OAKLAND, Calif. — Al Attles, a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame who coached the Golden State Warriors to the 1975 NBA championship and spent more than six decades with the organization as a player, general manager and most recently team ambassador, has died. He was 87.
The Warriors announced Wednesday that Attles died in his East Bay home a day earlier, surrounded by family. The team did not disclose a cause of death.
Nicknamed “The Destroyer” for his physical style of play, the Warriors were his love and his only team after they selected him in the fifth round of the 1960 draft. He remained employed by Golden State until his death, with his 64-year stint the longest with a single franchise for one person in NBA history.
Attles, one of the first Black head coaches in the league, was witness to some of the greatest games spanning different eras. He played in Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point game for the Philadelphia Warriors in Hershey, Pennsylvania, on March 2, 1962. Attles made all eight of his field-goal tries for 17 points.
He also coached Hall of Fame player Rick Barry the day he scored 64 against the Portland Trail Blazers on March 26, 1974, then watched Klay Thompson drop 60 points over three quarters in December 2016.