Al Attles
1975 NBA Champion | Former Golden State Warriors Head Coach | Golden State Warriors Legend
Al Attles was born on November 7, 1936, in Newark, New Jersey. As a 6’1 guard, Attles played college basketball for the North Carolina A&T Aggies men’s basketball team, where his number 22 was retired in 2015. He later was selected with the 39th overall pick in the 5th round of the 1960 NBA Draft by the Philadelphia Warriors, where he would spend his entire playing and coaching career. From 1983 to 1986, Attles served as the Warriors’ general manager.
Attles was known as “the Destroyer” due to his defensive specialties along with once punching a player in the jaw. His number 16 is retired by the Warriors and also served as a team ambassador. He was later inducted into the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame in 1993.
During his playing career, he was a player-coach, serving under head coach George Lee as an assistant and later taking on the full-time head coaching role, resulting in winning the 1975 NBA championship and holding the record for most regular season and playoff wins until Steve Kerr surpassed both of those records. As of 2026, Attles remains as the longest serving Golden State Warriors Head Coach with 13 seasons.
Attles was on the Warriors’ payroll in one capacity or another for over 60 years, the longest stint of any person for one team. Additionally, he was one of the last living members of the franchise who dates to their time in Philadelphia.
In 2017, Attles was named a recipient of the Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award along with Hubie Brown. On April 6, 2019, Attles inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a contributor.
Coach Attles passed away on August 20, 2024, at the age of 87. Attles was working as a community relations representative at the time of his death.
Coaching Career
Al Attles started his coaching career with his longtime NBA team, the San Francisco Warriors as a player-coach under George Lee. In his first season as a player-coach, the Warriors finished with a 41–41 record, qualifying for the playoffs. They were eliminated in the Western Division semifinals by the Los Angeles Lakers in 6 games (4-2).
The following season, Coach Lee was fired after a record of 22-30, making Attles the permanent replacement. He finished with an 8-22 record, resulting in an overall team record of 30-52, missing the playoffs.
Notable Players Coached
- Nate Thurmond
- 7× NBA All-Star (1965–1968, 1970, 1973, 1974)
- 2× NBA All-Defensive First Team (1969, 1971)
- 3× NBA All-Defensive Second Team (1972–1974)
- 1964 NBA All-Rookie First Team
- 50th & 75th NBA anniversary team selections
- No. 42 retired by Golden State Warriors
- No. 42 retired by Cleveland Cavaliers
- Jerry Lucas
- 1973 NBA champion
- 7× NBA All-Star (1964–1969, 1971)
- 1965 NBA All-Star Game MVP
- 3× All-NBA First Team (1965, 1966, 1968)
- 2× All-NBA Second Team (1964, 1967)
- 1964 NBA Rookie of the Year
- 1964 NBA All-Rookie First Team
- 50th & 75th NBA anniversary team selections
- Rudy LaRusso
- 5× NBA All-Star (1962, 1963, 1966, 1968, 1969)
- 1969 NBA All-Defensive Second Team
- Jeff Mullins
- 1975 NBA champion
- 3× NBA All-Star (1969–1971)
- Jim King (1968 NBA All-Star)
- Clyde Lee (1968 NBA All-Star)
Coach Attles took on the head coach role of the San Francisco Warriors in his last season playing. In his first season as the head coach, the team finished with a 41–41 record, qualifying for the playoffs. They were eliminated in the Western semifinals by the Milwaukee Bucks in 5 games.
Starting in the 1971-1972 season, Attles fully transitioned into coaching and the Warriors were rebranded into the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors finished with a 51–31 record and were later eliminated in the semifinals again by the Milwaukee Bucks in 5 games.
In 1973, the Warriors finished with a 47–35 record, making a deep playoff run to the Western Conference Finals, but were eliminated by Bill Sharman and the Los Angeles Lakers in 5 games.
In 1975, the Warriors finished with a 48-34 record, making a deep playoff run to the NBA finals where they defeated Dick Motta and the Washington Bullets in 4 games. In game 4, Coach Attles was ejected in the first quarter, and the rest of the game was coached by assistant coach by Joe Roberts.
Coach Attles held the record for most regular season coaching wins in Warriors history with 394 until Steve Kerr passed him on March 15, 2025.
