Warriors icon and Hall of Famer Alvin Attles dies after more than 60 years with the franchise
Alvin Attles, a member of the Golden State Warriors Hall of Fame, died on Tuesday at the age of 87.
The Warriors announced his death on Wednesday. A cause of death was not given.
Attles joined the then Philadelphia Warriors as a player in 1960. He spent the next 60-plus years of his life in various capacities for the franchise, including head coach and general manager. His time with the Warriors was the longest time any person has spent with a single franchise in NBA history.
Nicknamed “The Destroyer” as a player, Attles was an enforcer for the Warriors for 11 seasons from 1960 to 1971. He played alongside Wilt Chamberlain for five of those seasons and was the team’s second-leading scorer with 17 points in Chamberlain’s 100-point game in 1962. Despite his stature as a 6-foot-3, 175-pound guard, he earned his reputation as an enforcer and disruptor.
“Alvin Attles not only embodied what it meant to be a warrior – he was Mr. Warrior,” a team statement said. “His tenacious style of play earned him the affectionate nickname ‘The Destroyer’ on the court, but it was his gentle soul, grace and humility off the court that served as a shining example to the organization for more than six decades.”
Attles remained with the Warriors when they moved to the Bay Area in 1962 and until his retirement in 1971. Over the course of his career, he averaged 8.9 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists.
Attles spent his final four seasons as a player-coach – two as an assistant and then two as head coach beginning in 1969. He remained on the sidelines as head coach until the 1982-83 season, a period that spanned 14 seasons in that role.
Attles coached the Warriors in 1974-75, winning the NBA championship. A team that included Hall of Famers Rick Barry and Jamaal Wilkes swept the Washington Bullets of Elvin Hayes and Wes Unseld in the 1975 NBA Finals.
“The loss of my mentor and friend weighs heavily on my heart today,” Barry said in a team statement Wednesday. “We shared so many wonderful and unforgettable moments together. My thoughts and prayers are with his wife Wilhelmina and his entire family. He will be greatly missed.”
Attles resigned as head coach in 1983 and assumed the role of the team’s general manager. As head coach, he led the Warriors to a 557-518 record, including six playoff appearances. He remains the franchise’s all-time leader in wins as a coach.
Attles served as general manager for three seasons and drafted Warriors Hall of Fame icon Chris Mullin (pick No. 7, 1985) in that position.
He worked in a variety of roles for the franchise, including vice president, consultant and ambassador. In 2014, the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame honored Attles with the John W. Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award. Five years later, he was officially inducted into the Hall of Fame. His number 16 is one of six jerseys retired by the Warriors and hangs in the rafters of the Chase Center alongside those of Chamberlain, Barry, Mullin, Nate Thurmond and Tom Meschery.
A fixture in the stands at home games during the franchise’s recent run to four NBA titles led by Stephen Curry and during the team’s subsequent championship celebrations, Attles was and remains synonymous with the Warriors.
