The Thunder have a real chance to win 70 games and make NBA history, but do they even want to?
CBSN
Oklahoma City doesn't have much to gain by hitting that milestone
The 2015-16 Golden State Warriors have become something of a cautionary tale within the NBA. They are the only team in NBA history to win 73 games, but have become a bit of a joke because they couldn't seal the greatest season in league history with a championship. It's a shame if you give it any real thought.
Why does winning a championship actually matter? What is the championship besides an arbitrary goal that the league sets and an ending to a season? I would argue that a championship matters as a form of historical validation. It's a way for a team to say, "We were the best team that year and we have a trophy to prove it." But really think about a championship compared to what the 2015-16 Warriors did. Every season in NBA history has had a champion. Only one season, the 2015-16 campaign, included a 73-game winner. What those Warriors accomplished was far, far rarer. Yet it's derided because it wasn't accompanied by a more common achievement.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are not going to win 73 games this season, but they do have a chance to do something nearly as rare. The Thunder, as of this writing, are 64-12. That means they are six wins away from becoming the third 70-win team in NBA history. Take a look at their schedule. The next three games are, at least on paper, fairly difficult. On Friday, they travel to Houston to face the Rockets. Then they have consecutive home games against the Lakers.
