Alvin Attles

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The Warriors currently hold two picks in the second round of the upcoming 2020 NBA Draft: the 48th and 51st overall selections, in addition to the No. 2 overall selection.

While most attention is paid who the team will select with their lottery selection, who the team takes in the second round can also pay huge dividends to future team success. Here’s your annual reminder that Draymond Green, a three-time NBA Champion, three-time All-Star and five-time NBA All Defensive Team honoree was indeed a second round pick. So who will the Warriors take with their next second round picks?

But as Dub Nation may know, the Warriors have had some luck finding key players in the later round of the draft in the last decade. Last offseason, the Dubs got Eric Paschall as the 41st overall pick who just finished a rookie campaign that earned him a spot on the NBA’s All Rookie First Team.

And then there is the aforementioned Green, the 35th overall pick in 2012, who played an integral part of the team’s run to five straight NBA Finals.

But what other Warriors can you name from the later rounds that have had good NBA careers?

Besides Paschall and Green, the Warriors have selected other Dubs in the later rounds of the draft who went on to win Rookie of the Year, be named Most Improved Player, earn All-NBA Team honors and even be enshrined in the Naismith Basketball Memorial Hall of Fame, to list a few accolades. Who are these Warriors from the past?

Take a look at the gallery below for a stroll through history with the franchises’ best draft selections who came after the first round:

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Best Second Round (and Later) Picks in Warriors History

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Photos: Al Attles, A Warrior Through and Through

You may remember him as the second-leading scorer the night Wilt Chamberlain dropped 100 points. You may remember him as “The Destroyer.” Or you may remember him for his fashionable suits while he coached. There is one thing, however, Dub Nation knows: there is one person who is known as the Face of the Franchise, and his name is Al Attles.

Alvin Austin Attles Jr. has been with the Warriors in one capacity or another since 1960, the longest uninterrupted streak of any person for one team. He spent the first 24 years as a player, player-coach, head coach, and general manager. He then continued to serve in a variety of capacities for the team, including administrator and dedicated community ambassador; Attles has done anything and everything for this franchise.

The 39th pick of the 1960 draft, Attles came from a small school, North Carolina A&amp;T, when many NBA teams would select players from notable universities and were unlikely to give many roster spots to African-Americans. Feeling that he was unlikely to make the team, Attles was prepared to take a job as a junior high school teacher in his hometown of Newark, N.J. He said: “I even had the keys to the classroom.”

“I went down to Philadelphia for tryouts on a lark, really. This was a team with Wilt Chamberlain, Tom Gola, Paul Arizin, some really top-line guys. It’s funny, though: After that first practice, I’m thinking, ‘I don’t know much about the league, but I can play with these guys.’”

And play with them he did, earning a spot alongside a number of future Hall of Famers, including long-time friend Wilt Chamberlain. Though his career stats may not jump off the page — 8.9 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists — he was a crucial piece for the team. In the era of enforcers, when teams had players inserted into the game to specifically disrupt other scorers and play stern defense, Attles was the one player who earned the nickname “The Destroyer.”

By no means did Attles play in a way that brought harm to fellow players. Lenny Wilkens, who played against Attles and would eventually coach against him as well, recalled: “Al wasn’t dirty. He was just on you like a glove, the whole time. He took pride in that. He wasn’t a guy to start any fights.”

The “Destroyer” nickname fit Attles’ disruptive defense and on-court play, but not the man. The late Scotty Stirling, who worked in the Warriors’ front office from 1976-82, said: “I’ve known him nearly 40 years and I’ve never heard him say one swear word. Not even a ‘damn.’ Guys would go out on the town, but Al was a loner, rarely left his hotel room… He always felt his actions spoke louder than anything he could say about it.”

In all, Attles spent 11 years playing for the team, and even moved from Philadelphia to San Francisco when others did not. He finished with 711 games played, currently the fifth most in the franchise’s history. He even managed the team as a player-coach for his final season-and-a-half, taking the role part-way through the 1969-70 campaign.

Convincing Attles to become a coach took some coaxing, though. As Bruce Jenkins once noted, Attles “turned down owner Franklin Mieuli’s offer – three times – before agreeing to replace George Lee and becoming the Warriors’ player-coach with 30 games left in the 1969-70 season.”

Yes, three times. In fact, when asked if he wanted to ever coach in an interview, Attles replied: “No, I did not like it at all, at first. If not for Mr. Mieuli, you’re not sitting over there where you are and I’m not here. He was a great man. He had to be a great man to convince me to be a coach, because I didn’t want to be a coach.”

