Some of Draymond Green’s teammates were uncomfortable. They didn’t want to talk about the number.
But there’s no way to hide from it anymore.
“You can’t not talk about it at this point,” the Golden State Warriors forward said. “The whole world is talking about it now.”
The Warriors are set to defend their NBA title in this year’s playoffs. The top seed is theirs, assuring home-court advantage for the second year in a row.
But there’s one number that matters on Wednesday, the final day of the NBA regular season: 73.
The Warriors are attempting to set the regular-season wins record as they play host to the Memphis Grizzlies in Oakland, California. Should they win, the Warriors will finish the season with 73 wins and nine losses, surpassing the 72-10 record set by the Chicago Bulls in the 1995-96 season. No other NBA team has won 70 or more regular-season games.
“It would have been cool to take care of the games we were supposed to take care of and have it already out of the way,” Green said. “But the way this thing has played out, to be at home and [have] one shot at it, it’s pretty amazing. I’m excited about it.”
Stephen Curry: ‘You’ve got to go for it’
In an interview with CNN’s Andy Scholes earlier this season, Stephen Curry didn’t hide from it: The Warriors want this record.
“There’s not many opportunities that you probably have to go after that record,” Curry said at the time. “Obviously, going to win a championship, that’s the main goal. But there’s a reason that we’re still talking about that ’95-’96 Bulls team that was able to accomplish the 72-10 record. They were on a mission that year and ended up winning the championship as well. So that’s kind of where we want to be.
“But when you have a shot at history and being the best regular-season team in the history of the NBA, I think you’ve got to go for it.”
On Tuesday, Curry talked about staying in the present and slowing down to enjoy what’s going on now.
“We put so much energy and effort into today. Enjoy it,” Curry said. “Tomorrow’s not promised, obviously, so why cheat that experience?”
Michael Jordan: ‘Go get the record’
The Warriors started the season 24-0, far and away the best start in NBA history. The previous longest win streak to start a season was 15-0, by the 1948-49 Washington Capitols and 1993-94 Houston Rockets.
And what makes it all the more impressive is the Warriors dominated the first half of the season without their head coach, Steve Kerr on the sideline. Kerr, who also played on that 72-win Bulls team, led the Warriors to a 67-15 record and the NBA championship last season, missed the first 43 games of the 82-game season because of complications from offseason back surgery. Luke Walton was the interim head coach until Kerr returned.
Green, the Golden State forward, said he didn’t think at the time that breaking the record was realistic, even after the 24-0 start. But once the Warriors won their 50th game, he realized they were still on pace and it was a real possibility.
But even if they break the record Wednesday night, there’s still work to do.
“In Chicago, they have a championship banner that says 72-10,” Green. “If we don’t win a championship, we’re not approaching a banner that says — God willing — 73-9, unless you win a championship. As bad as I want this record, we need to get something else to go along with it.”
And, according to Green, Bulls’ legend Michael Jordan himself told Green in February, during the NBA All-Star weekend, to “go get the record.”
“‘If y’all don’t get this record, I’m going to be hot and I’m blaming you.'” Green said Jordan told him then. “We’re almost there. We’ve got one more game, and he’s going to blame me, so we need to get it done.”