The Golden State Warriors, who currently own an NBA-best 54-14 (.794) record this season, have clinched the 2016-17 Pacific Division title, earning three consecutive division crowns for the first time in franchise history (2014-15, 2015-16, 2016-17). Golden State has earned the franchise’s fifth Pacific Division title since the NBA began using the current divisional format in 1970-71. Warriors Head Coach Steve Kerr joins Pat Riley and Rick Carlisle as the only coaches to win division titles in each of their first three seasons as a head coach, per the Elias Sports Bureau. Among the four major professional sports leagues, the Warriors are the first Bay Area team to earn three consecutive division crowns since the San Jose Sharks won four-straight Pacific Division titles from 2007-08 to 2010-11.
The Warriors, who are slated to make their fifth-straight playoff appearance for the first time since qualifying for the postseason in each of the first six years of the league’s existence (1946-47 to 1951-52), won the 2015 NBA Championship and earned two Western Conference Championships since their return to the playoffs in 2013. Golden State owns a 40-24 (.625) postseason record in that span.