Ugh. Another record broken.
- KAS
- Apr 21, 2016
- 4 min read
The 1995-96 Bulls team is regarded as one of the best in history. Michael Jordan's dominating, Scottie Pippen's side-kicking, Dennis Rodman's rebounding, Phil Jackson's coaching... this team was nearly untouchable.
They went 33-8 on the road, had the best team start in history at 41-3 and with a final record of 72-10, became the first NBA team to reach 70 wins in one season. Basketball royalty, y'all.
Now don't get me wrong, I enjoy watching the Golden State Warriors play just as much as the next girl but I also would have been perfectly content without the Splash Brothers' mark on this specific piece of history.
There's no denying basketball's changes. Big men have stepped aside to let guards steal the show, the foul threshold has lowered and yeah, driving to the hoop for flashy dunks are fun but have you seen how far out I can shoot it?! Things are just different these days.
Not to say this style of basketball is right or wrong - the game has simply evolved. We focus less on physicality and instead hone in on skills, handles and sharp-shooting, making the game much more technical and detailed than before. It's not a exactly bunch of wimps out here flinging around a bouncy ball, but the Detroit Bad Boys are buried in the history books and it allows for the prosperity of little guys like Steph Curry.
Which is exactly why I was hoping the Warriors wouldn't steal that one record.
In case you missed all the hoopla from the past week, Golden State entered playoffs at 73-9, taking over the Bulls' previously held record for most wins in an NBA regular season. I'm trying to be cheerful because this means basketball is still getting better with new teams breaking old teams' records decades latet. It means good days are still ahead of us and despite the years' changes, we're still on our way up.
Maybe I'm just nostalgic because with a few decades of life under my belt, I now have "good ol' days" to reminisce on or maybe I was the girl getting yellow cards for yelling at the refs in my high school soccer games and I like those rough n' tumble sports so much because it's just part of my character.
Who knows, maybe I just really like basketball and appreciated the sport a little more in it's raw, developing stages. Now the refs can review plays, shooting has turned into a distance contest and the game has sped up so much that wild, pull-up threes aren't exactly rare.
It's fun and thrilling but taking the time to build, develop and execute a good shot have become less of a priority, with the focus instead on hurrying up to get the first available opportunity.
So why was the old school such a good school? In a 1990 interview, Magic Johnson uses the Pistons to break it down.
"Detroit won because of defense and once somebody wins using a style, everyone wants to use that style," Johnson said. "You can't run free through the lane. The last couple of years, you find you'll be body-checked when you do that. Bodies are bigger now."
Yup. Back then you were body checked and you were hit. Hard. Those defenders didn't want you driving down the lane and they didn't try to just stand up straight and "take the charge" as you drove in a lay-up - these guys brought the charge and you felt it.
Call me a hater or roll those eyes at my nostalgic negativity - it's okay. I actually like the Warriors, I think they're most deserving of this year's championship title but as the game continues to change and records continue to shatter, I liked knowing that the old style of play would still be celebrated with one of basketball's most impressive accomplishments.
I think we forget how truly great that physical, hard-hitting, run-you-down type of raw basketball was. Guys like Steph Curry and Klay Thompson are cool because they're skilled, skinny and can make shots from the parking lot. We haven't really seen this breed before so its novelty is a big cause for excitement.
Which is great, the sport will always need advancement; but in all the celebration of this new skill-over-force, superhero player who can make 400+ 3s in a season, the old record was a sobering reminder that the grass isn't always greener and despite how stunning Steph is, the 95-96 Bulls were pretty great too. Even though these new guys are different and can break records, that 90s style of play was especially remarkable because it had won the most regular-season games ever - and it was for one of the best teams in history.
I just liked knowing there was some part of that magical 95-96 season that couldn't be touched.
Unfortunately Michael Jordan and the Bulls no longer have that record. Fortunately it was broken by some new kids on the block who are still incredibly skilled and talented in a new way.
Maybe in 20 years this record will be broken again and maybe by then I'll have a change of heart making me sad the Warriors no longer own it. You never know. Basketball is a changing sport and hopefully 20 years down the road it's still finding ways to improve.
So cheers to your 73 record-breaking, regular-season wins, Warriors. Regardless of my stubborn feelings, you accomplished something previously thought to be impossible and that deserves more than a pat on the back.
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