Author: Michelle Hernandez

It simply awaits the development of a game around it. The 73-9 basketball game, a browser-based challenge from HoopsHype that challenges fans to construct a fictional roster capable of defeating the 2015–16 Golden State Warriors, is essentially what happened. The idea seems lighthearted. The execution seems almost punitive. One sentence could adequately describe the setup. A fictitious $100 million bankroll is given to players, who then spin a wheel to choose a random team-season from 1990 to the present. They then sign one player from that roster for the amount their contract would cost under the 2026 salary cap. The…

Being an NBA fan who believes they are more knowledgeable than the record books can lead to a certain amount of stubbornness. When HoopsHype introduced the 73-9 game, a browser-based challenge that gives players a fictitious $100 million salary cap and asks them to assemble a five-man roster capable of defeating the 2015–16 Golden State Warriors, it capitalized on this stubbornness. It seems fairly straightforward. It isn’t. The mechanics are simple. A wheel rotates and lands on an arbitrary team-season taken between 1990 and the present. Whichever player you choose from that season will cost as much as their contract…

One aspect of Stephen Curry’s basketball beginnings is overlooked. His father, Dell, had played college ball at Virginia Tech, and he wanted to attend. He was accepted by Virginia Tech, but only as a walk-on and without a scholarship. Instead, Curry attended Davidson College in North Carolina, where he had the kind of run that coaches and scouts still whisper about. Curry made 122 three-pointers during his first year at Davidson. At the time, that was the most in NCAA Division I freshman history. Even more impressive was his sophomore campaign: as a No. 10 seed in the 2008 NCAA…

Seasons come and go. In the same way that most good things eventually become forgettable, they blend into the background noise of sports history with respectable records and strong rosters. The Golden State Warriors of 2015–16 are another. Despite breaking a 20-year record and finishing with 73 wins and 9 losses in 82 games, the team managed to leave the NBA Finals without a ring. This season is so difficult to let go of because of that contradiction. As the reigning champions, the Warriors came into the season with the confidence that comes from having experienced victory. Nobody, probably not…

Every time NBA money is discussed, a certain point is raised. The legendary former Miami Heat player Dwyane Wade once referred to LeBron James as the league’s stingiest player. James did not dispute it. Despite earning more than $130 million annually, the man continues to use Spotify’s free version. He travels to arenas with his own snacks. refuses to activate data roaming. Even though elite athletes have more money than most people can realistically imagine, this strange detail reveals something about how differently they view money. One of the most lucrative leagues in professional sports today is the NBA. Currently,…

This isn’t how basketball was meant to develop. The Basketball Association of America was founded in 1946 by a group of ice hockey arena owners with the simple objective of filling vacant buildings during the winter when ice wasn’t needed. Nobody in that room was considering billion-dollar franchise valuations, international television rights, or long-term sneaker deals. All they had to do was sell tickets on non-skating nights. On November 1, 1946, the NBA’s inaugural game took place at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, Canada. Ossie Schectman of the New York Knickerbockers made the first basket against the Toronto Huskies. It…

Every time someone disputes which NBA team is the best, the number 73 comes up. However, those discussions seldom touch on the real texture of that season—the little things, the details that were missed, the records that had nothing to do with basketball. Fixing that is worthwhile. Begin at the beginning. The Golden State Warriors of 2015–16 did more than just start the season strong. They had the best start in NBA history after winning their first 24 games in a row. However, the 1884 St. Louis Maroons baseball team, who had started the season 20-0, set a 131-year-old record…

Basketball is a topic of conversation that never really ends. Who is the best player in NBA history? LeBron or Jordan? Kareem or Russell? It is discussed with an intensity that seems almost out of proportion to the topic in sports bars, barbershops, and comment sections, but there is something genuinely fascinating hidden within the debate. Eleven titles were won by Bill Russell. Eleven, with the Boston Celtics for thirteen seasons. In 1957, during his rookie season, he won his first ring, and he simply continued. For comparison, Michael Jordan, who is regarded by many as the greatest player of…

A certain type of season does more than just win games; it alters people’s perceptions of what winning entails. One of those seasons was the Golden State Warriors’ 2015–16 campaign. The best regular season record in NBA history, with 73 wins and nine losses. And ten years later, that figure has taken on a new life as the focal point of a browser game that has attracted over a million players who are attempting to create something that can defeat it. The Chicago Bulls’ 1995–96 record of 72 victories was surpassed by the Warriors, who finished 73-9 under head coach…

The majority of people lose the 73-9 Game in the same manner. A legendary team-season—possibly the 1996 Bulls or the 2016 Cavaliers—lands, the wheel spins, and a well-known figure leaps off the screen. They sign him. With four roster spots still unfilled and forty-five million dollars spent in a single transaction, the remainder of the draft suddenly becomes a damage control exercise. Over a million players have completed this free browser game without cracking 73 wins because of this well-known loop. The setup is fairly simple. One $100 million budget, five spins, and five signings are all yours. You sign…