The 2015-16 Golden State Warriors won 73 games, setting an all-time record and staking a claim to the title of best team ever, despite a seven-game NBA Finals loss.
Consider Michael Jordan unimpressed.
Warriors owner Joe Lacob told 95.7 The Game, a sports radio station in the Bay Area, that Jordan came up to him during the collective bargaining agreement negotiations and basically told him his team hadn’t accomplished shit.
“People were drinking, having a good time and all that. But there was a moment where [Jordan] said, ‘You know, 73 don’t mean …'” Lacob said before trailing off during an interview with San Francisco radio station 95.7 FM The Game on Tuesday. “He did it. Michael Jordan did that. And I looked at him, and I just decided not to, you know, make a big deal of it. I said, ‘You know, you’re right? We didn’t win it. We had to get better.’
“He’s fantastic, and I’m not going to cross him. But that kind of hurt, you know?”
Ouch. Leave it to MJ to throw a gratuitous shot at the accomplishments one of his fellow owners.
Jordan, of course, starred for the 1995-96 Bulls, who won 72 games, a record that stood for two decades until Golden State toppled it last year. Jordan is notoriously competitive, and probably wasn’t thrilled when the Warriors beat his record. His comment to Lacob seems like his way of saying, “Don’t forget who was really the best team of all-time.”
Coincidentally, Lacob wasn’t the only Warriors boss to talk about the legacy of 73 wins Tuesday. In a podcast interview with Bill Simmons of The Ringer, Golden State coach Steve Kerr predicted that his teams record would never be topped. He had previously said the same about the record held by the ’96 Bulls, for whom he was a player.
“I’m going to guarantee you that nobody ever wins 74 games. Ever,” Kerr said. “There’s no way. I stand by that one. If I was wrong the first time, there’s no way I’m wrong this time.”
Kerr was wrong once before, and there’s no reason to believe him now. Sure, the Warriors got some good luck on their way to 73 wins, but there’s no reason another team couldn’t get more good luck on its way to 74. Maybe then Michael Jordan will be impressed.
[ESPN]
