Alvin Attles to receive Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award

Player, Coach, Executive, Alvin Attles has been selected to receive the 2014 John W. Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award by The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, announced today at NBA All-Star weekend.

The Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award was instituted by the Board of Trustees of the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1973 and is the most prestigious award presented by the Hall of Fame outside of Enshrinement. Named in honor of Hall of Famer John W. Bunn (Class of 1964), the first chairman of the Basketball Hall of Fame Committee who served from 1949-1964, the award honors coaches, players and contributors whose outstanding accomplishments have impacted the high school, college, professional or International game.

“Alvin Attles contributed over 50 years to the Warriors and to the game of basketball, making him the perfect recipient of this year’s John W. Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award,” said John L. Doleva, President and CEO of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. “He impacted the lives of so many as a player, coach, ambassador and executive during his NBA tenure. We are honored to recognize Coach Attles with this prestigious award.”

Attles, spent more than 50 consecutive years with the Golden State Warriors as player, player-coach, coach, general manager, vice-president and consultant. He led the Warriors to West Coast version’s first and only NBA Championship (1975), the first time two African American head coaches faced off in the finals.

He attended North Carolina A&T State University from 1956-1960 later going on to play for the NBA’s Philadelphia Warriors from 1960-62. After his short stint in Philadelphia, Attles moved with the team to San Francisco/Golden State where he joined the team at the end of the 1962 season until 1971. During his time as a player with the Warriors, Attles recorded 6,328 points, 2463 rebounds and 2,483 assists in eleven NBA seasons. Being one of only five Warriors players to have his number retired.

Concluding his playing career, Attles later became one of the first African American coaches in the NBA when he was named player-coach for the warriors during the 1969-70 season. He coached the Warriors until 1983, compiling a record of 557-518 (.518). Attles became the winningest coach in Warriors history, leading them to two Pacific Division Titles (1975,1976) and recording seven consecutive winning seasons (1971-78). He coached the Western Conference All-Star team in 1975 and 1976, later becoming the general manager of the Warriors from 1983-86. Attles serves as the community-relations ambassador for the Warriors.

- Basketball Hall of Fame Press Release