Al Attles, a Hall of Famer who coached the 1975 NBA championship Warriors and spent more than six decades with the organization as a player, general manager and most recently as a team ambassador, has died. He was 87.

The Warriors announced Wednesday that Attles died Tuesday at his home in the San Francisco Bay Area surrounded by family. The team did not disclose the cause of death.

He was nicknamed “The Destroyer” because of his physical style of play. The Warriors were his first love and only team after the team, then in Philadelphia, selected him in the fifth round of the 1960 draft. It is the longest time with a single franchise for one person in league history. The 6-foot-1 guard averaged 8.9 points, 3.5 assists and 3.5 rebounds in 711 games with the Warriors over 11 seasons, and his number 16 jersey was retired by the franchise.

“Alvin leaves behind a profound legacy in basketball and the Bay Area community, but most importantly as a family man and philanthropist,” the Warriors said in a statement. “We mourn his passing, along with his wife Wilhelmina, his son Alvin and all who knew and loved him.”

Attles, one of the first black head coaches in the NBA, witnessed some of the greatest games of various eras. He played in Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point game for the Philadelphia Warriors in Hershey, Pennsylvania on March 2, 1962, when Attles made all eight of his field goal attempts and scored 17 points.

He also coached Hall of Famer Rick Barry the day he scored 64 points against Portland on March 26, 1974, and watched Klay Thompson score 60 points in three quarters in December 2016.

“I am saddened today by the loss of my mentor and friend. Al was my roommate during my rookie season in the league. He taught me valuable lessons about being a professional that cannot be learned on the field,” Barry said in a statement released by the Warriors. “Later, as our coach during the 1975 championship season, he exemplified the leadership, unity and keen strategic skills that enabled us to succeed at the highest level.”

Attles coached the Warriors from 1970 to 1983, leading them to the 1975 NBA championship with a four-game sweep of the Washington Bullets. His 557 wins as a coach are the most in franchise history. He later served as general manager for three seasons and held front office positions as vice president and consultant.

He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a member of the class of 2019. Attles was previously honored by the Hall of Fame with the John R. Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014.

“Most great organizations with a lot of history have a player that everyone associates with that franchise,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “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 never compared all the great achievements that he loved to witness up close. Different basketball eras, different challenges. So many special milestones that are worth celebrating and honoring, he emphasized.

“I saw a 100-point game,” Attles said from his seat during a late timeout on Thompson’s big night. “Rick was such a great player and he was all about winning. To score as many points as he did, you need the help of your teammates. I try to look at them individually because once you start comparing, someone is always going to be No. 2. Let’s give him credit.”

Attles joked that he threw passes to Chamberlain for all those points. In fact, he had six assists, while Guy Rodgers had 20 of the team’s 39 assists in the 169-147 win over the New York Knicks.

“I think 50,” Attles said with a chuckle about his total assists in that record game. “I don’t know. And you know what? We won the game. That’s all that matters.”

“Because I played with Wilt, people always ask, ‘What do you think about Wilt scoring 100?’ I say, ‘Give him credit for what he did back then.’ It’s like apples and oranges. They’re both good fruit. It’s a matter of what you like. I was very close to Wilt, but you have to enjoy what they did that night. I’m happy for any great performance.”

After missing most of the 2018-19 season – his smiling face a reliable presence at the team’s former Oracle Arena – Attles returned to cheers and fanfare for Game 4 of the 2019 NBA Finals against the Toronto Raptors.

It wasn’t the same when Attles was gone.

Former center Clifford Ray viewed Attles as a “father figure to all of us,” noting that black NBA players often felt more comfortable learning from the coach because of their similar cultural backgrounds.

“He made things simple and simplified,” Ray said. “He also didn’t burden us with a lot of technical stuff and paperwork. It was very structured. We knew what we were doing.”

Born on November 7, 1936, in Newark, New Jersey, Attles received the National Basketball Coaches Association’s Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017. He was inducted into the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame in 1993.

“Alvin’s name has become synonymous with the Warriors franchise after dedicating his entire adult life to our organization, beginning with our final seasons in Philadelphia,” Warriors owner Joe Lacob said in announcing Attles’ Hall of Fame induction. “He has thrived in every role and responsibility over the past 60 years, from player to coach to general manager and most recently as ambassador. And he has done it with incredible class and humility.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.