The NBA confirmed that Attles died on Tuesday surrounded by family at his home in San Francisco. NBC Bay Area Sports said he had been in hospice care.
Attles joined the Philadelphia Warriors in 1960, drafted in the fifth round and he never left the team, working one way or another for the Warriors, even when they moved to California, over 60 years. His six-decade career with a single franchise is an NBA record .
He is one of only six players to have his number retired, joining Rick Barry (#24), Wilt Chamberlain (#13), Tom Meschery (#14), Chris Mullin (17) and Nate Thurmond (#42).
Attles played for the Warriors for 11 years and had an average of 8.9 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 711 regular season games.
In his final two years as a player, he had double duty as coach.
He then moved over to coaching full-time and had the most wins by a coach in the franchise’s history. He also helped the Warriors win its first championship, sweeping the Washington Bullets in the 1975 NBA Finals. He was the second African American head coach in the league’s history to win the championship, the NBA said.
In all he coached 1,075 games, the most for the franchise.
Attles left the bench after the end of the 1982-83 season but didn’t leave the team, becoming the Warriors general manager for three years, drafting future Hall of Fame players Chris Mullin and Robert Parrish. He also served as a vice president and consultant, the NBA said.
“Alvin Attles did not just epitomize what it meant to be a Warrior—he was Mr. Warrior. 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. 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. 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,” the team said in a statement .
Attles was raised in Newark, New Jersey, and attended North Carolina A&T in Greensboro, North Carolina, earning a bachelor’s degree in physical education and a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction, NBC Bay Area Sports reported.
He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2019, the NBA said.
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