Andrew Bogut and his Golden State Warriors have set a piece of NBA history that may never be broken.
In the paint: Minnesota Timberwolves rookie Karl-Anthony Towns shoots over Golden State Warriors veteran Andrew Bogut. Photo: AP
But in the chaotic world of the NBA play-offs they have no time to celebrate it beyond a few high fives and a lot of media and fan commitments.
The Warriors broke the NBA record for regular season wins on Friday [Australian time] by beating Memphis Grizzlies setting a 73-8 win-loss mark which passed Michael Jordan's 1995-1996 Chicago Bulls' 72-9 record.
Bogut's team is only the second to pass 70 wins since the NBA schedule went to 81 games in the mid-1960s and one of only 19 teams to pass 65 wins.
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The 72-win Bulls looked safe at the top of the tree with many NBA people believing no team would ever have the consistency, drive and endurance to beat it.
But with NBA most valuable player Steph Curry, all-stars Klay Thompson and Draymond Green plus Bogut holding down the centre position, the Warriors took down the record and did so with none of their stars averaging more than 34 minutes each game.
The Warriors start their run for a second-straight NBA championship when the NBA play-offs begin early Sunday morning and the NBA TV gods have handed them a rare afternoon tip-off (US time) for game one of their Western conference first round series against the Houston Rockets.
This unusual start for the Warriors hammers home the point that there is no room for celebrating history when the business end of the NBA season arrives.
"We didn't have much time to reflect on what we have done because we have a Houston team coming in here for an early-start game tomorrow, which is 12.30pm, and then the silly season begins again," Bogut said on Saturday.
"They don't leave you any time to reflect on what you have done until the last game and hopefully we are there in late June and have a chance to win another championship - then we can have a few beers as a team and reflect on it all."
Indeed Bogut thinks his side has only taken in the "circus" of their record-breaking run and had no way to understand the significance of beating Chicago's "unbeataBulls" record.
"It's so hard to reflect mid-season and we will have an Olympics right around the corner when the season finishes so I'll have to re-focus for that," Bogut said.
"But a lot of us will appreciate this a lot more once we are done playing which is a sad thing to say.
"When you are in the moment you just focus on the next thing and get your body and mind right for the next game - we probably should appreciate it more than we do but the nature of the league is there is always something on the horizon.
"I reckon as each of our careers end, whether that's five or 10 years from now, then you will reflect back on it and think 'wow'."
The Houston series will provide a tough opening for the Warriors' attempt at the championship as, despite being one of the NBA's most dysfunctional teams, they still marshalled the talents of superstars James Harden and Dwight Howard to earn the eighth and last place in the play-offs.
Bogut will take a major defensive role in the series as he faces off with Howard, a 211-centimetre power athlete with a huge wingspan and knack for big dunks and painful elbows.
"You try to make life tough for him, make sure he doesn't get any easy dunks or baskets," Bogut said.
"We will be making him use his touch around the basket and use his hooks from five or six feet from the basket - if he is making them then he's making them but that's our mindset with him."
Bogut added Harden had to be kept off the foul line after leading the league in free-throw attempts.
If the Warriors take down the Rockets as expected and eventually make the western conference finals they could well find themselves against the San Antonio Spurs and fellow Australian Patty Mills.
The Spurs have qualified second in the conference and won 67 games but still managed to duck much media attention while Mills has enjoyed an exceptional campaign as the team's back-up point guard.
The Spurs will play the Grizzlies in their first round starting on Monday at 10am (Australian time).
In the eastern conference Lebron James' Cleveland Cavaliers are the No.1 seed and Maryborough's Matthew Dellavedova will be playing key minutes as their club attempts to make it back to the NBA finals after losing to the Warriors last season.
The Cavs will play the Detroit Pistons, including Australian centre Aron Baynes, with their series tipping off in Cleveland on Monday morning at 5am.
There is a very good chance we will see one or more of those Australians in the NBA finals once more.
NBA Play-offs match-ups 2015-2016
Eastern Conference
Cleveland Cavaliers (1) v Detroit Pistons (8)
Toronto Raptors (2) v Indiana Pacers (7)
Miami Heat (3) v Charlotte Hornets (6)
Atlanta Hawks (4) v Boston Celtics (5)
Western Conference
Golden State Warriors (1) v Houston Rockets (8)
San Antonio Spurs (2) v Memphis Grizzlies (7)
Oklahoma City Thunder (3) v Dallas Mavericks (6)
Los Angeles Clippers (4) v Portland Trail Blazers (5)