Alvin Austin Attles, Jr. was born on November 7, 1936 in Newark, NJ. He attended Weequahic High School in Newark, then went on to receive a bachelor’s degree in Physical Education and History from the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in Greensboro; where he also earned a master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction
Though Attles originally intended to coach at his local junior high school after completing school, he was drafted by the then-Philadelphia Warriors basketball team in 1960.
A Perfect Fit
At the end of the 1962 season, the Warriors moved to the San Francisco Bay Area of California. During this time, they called the Newark-born star “The Destroyer,” mostly due to his outstanding defensive abilities; but also because he once punched another player in the jaw. Attles was, along with Wilt Chamberlain and Guy Rodgers, a huge part of the Warriors team; in fact, the trio pushed them to the NBA Finals in 1964 (though they lost to the Boston Celtics).
Mid-way through the 1969-70 season, Attles received the title of player-coach of the San Francisco Warriors, replacing coach George Lee and becoming one of the first African American coaches in NBA history. He aided manager Rick Barry in leading the Warriors to the 1975 NBA championship over the Washington Bullets, where Attles became only the second African American coach to win an NBA title, after Bill Russell. Attles coached the squad until the end of the 1983 season, when Johnny Bach took over permanently. The following season, Attles returned as the team’s general manager for that year. He is also the longest-serving coach in the history of the Warriors’ franchise.
Still a Fan at Heart
To this day, Attles tries to attend every Warriors home game, and the franchise has even retired his number, 16, in his honor. In 1993, Attles was inducted into the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame, and in February of 2015, his college team retired his number, 22, marking the first time the North Carolina A&T State University’s men’s basketball team has ever retired a jersey number.
Attles is a historical figure both in Warriors’ history, and NBA history as well; thanks in part to the skills and talent he picked up during his time playing basketball in NJ.
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