Golden State Warriors set franchise record with 17th consecutive win

The Golden State Warriors continued to make history tonight in Phoenix as they won their 17th consecutive game, a single-season franchise record for consecutive wins at any point in a season.

The 2015-16 Warriors essentially broke the record they had set as the previous franchise record of 16 consecutive wins was set just last season (Nov. 13-Dec. 14, 2014), which also means the Warriors became the first NBA team to have 16 consecutive wins in two consecutive seasons.

Looking over both this season and last, the Warriors have now won 21 consecutive regular season games, which technically puts them just 12 behind the 1971-72 L.A. Lakers for the NBA record of consecutive wins with 33. The NBA counts both single-season and multi-season records so both our valid, but clearly the 17-0 start is something to admire on its own terms.

It almost seems like a minor footnote with all the attention given to their NBA record 16-0 start to the 2015-16 season, but it's yet another way to put in perspective just how good this team is: this is completely uncharted territory for almost anyone at this point.

In addition to the franchise mark, the Warriors have also set a new standard for hot starts in modern U.S. pro sports — 17 wins is the most consecutive wins for any team in active U.S. pro sports history, based on data reported by Kate Feldman of the New York Daily News.

Although it's not easy to find a comprehensive list of the best starts in U.S. pro sports history — for example, most lists don't mention that the 2002 Dallas Mavericks' 14-0 record is better than any team ever in four other leagues — here's the list of top regular season starts among current established U.S. pro sports leagues:

The best starts in U.S. pro sports history (data collected from CBS Seattle, ESPN, & N.Y. Daily News)

It would be nice to keep on going and pass the St. Louis Maroons for the best ever start without qualifiers, but that's hardly even the point — this kind of dominance to begin a season is extremely rare in sports. The Warriors are doing something that groups of human beings just have not accomplished. Again, it's hard to overstate the fact that we need to just sit back and enjoy this run, this team, and this march to blaze a new trail through history.

For more reactions to tonight's win, check out the homepage here at Golden State of Mind.