And yet, Attles eventually accepted the player-coach role, then retired from playing in order to coach full-time beginning with the 1971-72 season.

Mieuli’s faith in Attles was not misplaced. Despite his initial refusals, Attles led the Warriors to six postseasons over 14 years, including it’s first Bay Area championship in 1975 in a sweep against a heavily-favored Washington Bullets squad, and followed that up by winning a then-franchise record 59 games in 1975-76.

One notable feat does not show up in Attles’ career highlights, achievements, and stat lines:
he was one of the first African-Americans to hold the position of head coach in any of the major professional sports, a fact that he downplayed at every opportunity.

Long-time Warriors broadcaster Jim Barnett, who played under Attles for three seasons, said: “Al is not a person who would ever remind you of that. This is an incredibly humble man who has never sought any attention whatsoever for anything he’s done. Even when they won it all in ’75, he deflected the praise. I think of class and grace when it comes to Al. I think of a gentleman.”

Attles brought a certain type of flair to coaching that was not often seen in the NBA, and not just in his fashionable shirts and suits. His focus was on the team as a whole.

Playing for Attles meant that everybody was involved; he frequently used rotations of 10-11 players, most of whom reached double-figures in minutes played. Warriors legend Rick Barry, who played both with and under Attles, put it this way: “We were a team of the highest order.”

“Everyone on that team knew that his time would come,” said Barry. “If you weren’t cutting it, someone else would get a shot. Al didn’t care who it was — and I should know.” In Game 7 of the 1975 Western Conference Finals against the Chicago Bulls, Barry, who had averaged over 30 points per game in the regular season, was benched by Attles after a cold shooting performance in the first half.

Barry continued: “Think about that. How many coaches would take their top player out of a game that important? But the guys picked me up.” That was The Al Attles Method.

Attles also defended his players much like he did in his playing days. Trailing the Warriors three games to none in the 1975 Finals, Washington resorted to provoking Rick Barry into a fight in an attempt to have him ejected. Though a Bullets player forcefully grabbed Barry from behind on a play, it was Attles who came into the scrum to ensure Barry was not at the center of a brawl. Attles knowingly got ejected and sacrificed his chance to celebrate on-court with the team, who won that game and the NBA championship.

Attles coached 1,075 games and amassed 557 wins, both Warriors franchise records, posting a .518 winning percentage.

Attles’ enshrinement into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame with the 2019 class is not the first time he has been recognized for his efforts: in August of 2014, he was awarded with the John W. Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award, the most prestigious of its kind presented by the Hall of Fame to honor 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.

Additionally, the Warriors will continue to honor the legacy of Attles for years to come with a college basketball showcase: the inaugural Al Attles Classic will take place on December 21st, 2019.

While his number 16 hangs in the rafters of Chase Center as one of only six players in Warriors history to have his number retired — along with Rick Barry (#24), Wilt Chamberlain (#13), Tom Meschery (#14), Chris Mullin (#17) and Nate Thurmond (#42) — the legacy of Alvin “Al” Attles goes far beyond his accomplishments as a player. Forever a dedicated Warrior, Attles’ nearly 60-year commitment to the team, community, and fanbase will be immortalized with his enshrinement in the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame.

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Al Attles: A Warrior Through and Through

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Alvin Attles Elected to Hall of Fame

Andy Fahey

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&amp;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.

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Warriors Legend Alvin Attles Elected into Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame

Warriors Stories: Celebrating Alvin Attles

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Al Attles has been with the Warriors for 60 Years

Originally published in October of 2017, this story was updated on April 10, 2020

The modern-day NBA can be a game of musical chairs for most who are fortunate enough to play at the game’s highest level. Whether it’s trades and free agency for players or following other opportunities for coaches and executives, the fact of the matter is life in the NBA is a nomadic experience for most. But every now and then, there’s an anchor for a franchise, someone who becomes symbolic for the organization that they play for or otherwise employs them. Kobe Bryant played his entire 20-year career with the Lakers, the Mavericks were Dirk Nowitzki’s only home for all 21 of his NBA seasons and Tim Duncan is now a coach on the Spurs’ staff after playing 19 seasons in San Antonio. Those are the exceptions, as the number of NBA players and coaches that are not only able to have prolonged careers in the league, but are able to do so with the same single team, is a rapidly dwindling figure.

Then there's Alvin Attles, the longest tenured single-team employee in the NBA.

