Golden State Warrior & NBA Icon Al Attles Passes Away

The Warriors honored Al Attles in 2017 during Al Attles bobblehead knight & Steph Curry bought him a new suit to thank him for his support.Photo bywww.bluemanhoop.com website

Al Attles, the renegade hardnosed coach and player for the Golden State Warriors, has passed away. He was 87 years old. He played in the NBA for 11 years, and in his last season, he was a player and coach until he quit coaching the team in 1983. He was with the Warriors as a player, coach, general manager, and ambassador for over 60 years. He was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2019. Wilt Chamberlain once said he was a man of character, and everyone liked Al Attles.

From his deep, grave voice to his aggressiveness and toughness on and off the court, the Warriors legend was an inspiration to a lot of people that came through Golden State. He was a tough defender and a solid scorer. He once got into a fight and hit a player in the jaw. His nickname was Destroyer due to his physical play on defense.

As head coach, he led one of the biggest upsets in NBA history. In 1968, he was announced as a player and an assistant coach until he took over for the 1969–70 season.

His ultimate prize was won when the 1974-75 Golden State Warriors, led by Hall of Famer Rick Barry, stunned the media and the basketball world by not only beating the heavily favored Washington Bullets, but they swept Washington 4 games to 0. At that time, most of the major media outlets heavily favored the east coast teams because most were east of the Mississippi.

The Warriors public relations department sent out a response to his passing with quotes from fellow Hall of Fame players Rick Barry and Chris Mullin. Many called him Mr. Warrior, and his loss will be felt around the NBA and especially in the entire San Francisco Bay Area, especially Oakland.