Kobe Bryant says the Warriors can break the Lakers' all-time win streak record
Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant isn't one to dole out high praise, but he had no choice but to compliment the Golden State Warriors after they crushed the Lakers, 111-77, to move to 16-0 and set the NBA record for most consecutive wins to start the season.
When asked if he feels the Warriors could break the 1971-72 Lakers' all-time streak of 33 straight victories, Bryant said he could see it happening given how well Golden State is playing.
“Yeah, they could do it – because they’re good,” Bryant told USA Today Sports. “It’s a very young league, and they’ve managed to put together a team of extremely intelligent players and extremely versatile players, and great shooters. And so I see no reason why they couldn’t continue to extend (the record).”
Bryant -- who enjoyed 16- and 19-game win streaks with the Lakers during the 1999-2000 season, en route to a 67-15 season and the first of the Lakers' three championships to start the millennium -- understands that to sustain such streaks and, in the Warriors' case defend a championship, a team must go through some internal conflict that keeps it hungry and motivated when certain games seem boring.
“The challenge for them is going to be conflict,” Bryant said. “You’ve got to have some kind of internal conflict (on a team) that keeps the team on edge, you know what I mean? Because if not then it just becomes so easy. You kind of coast, and you kind of fall into a malaise. (Warriors forward) Draymond (Green) seems to be the guy who really drives the team every day in practice, and so they’re going to need to have some type of challenge internally to push themselves.
“The hardest part about defending is complacency, which doesn’t seem to be a problem. And then you have to have health…But they have the players to do (break the winning streak and defend their title). They have the system to do it, and they have the hunger to do it. So it’s just a matter of going out there and playing.”
The 2012-13 Miami Heat, who were also defending a title, came the closest to breaking the '72 Lakers' record, winning 27 games in a row. The Warriors could certainly pass that record, at the very least. Their next 12 games: at Phoenix, vs. Sacramento, at Utah, at Charlotte, at Toronto, at Brooklyn, at Indiana, at Boston, at Milwaukee, vs. Phoenix, vs. Bucks, and vs. Jazz. The games in Phoenix, Utah, Toronto, Indiana, and Boston will be tough, but the Warriors should still be considerable favorites. There is no "elite" team in that stretch.
If they win their next 12 games, the Dubs will be 28-0 heading into their Christmas Day matchup with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Imagine how fun that would be.
(h/t ProBasketballTalk)
