2015-16 Golden State Warriors vs.1995-96 Chicago Bulls

Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Joe Calabro, GoLocalWorcester Sports Team & Graphiq

Michael Jordan

The Golden State Warriors are on the verge of locking up the best record in NBA history at 73-9 if they beat Memphis tonight at Oracle Arena.

The Warriors of course would break the record currently held by the 95-96 Chicago Bulls who went 72-10 and closed out the year with the first of three straight NBA Titles.

Whether the Warriors break the record or not is yet to be determined, but one way or the other these two teams will be forever linked in NBA history.

With that said, much of the talk over the last couple of days has been about this Warriors teams verse the 95-96 Bulls. Who would win in a game? Who would win in a series?

While that is a debate that will go on forever in sports bars everywhere, GoLocal teamed with Graphiq to compare the two teams stats, rosters and more.

Golden State vs. Chicago

Data curated by PointAfter

When looking at overall team stats the Warriors outscore the Bulls 115 (rounded up) to 105 on average, however the two teams are nearly equal in field goal percentage and nearly equal in rebounding.

Steph Curry

Golden State has a big advantage in three-point shooting, having made 1,057 compared to Chicago who made 544 threes.

The Bulls have an advantage in steals, 745-682 while Golden State wins the blocked shot battle.

Clicking on team leaders (more on them later) but what jumps out is Dennis Rodman averaged 15 rebounds per game, compared to Draymond Green who averages 9.5.

Rodman is one of the great defensive players and rebounders of all-time, while Draymond Green is continuing to become a solid all around player, notice he also leads the team in assists.

Overall, except in a select few categories, the stats of each team match up pretty well.

The Rosters

1995-1996 Chicago Bulls Roster | PointAfter

NBA Players | PointAfter

When comparing the rosters of the two teams, Michael Jordan edges Steph Curry in the points department by the narrowest of margins. MJ averaged 30.4 points (rounding up) while Curry averages 30 points per game this season (again rounding up).

When looking at the other key players for the Bulls, Scottie Pippen averaged 19 points per game and Tony Kukoc averaged 13 points per game. Those three, Jordan, Pippen and Kukoc led the Bulls that season.

For Golden State, the two main guys behind Curry are Klay Thompson who has averaged 22 points per game this season and Draymond Green who has averaged 14 points per game.

Of course the main link between the two teams is Steve Kerr. Kerr came off the bench as a sharpshooter for Chicago and now is the coach of Golden State. He will now have a chance to break a record that he helped set.

History

Here is a look at where these two teams stand in NBA history. You won't have to look far.

Data curated by PointAfter