For a Warriors franchise that has endured and experienced just about every possible high and low throughout its existence, there has been one steadying constant for the last 59 years. Whether running up and down a court, pacing its sidelines or dedicating one for a community in need, the man they called ‘The Destroyer' has been a defining and emblematic part of the Warriors franchise since before they made the move to the Golden State.

"Despite this climate of dominance and dynasty, the beauty with which the current teams play, the Warriors are most known for struggle," says The Athletic Bay Area's Marcus Thompson, "for clawing to get an ounce of respect, for being grass roots in their fervor, loyal in their heart. Al Attles embodies that spirit."

In April of 2019, the man behind that Warriors spirit was rewarded with the announcement that he had been elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Attles' Hall of Fame journey with the franchise began when the Philadelphia Warriors selected him in the fifth round of the 1960 NBA Draft, which saw future NBA Hall-of-Famers Oscar Robertson and Jerry West go first and second overall. It was at a time when lower draft picks did not have a high success rate of making the team, as the league consisted of only eight teams in total. He remembers his first uniform being meant for someone who was 6'11" (Attles was a six-foot guard), as the armholes fell all the way down to his waist.

Nonetheless, he would go on to enjoy 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 NBA didn't begin naming All-Defensive Teams—which former players insist he would have frequented—until 1968-69, his ninth season in the league. But according to Basketball-Reference, the Warriors ranked in the top half of the league in defensive rating (estimated points allowed per 100 possessions) in all but one of Attles' 11 seasons, boasting a top-three rating in seven of those campaigns.

On March 2, 1962, Attles went a perfect 8-of-8 from the field, while also hitting his only free throw attempt, to finish as the team's second-leading scorer in a win over the Knicks. His efficient 17-point game was overshadowed slightly by his teammate, Wilt Chamberlain, who scored an NBA-record 100 points that same night in Hershey, PA. Chamberlain gave the game ball from that record-breaking performance to Attles, which now sits in a glass case in his home, adorned with an engraved placard that states:

To Al Attles,
The man who did the right thing at the wrong time. 8 for 8 and 1 for 1
Sorry I scored 100 with this ball.
DIP
P.S. You deserve it.

With 30 games remaining in the 1969-70 season, Attles took on duel responsibilities as Golden State's player/coach, a role he held for the entire 1970-71 season before serving exclusively as head coach for the next 12 years. The North Carolina A&amp;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 games and wins by a head coach in franchise history. 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 the next three years. Ever since, Attles has served as a Warriors Legend and Community Ambassador in supporting community efforts around the Bay Area.

"Most of the great organizations who have a lot of history, they have one player who everybody kind of associates with that franchise," says current Warriors Head Coach Steve Kerr. "Al Attles is that guy for us. He's the face of our franchise, for many, many generations of Warriors fans. So, we're lucky to have him."

Attles is one of only 31 coaches in NBA history with over 1,000 games on his resume and is one of only 11 coaches to amass over 500 victories with a single franchise. He's also tied with Ed Gottlieb for the most postseason appearances in Warriors lore (six), and ranks second in franchise history with 31 playoff victories. And of course, it was Attles at the helm of the 1974-75 squad that captured the first NBA championship in the Warriors' West Coast history.

In addition to having a hand in raising the 1974-75 championship banner, Attles has another, more personal banner hanging from the rafters at Chase Center, as his No. 16 is one of only six retired numbers in Warriors franchise history, along with Chamberlain (#13), Rick Barry (#24), Tom Meschery (#14), Chris Mullin (#17) and Nate Thurmond (#42).

Attles' endless contributions as a player, executive and civic leader resulted in his induction into the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2019. In addition, he was enshrined into the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame in 1993 and, in August 2014, he 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. And in 2018, Attles was named the 2017 co-recipient of the National Basketball Coaches Association's Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award for his extraordinary contributions that have had a positive and powerful impact on the NBA coaching profession.

He's worn oh so many hats, but always for the same organization, and all while being one of the friendliest and approachable people you'll ever meet. He still attends some Warriors home games, where media members exchange pleasantries with him and adoring fans approach him for photo opportunities. He always obliges with a smile on his face, but even the most prepared can be caught off guard by the iconic, gravelly voice of a man, now in his 80s, that could still have a future in movie trailer voiceovers.

That is, if the Warriors ever create a movie trailer voiceover department. Because Al Attles, the longest tenured employee in franchise history, is and will always be as much a part of the Warriors as they are of him.

This article has been updated since its original publish in October 2017 to reflect current achievements and statistics as of April 10, 2020.