The 1996 Bulls vs. the 2016 Warriors: Three Point Edition

With the Warriors playing as well as they have, it's inevitable they'd be compared to the 1996 Bulls, who won 72 games. Of course, as often happens in sports, many side with nostalgia, sometimes in the face of stats. Of course, comparing two great teams from two different generations is rough. Regardless, we'll have at least a few posts on the subject. The first thing that popped into my head comparing the Bulls and Warriors was three point shooting.

You see, in 1995, the NBA reduced the three-point line to be 22 feet uniformly instead of at just the corners. And this resulted in both more efficient three-point shooting and teams taking more threes. And that's huge! The Warriors are one of the best three-point shooting teams in NBA history. How do they look compared to the 1996 season?

The Warriors are shooting almost twice as many threes per 48 minutes as the Bulls did during the "bumper lane" era of the NBA. They are also shooting better than the Bulls did! If the Warriors got a shortened three-point line or the Bulls had to shoot from further out, I'd be willing to bet that disparity would get worse!

Of course, the Bulls also had a stellar defense, a subject we'll have to revisit in more depth soon. How do the Warriors and Bulls compare in regards to guarding the perimeter?

Here's where I saw the three-point debate gets even stronger in favor of the Warriors. The Warriors hold teams to the second lowest three-point percentage behind...the Knicks? Huh, good job Knicks! The Bulls were a pretty good team at defending the perimeter. However, I'd have to say relative to their league; the Warriors are better.

Winner?

In regards to three-point shooting, regardless of the era, the 2015-2016 Warriors would thoroughly dominate the 1995-1996 Bulls in regards to three-point shooting. Of course, there are other factors to consider, and we'll likely be revisiting those shortly! Seeya next time.

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