Golden State Warriors

Warriors become fastest team in NBA history to clinch a playoff berth

Published Feb. 28, 2017 6:21 p.m. ET

Cameron DaSilva

The Golden State Warriors made NBA history last season by winning 73 games, but this year’s team has already done something the 2015-16 squad never did.

With Saturday night’s win over the Brooklyn Nets, the Warriors became the fastest team to clinch a playoff berth in league history. They beat last year’s team to the mark by two days, doing so with a stellar 49-9 record.

https://twitter.com/ESPNStatsInfo/status/835743206167961600

While they may not be on pace to win as many games, the gap between the Warriors and the rest of the NBA is substantial. The West’s eighth-seeded Nuggets are below .500, owning a lackluster 26-32 record. That means the Warriors could lose every single one of their remaining 24 games and still get at worst the eighth seed.

“I’m really proud of that, to be honest,” [Klay] Thompson said, via the Mercury News. “Got here my first year and we hadn’t been in the playoffs since 2007 and, before that, since 1994. So to do it five years in a row, can’t take that for granted. An amazing feat. Hopefully we can do it until our career is over.”