During their memorable run during the 2015-16 season, the Golden State Warriors set the record for most wins in a regular season by amassing a 73 wins throughout the year while logging only nine losses. For those who may not know, the Dubs set this new NBA record by topping what the Chicago Bulls had done some 15 years earlier.
During the 1995-96 campaign, a Michael Jordan-led Bulls side went for 72 wins and just 10 losses. At that time it was simply unthinkable what this team had achieved, which proved how utterly dominant this side truly was. However, what's interesting here is that when you look at some of the final games of the Bulls during that season, it actually turns out that they could have easily gone 75-7.
After the first four months of the historic 95-96 season, the Bulls stood at 50-6. It was in the final two months of the campaign — March and April — that Chicago ended up losing four more games. On March 10, Jordan and company were sent back to earth by one of their most bitter rivals in the New York Knicks, after the Bulls were blown out in Madison Square Garden, 104-72. That drubbing was Chicago's worst defeat of the entire season, and it placed them at 54-7.
A couple of weeks later, the Bulls suffered another loss, this time to the Toronto Raptors. On April 8, Chicago fell to the Charlotte Hornets, and finally, in their 81st game of the campaign, the Bulls lost to one of their arch-nemesis in the Eastern Conference, the Indiana Pacers.
Now what makes things quite fascinating is the fact that in all three of these aforementioned defeats, the Bulls lost by a margin of exactly one point. Needless to say, all the games went down the wire, and could have easily gone in favor of Chicago. Had it not been for a mistake or two, then it wouldn't be impossible to think that the Bulls could have won all three games, and in the process, ended the season with an astonishing 75-7 record.
As fate would have it, however, Jordan and company did end up losing 10 games that season. Nonetheless, what makes this team standout is that unlike the Warriors, Chicago went all the way to win the title that season (Sorry Dubs fans). This was their fourth championship in five years, and what makes it even more special is the fact that this was MJ's first year back after his one-year hiatus.
As we all know, the Bulls went on to win two more titles after the 1995-96 season, and while they were not able to match their historic 72-10 record in 95-96 (they went 69-13 in 1996-97 and 62-20 in 1997-98), what matters most is that they won the coveted championship in both seasons. By the time it was all over, Chicago won six titles in the span of seven years, including two three-peats. This is not something any other team has achieved ever before, and it this point, it's not improbable to say that this is a record that's not going to be topped anytime soon.
Follow Us
Subscribe