preface
With the end of the regular season this season, the top six spots and play-off matchups in the East and West have been determined, and the playoff matchups of 8 teams have been released; Eastern Conference First Round: Cavaliers (4th) vs Knicks (5th), 76ers (3rd) vs Nets (6th), Western Conference First Round: Suns (4th) vs Clippers (5th), Kings (3rd) vs Warriors (6th). The remaining top two teams in each division will have to wait for the list of play-off zones to determine their respective opponents.
However, seeing the regular season results of the teams this season is really a bit of a big disappointment. With the Bucks' two-game losing streak at the end, the team's final record was fixed at 58-24, ranking first in the league, but it also lost the opportunity to produce a 60-win team this season; Since 2001, the regular season has had 82 games, with 60+ wins in each single season.
In fact, since the 80s of the last century, the standard configuration of the league's first record is basically 60+ wins, and even multiple teams with 60+ records will be born in the same season. For example, Jordan completed the second canonization of the second god in 98 years, and there were four 60+ teams in the NBA league; It can also be said that 60 wins in the regular season has long been a flood, but if the level is raised to 65 wins, there will only be 21 left; Just like our college entrance examination results, "one point and one playground", if the record is improved to 67 wins, only 7 teams have achieved it, let's take a look at which teams have played such a sky-high record, and how did they perform in the playoffs?
1. 76 people: 1 time
Time: 1967
The NBA league first had such an unbelievable record back in the 60s. The league's dominant player at this time was undoubtedly the Celtics, who won 10 championships in the next 11 years starting in 1959 and had the first 60-win record in NBA history, which they set in the 1961-1962 season. After that, although there were 60+ wins in 1965 and 1967, the best record was only 62 wins, which is far from 67+ wins.
The record was set by the Philadelphia 76ers, who traded Chamberlain "Basketball Emperor" Chamberlain in the middle of the 1964-1965 season, and the team's strength quickly soared. The following year, Zhang Dashuai led the team to improve the record to 55-25, and also ended the Celtics' nine-year consecutive league domination; Unfortunately, in the Eastern Conference Finals, they once again encountered Russell's Celtic Army, and were eliminated by the opponent again by a big score of 1-4.
In the 1966-1967 season, the team's head coach was replaced by Alex Hannum, and under the new manager, Chamberlain drastically reduced his shots and focused more on defense and passing. It was this shift that allowed him to average less than 30+ points per game for the first time, and finally won the scoring championship for 7 consecutive years was interrupted; However, the team's strength has been further strengthened, and they not only won 68-13 at the end of the season, but also successfully avenged the Celtics 4-1 in the Eastern Conference Finals, but also ended the Green Army's eight-game winning streak, and eliminated the Warriors 4-2 in the Finals to win the championship of the season.
2. Lakers: 2 times
When: 1972 and 2000
The second team to complete a 67-win record is the Lakers, one of the giants; In the 60s of the last century, the star who was most suppressed by Russell was not Chamberlain, but the two famous Lakers Elgin Baylor and Jerry West; Under the leadership of the two of them, the Lakers have reached the Finals 8 times but all ended in failure. In the 1971-1972 season, Joe Mullaney was dismissed and replaced by the famous coach Bill Sharman; Although Baylor retired after nine games of the season due to a recurrence of a knee injury, the manager immediately put McMillan in the starting line-up, and the team not only did not suffer, but went from playing more smoothly.
From early November 1971 to early January of the following year, they did not taste a defeat for more than two months, setting a myth of 33 consecutive regular season wins. At the end of the season, the Lakers set a new NBA all-time best record of 69-13. After entering the playoffs, they went all the way, first sweeping the Bulls, then 4-2 against Abdul-Jabbar's Bucks, and then easily avenging the Knicks 4-1 in the Finals, winning the Lakers' only championship in the sixties and seventies.
In addition, there was a 67-15 record in the history of the Lakers. In the summer of 1996, the "Godfather of the Lakers" West, who was the general manager of the team at the time, first traded the team's All-Star center Divac with the Hornets in exchange for the No. 13 rookie Kobe Bryant they selected in the draft; He then outwitted O'Neal in free agency, making him the second three-game dynasty in Lakers history.
