What could have been: Chronicling the Warriors near-perfect 2015-16 season
So close, yet so far.
www.khou.comHere’s the latest available on the 2015–16 Golden State Warriors season.
- Summary of the season context: The Warriors entered the 2015–16 season as the defending champions and started with an unprecedented 24–0 stretch, the best opening in NBA history, before finishing with a 73–9 regular-season record, the most wins in league history at the time. This season is widely remembered for its historic regular-season dominance and the nagging question of what might have been in the playoffs.[3][7]
- Playoffs and outcome: Golden State reached the NBA Finals but lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers in seven games after leading the series 3–1; the rematch of the previous year’s Finals produced a historic back-and-forth that ended with Cleveland capturing the title. Key moments included Stephen Curry’s return from injury in the conference finals and later injuries in the Finals run.[8][3]
- Notable records and accolades: Curry, Green, and Thompson earned All-NBA honors in 2016, marking the first time three Warriors were named to the All-NBA Team in a single season since the 1955–56 era, reflecting the team’s elite performance level that year. The Warriors also set franchise marks for total wins in the season combined with playoffs and tied or set multiple three-point records during the postseason.[3]
- Public reception and analysis: Coverage at the time and retrospective analyses emphasize the combination of extraordinary regular-season success with the painful realization that the Finals outcome prevented a second consecutive title, fueling ongoing debate about durability, coaching decisions, and roster depth in a historically great season.[9][8]
Illustration
- A useful visualization would show the 73-win pace versus the final 73–9 record and the playoff run, highlighting the 3–1 comeback against OKC and the final seven-game Finals against Cleveland. If you’d like, I can generate a simple bar chart and a short timeline to accompany this summary.
Would you like me to pull more specifics (game-by-game win-loss streaks, player per-game averages, or a collapse/return timeline) or create a chart-based quick-look visual? I can also provide links to primary sources for deeper reading.