Scottie Pippen held the ball over his head like a trophy, players ran onto the floor cheering, closely followed by reporters. By winning the Milwaukee Bucks, the Chicago Bulls and superstar Michael “Air” Jordan secured the unofficial title of “Best Team in History”.
That April 16, 1996, the Illinois franchise broke the NBA sound barrier. The magical 70-victory mark has been cracked. Ever since the best basketball league in the world set a regular season with 82 games per team in 1967, the myth has grown with every season. The 1972 Los Angeles Lakers, led by Hall of Famers Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West and Elgin Baylor, were the closest to missing the record with a win to date.
It only sounds logical that Jordan in particular was able to give his team the drive they needed to deliver maximum performance game after game. The documentary series “The Last Dance” recently reminded fans of the incomparable will to win of “His Airness”. Jordan drew motivation from all life situations and was not satisfied with any success.
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“A few cigars were handed out, but at the same time we are reserved. We want to keep our goal in mind and not become arrogant,” said Jordan after the game. He also stayed out of the cheering scenes: “Believe me: if we win a title, you will see us celebrate in a much more unusual way.”
So the message to his teammates was clear: the job wasn’t done yet. Spurred on by their title-hungry leader, the Bulls set two more victories on the new record, in the play-offs they refined their historic season with the fourth title of the franchise. It should be a total of six championships? none without the GOAT (“Greatest of All Time”).
The record of 72 victories held for 20 years. Stephen Curry’s Golden State Warriors overtook Chicago in 2016 with their 73rd win of the season. In the eyes of the public, however, the Californians were unable to take the title of “Best Team in History” to the West Coast. The “mission”, as Jordan had proclaimed it at the time, the Warriors did not fulfill: In the NBA finals, coach Steve Kerr’s team lost to LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers after a 3-1 lead.
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