Stephen Curry said the Golden State Warriors have patterned their team success to Lionel Messi and La Liga club Barcelona.
Curry has revealed the Warriors' success this season, and interestingly, the inspiration of the defending champions' historical NBA run is coming from Messi and Barcelona's identical impressive campaign in La Liga.
"Coach Kerr has shown us film of some soccer greats, especially Messi and Barcelona, and how they play," Curry said, reports Goal.
"Just their style and what they do every single game, and how they score. We drew a lot of similarities with how we play - moving the ball and using each other in several plays...I'm sure that all comes out in the games."
Curry and Messi are arguably two of the best players in the prime of their careers, playing in their respective sport platforms. Likewise, the Warriors and the Blaugrana are also identical in their individual campaigns, with Golden State having won 68 of their 75 games (68-7), while Barcelona 24 of 30 in La Liga.
But the more notable feat is the Warriors' chase for a historical record set by the 1996 Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls.
GSW's latest victory over the Utah Jazz has put the Blue and Gold closer to eclipsing the Bulls' regular season-best record of 72 wins and 10 losses. According to Kyle Wagner of Five Thirty Eight, citing their prediction machine (CARM-Elo precitions) the Warriors have an 85 percent chance of eclipsing the Bulls' record, with seven games remaining before the playoffs.
"The relative difficulty of the Utah game - Golden State was 'only' a 61 percent favorite according to CARM-Elo - is one reason the Warriors' odds of winning 73 or more leapt from 66 percent two games ago to more than 85 percent now. Of the team's remaining seven games, five are at home, and only one comes as the second leg of a back-to-back," Wagner disclosed.
The Warriors' next outings will be a four-game home stand against the Boston Celtics, Portland Trail Blazers, Minnesota Timberwolves and San Antonio Spurs. Not only Golden State following games would test their bid for a 73-9 record, it would also challenge their undefeated streak at the Oracle Arena.