Corridor of Famer Al Attles spent over 60 years with the Warriors group as a participant, normal supervisor and crew ambassador and he handed away on the age of 87 on Wednesday, the crew introduced.
“Alvin leaves behind a profound legacy inside the sport of basketball and the Bay Space group, however particularly as a household man and humanitarian,” the Warriors mentioned in a press release. “We mourn his loss alongside his spouse, Wilhelmina, son Alvin, and all who knew and cherished him.”
The Warriors chosen Attles within the fifth spherical of the 1960 draft and the guard averaged 8.9 factors, 3.5 assists and three.5 rebounds in 711 video games with the Warriors over 11 seasons. His No. 16 jersey was retired by the franchise.
He additionally tried his hand at teaching and have become one of many first Black coaches within the league.
He coached Corridor of Famer Rick Barry when he dropped 64 factors in opposition to Portland on March 26, 1974.
“My coronary heart is heavy right this moment with the lack of my mentor and good friend. Al was my roommate throughout my rookie season within the league. He taught me helpful classes on being knowledgeable that couldn’t be realized on the court docket,” Barry mentioned in a press release launched by the Warriors. “Later, as our coach through the 1975 championship season, he exemplified management, togetherness and a eager strategic capability that enabled us to succeed on the highest stage.”
The Golden State legend coached the Warriors from 1970 to 1983 and led the franchise to the 1975 NBA championship with a four-game sweep of the Washington Bullets.
Attles notched 577 teaching wins – probably the most in franchise historical past.
Later, he served as normal supervisor for 3 seasons and held varied entrance workplace roles together with vp and marketing consultant.
He was enshrined within the Naismith Memorial Basketball Corridor of Fame in 2019.
“A lot of the nice organizations with a whole lot of historical past have one participant who everyone associates with that franchise,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr mentioned. “Al Attles is that man for us. He’s the face of our franchise for a lot of generations of Warriors followers. We’re fortunate to have him.”
READ MORE: Damian Lillard Opens Up About Difficult First Season With Bucks
