic at times, almost like you were watching a video game. But it’s real. This team is for real. It’s hard to believe that this team will somehow fall apart. They have depth. The Warriors sixth man last year, Andre Iguodala, won MVP of the 2014-2015 Finals. This team has depth at all positions. This team can shoot the lights out most nights. This team wins games.
The 1995-1996 Bulls team always seemed untouchable. Their staggering record that year seemed virtually unreachable. But here are the Warriors, 10 games remaining on the schedule, poised as ever to break the record. It will be a few years until the Warriors can be placed in the same tier as the Bulls, but they are undoubtedly on the right path to doing so.
