The Golden State Warriors are in the middle of doing some extremely rare and impressive things. On Tuesday night they defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in blowout fashion to break the record for most consecutive wins to start a season at 16. Golden State has clearly been the best team in the NBA this year and Kobe Bryant thinks that they have a shot to break the record for most consecutive wins in a single season which is 33, according to Sam Amick of USA Today Sports.
The record was set back in the 1971-72 season by the Lakers and has not been matched since. The closest team to matching that record was LeBron James' Miami Heat back in 2012-13 when they won 27 straight. Besides those two teams no other team in NBA history has even won more than 22 consecutive games so if the Warriors were to do it they would be in some extremely rarified air.
Kobe Bryant himself has been on some great teams throughout his career as he has won five championships including a threepeat but the longest winning streak he's ever ben a part of was 19 straight. Despite his lack of extremely long winning streaks he still feels as though the Warriors have a real chance to do it.
"Yeah, they could do it because they're good. It's a very young league, and they've managed to put together a team of extremely intelligent players and extremely versatile players, and great shooters. And so I see no reason why they couldn't continue to extend the record," said Bryant after shooting 1-14 from the floor against the Warriors.
Winning that many times in a row is obviously not easy and the Warriors will have plenty of obstacles to overcome to even get close to that record. For one thing the Warriors have reportedly discussed resting players from time to time now so that they can stay fresh come playoff time. If they do decide to rest players that obviously increases their chances of losing a game.
Another thing they have to deal with is the inevitable letdown games. Earlier this season the Warriors almost lost to the Brooklyn Nets at home but were lucky to escape thanks to some poor coaching and a missed layup. If the Nets, who have three wins this year, can almost get them when they have a letdown game then there are other teams that will have opportunities as well.
The Warriors have been extremely fun to watch this season and they are clearly making their way towards being an all-time great team but they still haven't played the Cleveland Cavaliers or the San Antonio Spurs yet, who many consider the second and third best teams in the league. The record is definitely not unreachable but it is more likely that it doesn't happen.
