The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced today that Golden State Warriors Legend and Community Ambassador Alvin Attles has been elected as part of the Class of 2019.
Attles, 82, joined the Philadelphia Warriors in 1960 as the club’s fifth-round draft choice and has been affiliated with the franchise ever since, a span of nearly 60 years that represents the longest active stint with a single franchise in the NBA. He is one of only six players in Warriors history to have his number retired (#16), along with Rick Barry (#24), Wilt Chamberlain (#13), Tom Meschery (#14), Chris Mullin (#17) and Nate Thurmond (#42).
“Our entire organization is elated for Alvin and his call to the Hall,” said Warriors Owner Joe Lacob. “Alvin’s name has become synonymous with the Warriors franchise after dedicating his entire adult life to our organization, dating clear back to our final seasons in Philadelphia. He has flourished in every role and responsibility over the last 60 years, from player to coach to general manager and, most recently, as an ambassador. And, he’s done it with an incredible amount of class and humility. I could not think of a person more deserving of this honor. We look forward to his special day in Springfield in September.”
Attles enjoyed an 11-year playing career with the Warriors, averaging 8.9 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 711 regular-season games and spending the final two years as the club’s player/coach. The North Carolina A&T product amassed a regular-season coaching record of 557-518 (.518) at the helm of the Warriors during his 13-plus year coaching career, the most wins by a head coach in franchise history, and guided Golden State to its first championship in the team’s West Coast Era with a 4-0 series sweep over the Washington Bullets in the 1975 NBA Finals. Attles completed his coaching career at the conclusion of the 1982-83 campaign to become the Warriors’ general manager, heading the team’s basketball operations for three years.
In August 2014, Attles was honored by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame with the John W. Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award. The award, which is the most prestigious of its kind presented by the Hall of Fame outside of enshrinement, honors coaches, players and contributors whose outstanding accomplishments have impacted the game of basketball. In 2017, Attles was named a co-recipient of the 2017 National Basketball Coaches Association’s Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award, which honors coaches whose bodies of work have had a positive and powerful impact on the NBA coaching profession. Attles’ endless contributions as a player, executive and civic leader also led to his induction into the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame in 1993.
The Class of 2019 will be enshrined during festivities in Springfield, Mass. on Friday, September 6.
