Alvin Austin Attles Jr. (born November 7, 1936) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player and coach best known for his longtime association with the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...

. Nicknamed the "Destroyer", he played the point guard position and spent his entire 11 seasons (1960–1971) in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball sports league, league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues i ...

(NBA) with the team, joining it when it was still based in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

and following it to the Bay Area in 1962. He took over as

player-coach A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...

for the last season of his career, and remained as head coach until 1983 (save for 21 games in 1980).

Early life

He is a graduate of

Weequahic High School Weequahic High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades, located in the Weequahic section of Newark in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. The school is operated by the Newar ...

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat, seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County and the second largest city within the New Yo ...

and

North Carolina A&T State University North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (also known as North Carolina A&T State University, North Carolina A&T, N.C. A&T, or simply A&T) is a public, historically black land-grant research university in Greensboro, North Caro ...

. He has a bachelor's degree in Physical Education and History along with a master's degree in Curriculum and Instruction. He intended to return to Newark and coach at his local junior high school when he was drafted by the Warriors. He initially declined before accepting and going to training camp.

Playing career

Attles joined the then-Philadelphia Warriors in 1960. On March 2, 1962, he was the team's second-leading scorer with 17 points on the night Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points. There is a probably apocryphal story to the effect that one of the sportswriters covering the game began his filing with the

lede Lede may refer to: * Lead paragraph (US English), the first paragraph of a composition Places * Lede, Belgium, a municipality in Flanders * Lède, a river in France * Lede Formation, a geologic formation in Belgium People * Marquess of Lede ...

"HERSHEY, Pa. – Wilt Chamberlain and Al Attles combined for 117 points last night as the Philadelphia Warriors defeated the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

169–147." Attles moved with the team to the Bay Area at the end of the 1962 season, playing until 1971. Attles was known as "The Destroyer" due to his defensive specialities along with once punching a player in the jaw. He was a role player on the 1964 Warriors team (with

Wilt Chamberlain Wilton Norman Chamberlain (; August 21, 1936 – October 12, 1999) was an American professional basketball player who played as a center. Standing at tall, he played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 14 years and is widely reg ...

and Guy Rodgers) that made the

NBA Finals The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is a ...

and eventually lost the championship series to the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

, four games to one. Attles also played on the Warriors' 1967 team that lost to Chamberlain's 68–13

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Ea ...

in an evenly matched, six-game championship series.

Coaching career

Attles became an assistant coach in 1968, while still a player. He was named player-coach of the Warriors midway through the 1969–70 season, succeeding George Lee. He was one of the first African-American head coaches in the NBA. He retired as a player after the 1970–71 season, and stayed on as head coach, guiding the Rick Barry-led Warriors to the 1975 NBA championship over the heavily favored

Washington Bullets The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays ...

, making him the second African-American coach to win an NBA title (the first was

Bill Russell William Felton Russell (February 12, 1934 – July 31, 2022) was an American professional basketball player who played as a center for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1956 to 1969. A five-time NBA Most Va ...

). Attles's team tried to repeat the following season, but they lost to the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...

in the

Conference Finals Conference Finals may refer to: * NBA Conference Finals, National Basketball Association * NHL Conference Finals, National Hockey League * KHL Conference Finals The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) Conference Finals are the Eastern Conference and We ...

in seven games. The team would make the playoffs only once more for the remainder of his tenure as coach. Attles was replaced by

Johnny Bach John William Bach (July 10, 1924 – January 18, 2016) was an American professional basketball player and coach. A forward/ guard, Bach played college basketball at Fordham University and Brown University. He was selected by the Boston Celtics ...

for the last 21 games of the 1979–80 NBA season (a season in which the Warriors finished tied for last place), though he returned for the next season (Bach would become Attles's permanent successor after 1983). Attles coached the Warriors until 1983, compiling a 557–518 regular-season record (588–548 including playoffs) with six playoff appearances in 14 seasons. During the

1983–84 NBA season The 1983–84 NBA season was the 38th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Boston Celtics winning the NBA Championship, beating the Los Angeles Lakers 4 games to 3 for the second time since 1969 in the NBA Fi ...

, Attles worked as the Warriors' general manager. He is the longest-serving coach in Warriors history, and also has the most wins in franchise history.

Honors

In 2014, Attles was the recipient of the John W. Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award—an annual basketball award given by the

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pres ...

to an individual who has contributed significantly to the sport of basketball, the award is the highest and the most prestigious honor presented by the Basketball Hall of Fame other than enshrinement. Attles's number 16 is retired by the Warriors and he attends every Warriors home game. He also serves as a team ambassador. On February 7, 2015, Attles's number 22 was retired by North Carolina A&T, the first ever retired by the team. He was inducted into the

Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame The Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame honors sports figures who have made a significant impact in the San Francisco Bay Area. The organization is a 501(c)(3) organization, section 501(c)(3) nonprofit that was created by the San Francisco Chamber of Comme ...

in 1993. Attles has been on the Warriors' payroll in one capacity or another for 62 years, the longest uninterrupted streak of any person for one team. He is one of the last living members of the franchise who dates to their time in Philadelphia. On April 6, 2019, Attles was chosen as a member of the

Personal life

Attles is

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Head coaching record

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San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

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NBA Championship The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is a ...

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References

External links

Basketball-Reference.com: Al Attles (as coach)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Attles, Al 1936 births Living people African-American basketball coaches African-American basketball players African-American sports executives and administrators American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players American sports executives and administrators Basketball coaches from New Jersey Basketball players from Newark, New Jersey Golden State Warriors head coaches Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees National Basketball Association championship-winning head coaches National Basketball Association players with retired numbers North Carolina A&T Aggies men's basketball players Philadelphia Warriors draft picks Philadelphia Warriors players Player-coaches Point guards San Francisco Warriors head coaches San Francisco Warriors players Weequahic High School alumni African-American Catholics 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople