73-9!

They did it! After a year of questions, doubts from many, and a few bad losses, the Golden State Warriors, last year's NBA Champions, broke the 1995-1996 Chicago Bulls record for wins in a season after beating the Memphis Grizzlies at home in the final game of the 2015-2016 NBA regular season. These Warriors have just been a massive force to be reckoned with, finishing with the best record ever recorded in an NBA season with an outstanding 73 wins and only 9 losses, beating the previous record-holding Bulls who were led by Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen who led their team to a, at the time, seemingly unbeatable 72-10 record.

This amazing team opened up the year 24-0, and ever since then, people questioned whether or not they would be able to do it. Winning 73 games can take a lot out of a team, and could potentially hurt them in the playoffs, but they will be remembered as one of the best teams ever, and their season will go down in the record books as the best season ever recorded for any NBA team.

The Warriors started off their run with a whole bunch of momentum. After Stephen Curry won MVP last year after an incredible season, his Warriors went on to win the NBA Finals against LeBron James in Cleveland's return to the Finals. This gave them, as well as their fans, a whole bunch of motivation and excitement to do well next season, and they certainly did not disappoint, opening with 24 straight wins. Their first loss came as a shocker against a very surprising team, the Milwaukee Bucks. Granted, the game was in Milwaukee, but it seems a little strange that the first loss of the season came against a team that would not even make the playoffs. Most likely, the loss was due to fatigue from the Warriors players, which will also be a major factor in these playoffs as many of the other teams rested their stars unlike the Golden State Warriors who have been focused on obtaining the record. The Warriors would then go on to win their next five straight games, but once again, they lost. This time, however, it wasn't to a team that was horrible, however, they didn't lose to a particularly great team either. In their 31st game of the season, the Warriors lost for the second time in Dallas against the Mavericks. The next seven games would prove very difficult to the tired Warriors, as each team they faced provided them with at least some sort of a challenge, and Golden State would have a much harder time than they had previously in the season, but game-after-game, they managed to pull through. But, once again, they would meet trouble against an unlikely foe who was eager to knock off the defending champs from the top of the power rankings and bring them one more loss to 11 which would prevent them from even tying the Bulls. This time, the loss came against the Denver Nuggets, who at the time, were 14-24. The next night, they returned home for one game against the Lakers before once again going on the road. They ended up winning this game without much trouble, but it was apparent that the Warriors were getting even more tired, but they continued to push on. The next Saturday, the Warriors traveled all the way to Detroit, Michigan to take on the Pistons, and were stunned once again for their fourth loss of the season. They were more than halfway to the record with 37-4, but they were absolutely exhausted, and people began to doubt whether or not these Warriors would be able to persevere and finish what they started. After losing two games in such a short amount of time, the Warriors knew they needed to start getting serious. Not only to break the Bulls incredible record, but also in hopes to stay number one in the western conference as the San Antonio Spurs were right on their tail. This gave the Warriors a new sense of determination, and they won their next eleven straight, including impressive wins over both the aforementioned Spurs as well as the Oklahoma City Thunder. It was inevitable, however, that the Warriors would have to lose once again, and this time it came across a formidable opponent in the Portland Trail Blazers. This loss was the worst one the Warriors had to face this season, getting blown out by 32 points. The Warriors then went on to win their next seven games, before dropping a very surprising game to the Los Angeles Lakers. This was a tough blow because that game was one almost everyone thought the Warriors would win, and sports experts dropped the likeliness of the Warriors breaking the record by a decent amount. Once again, the Warriors went on a seven game win streak before being stopped once again. This time, against the San Antonio Spurs, in a match that showed complete Spurs dominance. Golden State then won their next six, lost against Boston, won against Portland, and then lost their 9th game in overtime against the Minnesota Timberwolves at home. This loss dropped the Warriors chances a lot as they would have to go 4-0 with two match ups against the very same Spurs who beat them previously in a match up that didn't really even seem close. Luckily for them, Coach Gregg Poppovich of the Spurs decided to rest his starters, even at home, and the Warriors were able to beat them, and cap off the record with a win against the Grizzlies at home last night. It will be interesting to see if this run will hurt them in the playoffs as the players are most likely exhausted, but this team will forever be known as the team who broke Michael Jordan's 1995-1996 Chicago Bulls record for most wins in an 82 game NBA season.