Count retiring NBA legend Kobe Bryant among those who wants to see the Golden State Warriors go after the single-season wins record. When asked by reporters after a game in Los Angeles, Bryant stated that, if he were in their shoes, he would try to “set the damn record.” Then again, that’s quintessential Kobe Bryant.
As it stands, the Warriors are just three wins away from breaking the record set by the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls. The Warriors are trying to do something that no other team in history has ever done, and that’s something that resonates pretty deeply with Bryant, a superstar who has made a career of going against the grain.
From Rusty Simmons, columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle:
“Why do you have to give up one to go for the other? I don’t understand that,” [Kobe] Bryant said. “If I’m them, and I’ve got a chance to set the record, I’m trying to set the damn record. I don’t care what anybody else says. I don’t care how you feel about it. I don’t care what they say about it. If you’ve got a chance to do that, go do it. And, win a championship.”
If the Warriors do follow through with what Bryant outlined — i.e. winning 73 games and winning a championship — then they would go down as having the single greatest basketball season in history but they must avoid the same pitfalls that befell the Bulls during their record setting season.
At the same point in 95-96 season, the Bulls were 70-9, just like the Warriors, and aiming for as many wins as possible. After a resounding win to get win #71, the Bulls lost at home by one point to the Indiana Pacers. It was only their second home loss of the season. The parallels are there between the two sides, but Golden State sits on the precipice of breaking the record.
Winning and rings were the two things that mattered most to Bryant. As he fades away from the basketball world, his competitive nature still lives on believes they should go for it, both.