The Golden State Warriors have just matched the best start in NBA history with their historic 15th straight win.
There is so much debate on whether the Warriors have a legitimate shot at the 72-10 record that the 1995-96 Bulls established. Mathematically, any team with less than 10 losses can do it.
But the players know that it's a daunting task. Not impossible but daunting. The Chicago Tribune took the opinion of that historic Bulls team now that their distinction is in actual threat, even if it seems too soon.
"In my opinion, it's too early to even think about it," said Bill Wennington, reserve center on that team, now a Bulls radio analyst. "It's fun to talk about it because they are playing so well and look like a special team. But to lose only 10 games all year, everything has to go pretty perfect. Everyone has to stay healthy. Everyone has to play well."
But even that team had its off nights. The 95-96 Bulls were known for its methodical triangle offense and hard, 90s style defense. Yet, Wennington recalled a night when they let the Charlotte Hornets burn them for 130 points.
"You look at every team in the NBA, you can see games where the whole team takes the night off. We just had one of those in Charlotte."
The Warriors almost had one of those nights when they were on the ropes against the Brooklyn Nets (of all teams!) but they forced overtime and won. It was also expected that they would flounder against the well-rested Bulls on a back-to-back. That was win no.14.
And now, win no.15 in Denver matches the all-time record for best start that the 1994 Houston Rockets established. It should be noted that that team only finished with 58 wins. However, they did win the NBA title, and it's a safe bet that the Warriors would be fine with that.
While 72-10 is indeed a breakable record, there's another record that is unlikely to fall. ESPN recalls:
"Notice how people are quicker to pick the Warriors to match the 1995-96 Bulls' 72 victories than the 1971-72 Lakers' 33-game win streak. That 33 is the toughest number in team sports."
That record from the Lakers has been standing for 43 years now and is not just applicable to the NBA but for all of professional team sports. To achieve that, the Warriors must stay unbeaten beyond New Year's.