Notable Players Coached
- Rick Barry
- 1975 NBA champion
- 1975 NBA Finals MVP
- 1969 ABA champion
- 8× NBA All-Star (1966, 1967, 1973–1978)
- 1967 NBA All-Star Game MVP
- 5× All-NBA First Team (1966, 1967, 1974–1976)
- 4× ABA All-Star (1969–1972)
- 4× All-ABA First Team (1969–1972)
- 1966 NBA Rookie of the Year
- 1966 NBA All-Rookie First Team
- 1967 NBA scoring champion
- 1975 NBA steals leader
- 50th & 75th NBA anniversary team selections
- ABA All-Time Team
- No. 24 retired by Golden State Warriors
- Nate Thurmond
- 7× NBA All-Star (1965–1968, 1970, 1973, 1974)
- 2× NBA All-Defensive First Team (1969, 1971)
- 3× NBA All-Defensive Second Team (1972–1974)
- 1964 NBA All-Rookie First Team
- 50th & 75th NBA anniversary team selections
- No. 42 retired by Golden State Warriors
- No. 42 retired by Cleveland Cavaliers
- Robert Parish
- Future 4× NBA champion (1981, 1984, 1986, 1997)
- Future 9× NBA All-Star (1981–1987, 1990, 1991)
- Future 1982 All-NBA Second Team
- Future 1989 All-NBA Third Team
- 50th & 75th NBA anniversary team (50th, 75th)
- No. 00 retired by Boston Celtics
- Jerry Lucas
- 1973 NBA champion
- 7× NBA All-Star (1964–1969, 1971)
- 1965 NBA All-Star Game MVP
- 3× All-NBA First Team (1965, 1966, 1968)
- 2× All-NBA Second Team (1964, 1967)
- 1964 NBA Rookie of the Year
- 1964 NBA All-Rookie First Team
- 50th & 75th NBA anniversary team selections
- Jamaal Wilkes
- 4× NBA champion (1975, 1980, 1982, 1985)
- 3× NBA All-Star (1976, 1981, 1983)
- 2× NBA All-Defensive Second Team (1976, 1977)
- 1975 NBA Rookie of the Year
- 1975 NBA All-Rookie First Team
- No. 52 retired by Los Angeles Lakers
- Gus Williams
- 1979 NBA champion
- 2× NBA All-Star (1982, 1983)
- 1982 All-NBA First Team
- 1980 All-NBA Second Team
- 1982 NBA Comeback Player of the Year
- 1976 NBA All-Rookie First Team
- No. 1 retired by Seattle SuperSonics
- Phil Smith
- 1975 NBA champion
- 2× NBA All-Star (1976, 1977)
- 1976 All-NBA Second Team
- 1976 NBA All-Defensive Second Team
- George Johnson
- 1975 NBA champion
- 1981 NBA All-Defensive Second Team
- 3× NBA blocks leader (1978, 1981, 1982)
- Jeff Mullins
- 1975 NBA champion
- 3× NBA All-Star (1969–1971)
- Cazzie Russell
- 1970 NBA champion
- 1972 NBA All-Star
- 1967 NBA All-Rookie First Team
- Rickey Green
- Future 1984 NBA All-Star
- Future 1984 NBA steals leader
- Butch Beard
- 1975 NBA champion
- 1972 NBA All-Star
- Future NBA Head Coach
- Clyde Lee (1968 NBA All-Star)
Coach Attles returned to coaching and with the Golden State Warriors under Don Nelson and later under Bob Lainer when Nelson resigned mid-season. In his only season back with the Warriors, the team finished with a 26–56 record, missing the playoffs.
Notable Players Coached
- Chris Mullin
- 5× NBA All-Star (1989–1993)
- 1992 All-NBA First Team
- 2× All-NBA Second Team (1989, 1991)
- 1990 All-NBA Third Team
- No. 17 retired by Golden State Warriors
- Tim Hardaway
- 5× NBA All-Star (1991–1993, 1997, 1998)
- 1997 All-NBA First Team
- 3× All-NBA Second Team (1992, 1998, 1999)
- 1993 All-NBA Third Team
- 1990 NBA All-Rookie First Team
- No. 10 retired by Miami Heat
- 2006 ABA All Star-Game
- Latrell Sprewell
- 4× NBA All-Star (1994, 1995, 1997, 2001)
- 1994 All-NBA First Team
- 1994 NBA All-Defensive Second Team
- 1993 NBA All-Rookie Second Team
- Ricky Pierce
- 1991 NBA All-Star
- 2× NBA Sixth Man of the Year (1987, 1990)
- Rony Seikaly
- 1990 NBA Most Improved Player
- Tim Leger (1996 NBA Three-Point Contest champion)