In the 4th season of the formation of the "OK Group", that is, the 99-00 season, with the arrival of "Zen Master" Phil Jackson, the Lakers began to rise completely. However, although they played the league's first record of 67-15 in the regular season, they were hit hard one after another after coming to the playoffs; Cornered by Webb's Kings in the first round, the Western Conference Finals battled the Blazers seven more games, and after advancing to the Finals, they eliminated the Pacers 4-2 to win the championship, and since then they have also kicked off a three-game championship.
3. Celtic: 2 times
When: 1973 and 1986
The third team is another big team, the Celtics, who also have two regular season 67+ wins in their history. In the 1968-1969 season, Russell led the team to another 4-2 elimination of the Lakers, thus winning the tenth championship of his career; At the end of the season, he and Sam Jones chose to retire at the same time, which also announced the end of the Green Army dynasty. But just as the skinny camels are bigger than horses, they returned to the playoffs stage after only two seasons of slump, led by veterans Havlicek and Nelson Sr.
In the 1972-1973 season, the team traded a strong rebounding master Paul Sellars with the Suns, and the team's defensive strength increased significantly. They played 68-14 in the league that season, but unfortunately when they advanced to the Finals, they ran into the more defensive Knicks and were eliminated by their opponents; However, the following year, they not only successfully avenged the Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals, but also competed with the Bucks led by Abdul-Jabbar and Big O to tie the seven, and finally they successfully brought Boston the 12th championship trophy in team history.
The second time happened in the 85-86 season, when they were easily eliminated by the Lakers 4-1 in the Finals last season, thus also breaking the "undefeated golden body" of the Celtics against the Lakers in the Finals. However, in the new season, they introduced "Red Giant" Bill Wharton to the bench, and the core of the team Bird reached the peak of his career, winning the MVP for three consecutive years; Also known as the strongest team in Celtics history, they not only posted a league-first record of 67 wins, but also lost to the Blazers at home all season. Coming to the playoffs, he also finished 11-1 in the East, and faced Big Dream with two interior towers and Sampson's Rockets in the Finals, also won easily 4-2, thus bringing Boston its 16th championship in team history.
4. Bull: 3 times
Dates: 1992, 1996 and 1997
The fourth team was the Bull dynasty, which ruled the 90s; Since Jordan was drafted by Chicago as a scout in 1984, he averaged 28+6+6+2.4 steals per game in his rookie season, not only overpowering Big Dream to win the best rookie, but also leading the Bulls back to the playoffs, and Chicago gradually began to go to glory.
However, in the early part of his career, he was always suppressed by Bird, and later with the addition of Pippen, the team's strength was improved again, but it still failed to break through the Pistons Bad Boys. It was not until the 90s that he finally got rid of the entanglement between these two teams, was able to reach the Eastern Conference to the Finals, and defeated the Magician's Purple and Gold Army 4-1; Then Magic and Bird chose to retire one after another, the Bad Boy Army fell apart, and Jordan also opened the road to Godhood.
Coming to the defending champions in 1991-1992, they started the opener with a 110-90 win over the 76ers before losing to the Bucks and Warriors for a two-game losing streak. However, they immediately regained their competitive form, winning a 14-game streak and then playing a 13-game winning streak, and the best record in team history that season was 67-15; Coming to the playoffs, although he was forced by Ewing to a desperate situation in the Eastern Conference semifinals, after successfully completing the promotion, Jordan easily eliminated the Cavaliers and Blazers in an unstoppable way to complete the defending championship.
After completing the first triple crown, coinciding with the unexpected death of his father James Jordan, Jordan decisively chose to retire and start his baseball career in order to fulfill his father's last wish. IN MID-MARCH 1995, AFTER 528 DAYS, WITH THE CLASSIC PHRASE "I'M BACK", DAN RETURNED TO THE NBA ARENA; Beginning his second season, he led the Bulls to a second trifecta.
