Democracy Dies in Darkness

Al Attles, longtime Warriors player, coach and executive, dies at 87

Attles, who was involved with the team since 1960 when it was still based in Philadelphia, remains the winningest coach in franchise history.

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Al Attles, center, and Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry shake hands after Game 5 of the NBA basketball Western Conference finals against the Houston Rockets in Oakland, Calif. in 2015. (Ben Margot/AP)
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Alvin Attles, the Basketball Hall of Famer who served as a player, coach and general manager for the Philadelphia and San Francisco/Golden State Warriors, died Tuesday at 87. The team announced his death Wednesday.

“Alvin Attles did not just epitomize what it meant to be a Warrior — he was Mr. Warrior,” the team said in a statement. “His tenacious playing style earned him the affectionate nickname of ‘The Destroyer’ on the court, but it was his gentle soul, grace and humility off the court that served as a guiding light for the organization for more than six decades.”

A 6-foot guard from Newark, Attles played at historically Black North Carolina A&T before the Warriors, then based in Philadelphia, selected him in the fifth round of the 1960 NBA draft. As a player, he averaged 8.9 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists over 711 regular season games in 11 seasons with the franchise. He was the team’s second-leading scorer on the night in 1962 when Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points; Attles finished the 169-147 win over the New York Knicks with 17 points.

Attles began his run as the Warriors’ head coach during the final two years of his playing career, which came after the franchise’s move to the Bay Area in 1962. He took over as head coach midway through the 1969-70 season, becoming one of the first Black head coaches in the NBA.

Attles remained the team’s coach after his 1971 retirement as a player and oversaw a sweep of the Washington Bullets for the 1974-75 NBA title. The following season, he led the team to a career-best 59 wins. Over 14 seasons, he became the franchise’s winningest coach, posting 557 victories and a .518 winning percentage. Current Warriors coach Steve Kerr ranks second in franchise history with 519 wins.

He transitioned to the front office in 1983 when he took over as general manager, a role he held for three seasons. Attles was most recently an ambassador for the team. His more than 60 years of service to the franchise represents the longest stint with a team for anyone in NBA history.

“Most of the great organizations with a lot of history have one player who everybody associates with that franchise,” Kerr said in a statement. “Al Attles is that guy for us. He’s the face of our franchise for many generations of Warriors fans. We’re lucky to have him.”

Attles’s No. 16 hangs in the rafters at Chase Center in San Francisco; he is one of six Warriors to have his jersey number retired. He was inducted to the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame in 1993 and was a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame’s Class of 2019.

“As a player, coach, general manager, ambassador, and most of all, as a person, Alvin set the standards of professionalism and class by which we all strive to achieve,” the Warriors said in their statement. “He leaves behind a profound legacy within the game of basketball and the Bay Area community, but especially as a family man and humanitarian. We mourn his loss alongside his wife, Wilhelmina, son Alvin, and all who knew and loved him.”