FAKE RONJAN!!Marginal mayhem! A Warriors follow-up
Since our last post, the Golden State Warriors have emerged victorious four more times and have extended their historical start to 22-0. Their scoring margin on the season is now +327, which would continue to be a 3-pt-era record for the NBA.
That got us thinking - which NBA team holds the record for season scoring margin at each stage of the season? We did the research (thanks again, basketball-reference!) and painstakingly noted the historical 3-pt-era leader for cumulative margin after each game.
Several teams held the record for at least one stage, including some random squads like the 1982-83 Seattle Supersonics, 1987-88 Denver Nuggets, 1991-92 Golden State Warriors, and the 2004-05 Phoenix Suns. A few eventual finalists or champions had longer stints on top, such as the 1993-94 Seattle Supersonics, 2007-08 Boston Celtics, and 2008-09 Los Angeles Lakers.
For nearly 80% of the season, though one of two teams held the historical lead: the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls, who finished 72-10, and the 1996-97 Bulls, who were nearly as strong at 69-13.
It certainly makes sense that the two best records in NBA history have the two best scoring margins, but I was surprised to see that the 1996-97 version team actually started off much stronger than the 1995-96 version. The 1995-96 team finished on a roll and ultimately beat out the 1996-97 squad by a wide margin of 1,004 to 886, but it took a late-season run to pull it off.
I graphed out the historical scoring margin builds for the 1995-96 Bulls, the 1996-97 Bulls, this year's Warriors, and a dashed line for the record at each stage.
The Warriors are off to a fantastic, historic start. But if they want to break the record for scoring margin, they will have to hold off two historically great teams and maintain their torrid pace!
-rj