The Bulls at this time have a stronger roster than the first three-in-a-row period; The starters Grant, Cartwright and Paxson were replaced by Longley, Rodman and Harper, and the bench was replaced by three-point sharpshooter Cole and best sixth man Kukoc; They stunned the league with a 72-10 record in '95-96 and started their second dynasty title in the playoffs with a 15-3 record; The following year he successfully defended his title with a league No. 1 record of 69-13.
5. Lone Ranger: 1 time
Time: 2007
After entering the new century, the eastern team began to gradually decline, and the league fell into an era of strong west and weak east. At this time, there were few strong centers left in the league, replaced by defenders and forwards rising rapidly; However, the confrontation and defensive intensity of the game not only did not weaken but increased intensely, so throughout the 00-10 years, although there was no shortage of 60+ winning teams every season, they were rarely able to break through 65+, and only once reached 67 wins.
And this only 67-win team is not the Lakers, who set a three-time championship dynasty, nor the Spurs, who won the championship in odd years, but the lone ranger led by Novitsky, who was dubbed the "soft egg". After losing the championship in the 05-06 season, the following season ushered in a wave of four consecutive defeats; However, they then got rid of their decadent state, played a wave of 12 consecutive wins, and ended the season with a league record of 67-15, and the only MVP trophy of his career; Unfortunately, in the first round of the playoffs, the "Golden State Gangsters" led by Donnellson were eliminated by a big score of 4-2, becoming the third team in NBA history to be "Black Eight".
6. Warriors: 3 times
When: 2015, 2016 and 2017
The second team of the new century to win 67 is the Golden State Warriors, and they have played this record for three consecutive years. In the summer of 2014, they brought in Cole as the team's head coach. As soon as the rookie head coach took office, he sacrificed his secret weapon "Death Five Small", and under this tactical concept of Princeton and run-and-bomb combination, the team went straight to the top; After the start of the new season, they not only started with five consecutive wins, but also made a good start of 20-2. At the end of the season, the Warriors' regular season record improved by 16 wins over last season, leading the league at 67-15, and also surging through the playoffs, eventually defeating the Cavaliers 4-2 to win the championship.
Coming to the title defense season, the entire league still failed to find a way to solve the "Death Five", and they played a 24-game winning streak since the beginning of the season, setting the best opening streak in NBA history. Throughout the season, they posted a 73-9 all-time record, losing only one game at home to the Spurs; And the team leader Curry also played a season of God, not only entered the "180 Club", but also set 402 three-pointers in a single season, and became the only unanimous MVP in NBA history; Although the Western Conference Finals of the playoffs were won by the Thunder 3-1, they still won three consecutive games to continue to create miracles; Unfortunately, after leading 3-1 in the Finals, it was reversed by James' team and thus lost the chance to build a dynasty.
After failing to defend their title, they recruited Durant in the offseason. With the addition of the Grim Reaper, the "Death Five" lineup can be described as promoted to the ultimate version, and they played 67-15 again in the 16-17 season, continuing to dominate the league; Coming to the playoffs, they didn't give any opponents a chance, directly swept the Blazers, Jazz and Spurs, advanced to the Finals undefeated, and faced James's Cavaliers again, they lost only one series and once again reached the top of the league's pyramid.
7. Spurs: 1 time
Time: 2016
The last team of the new century to win 67 is the Spurs, I believe everyone is familiar with it, since Popovich took the helm of the Spurs head coach and won Duncan through the swing, San Antonio has always been one of the league's favorites. However, surprisingly, this all-time record was not won at the peak of GDP, but Duncan's 15-16 season when he was about to retire.
In this season, which is known as the most legendary season in NBA history, the Spurs have also created legends, and they have also set a new all-time record of 67-17 and lost only one game at home. It's just a little unexpected, they are in the same season as the 73-win Warriors, and the Western Conference finals were directly swept out by each other; In fact, even if the Warriors are aside, the focus of the season also does not fall on the Spurs, because there is also Kobe Bryant's retirement tour, it can be said that almost the entire season's focus has been banned by the retirement of him and Duncan and Garnett.
![Three-point 14-7 finish off the opponent! The Cavaliers beat the Knicks to score 1-1 and Garland 32 points[fig]](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=)