Essay written for History 585: Race, Basketball, and the American Dream class at UNC-Chapel Hill during my junior year.
Golden State Warriors legend Al Attles is a man of few words but when he speaks, everyone listens. “Respect is the only thing I really want from people. To be respected by the people you work with - that’s a real accomplishment.”[1] Attles never intended for basketball to become his “end all be all” but after the Philadelphia Warriors gave him an unexpected shot to contribute, his life would change forever. Attles would use basketball as a means of integrating a “lead by example” and selfless culture. Secondly, his longevity in the NBA as a player translated over to his unique player development skills as a coach. Finally, Attles’ career success demonstrated that the color of someone’s skin shouldn’t become a determining factor in whether or not they can get the job done.
One of the greatest runs in pro basketball history in the 21st Century has been courtesy of the Golden State Warriors. Led by head coach Steve Kerr and three-point phenomenons Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, the Warriors made it to five straight NBA Finals, capturing three championships. But even before the Golden State’s modern dynasty began, Al Attles was already setting the foundation for an integrated team four decades prior.
Millions of young children around the world have dreamt of playing in the NBA. However, Al Attles certainly didn’t fall into that category. “I actually made a decision that I wasn’t going to play basketball again after I finished college,” Attles said.[2] Being successful in school was key for Attles, graduating from North Carolina A&T with both a bachelor’s and master’s degree for his impending career.[3] Attles stood at just six feet tall and would be one of the shortest players in the NBA...if he was even drafted. “I didn’t think I had a chance in the world of making it. I was all lined up to teach physical education and health in a junior high in Newark,”[4] Attles said. He shocked himself when the Philadelphia Warriors selected him with the 39th overall pick in the 1960 NBA Draft.
It is very telling that Attles was focused more on life after basketball. He was extremely intelligent and strategic in his approach, not banking on one outcome for his life. Money wasn’t as much as a factor for individuals like Attles as it is for so many players in modern times. “I was going to make either $1,000 playing or teaching. Guys like myself, they just went there hoping that they make the team and then down the road they might get paid,” Attles said.[5] Today, an estimated 60% of NBA players go broke within a five-year period after leaving the league.[6] That is remarkable considering how much money is made in the professionals now than in 1970. Regardless, Attles’ self-awareness and academic regimen helped later down the road with his stint as a player and a coach.
Attles’ nickname of “The Destroyer” followed him on the court for his tenacious defense but it could be argued that it was also for his ability to stick around. Being drafted came at a cost as one of the Warriors’ Black players, Woody Sauldsberry, would immediately be traded to the St. Louis Hawks. “I was going to be five [Black players] and I said, ‘There is no way I am going to make this team,” Attles said.[7]Sauldsberry wasn’t just a nobody. He had won Rookie of the Year in 1958 and became an NBA All-Star the following year.[8] With Attles and Wilt Chamberlain on the team, something had to give. The harsh reality was that the racial quota and discrimination was still in effect and would remain through Attles’ time as a player.
It is easy to see the high-character personality of Attles but off-the-court, he may be hard to find. He had to be convinced by friends to coach because of his personality. "I really didn't know if I had the patience, the temperament to deal with 12 guys," Attles said. "Basically, you see, I'm a loner. I don't have an awful lot of close friends.”[9] Perhaps that is what makes Attles’ staying power so impressive despite his introverted personality and the reality of a racial quota. Attles seemed to be comfortable being a “behind-the-scenes” guy. Most notably, Attles once had a perfect game (8-8 from the field) but was overshadowed, and understandably so, by Wilt Chamberlain’s historic 100-point performance.[10] Although he had some success as a player for 11 years, his greatest impact was undoubtedly as a coach.
One of Attles’ gifts is his unique ability to manage and motivate talent. For starters, Attles decided to use the term "first-year player" instead of “rookie,” because of its negative connotation.[11] Getting every player involved is a strategy that not every coach was willing to implement. "I always understood that it is tough to be a real part of the team if you don't play," Attles said. When everybody knows they're going to play, there is more incentive. Because you want to play more when you get out on the floor, you do play more when you are out there.”[12]
Likewise, Attles constantly looked to maximize his personnel even if it was unconventional. "People come to assume things," Attles said. "You must have one shooting forward and one big rebounding forward...Pretty soon everybody just accepts stereotypes instead of wondering why things work. I finally decided, if I'm not successful, let it be because I failed on my own, not because I did something the way it was supposed to be done.”[13] Attles had faith in his coaching abilities once he got rolling. It paid dividends as Golden State remarkably swept the heavily-favored Washington Bullets to win the 1975 NBA Finals. Another unique twist is that he had won with a nearly all-Black team, an accomplishment that had only been rivaled by college basketball when Texas Western’s All-Black starting five won the 1966 NCAA basketball championship a decade before.
Al Attles has many accolades to his name. In a remarkable feat, Attles currently holds the title as the longest tenured employee of any NBA team, being a part of the Warriors’ organization for over five decades.[14] He became the second Black head coach to win an NBA Championship which solidified his case to be inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame Class of 2019.[15] That being said, since Attles was so successful as a coach, why haven’t more Black men like him been given a real chance? In a league with nearly three-fourths Black men, just four Black head coaches lead NBA teams in 2021. In the National Football League (NFL), the “Rooney Rule'' was implemented to require every team with a head coaching vacancy to interview at least one diverse candidate. The NBA has never had such a rule but should they consider a change?
If you asked Al Attles, there’s a decent chance he may disagree. Coaching in a progressive state like California and familiarizing himself with the organization as a player may have helped mold his perspective. “The guys were very, very accommodating, and back then a lot of them were concerned about their job. They knew that if you didn’t get along with the guy who was the coach because of what he looked like, you weren’t going to be on the team,” Attles said.[16] Attles noted that “hidden” racism was the only thing he had faced and suggested that his coaching habits would override any conflicts that could arise. “Sure, I wondered to myself if I'd have special problems dealing with a white player, say, one front the South,” Attles said. “But it just hasn't been that way. (I) think I'm being judged as a man, for the job I can do, both by the people above me and the players under me.”[17]
For Attles, it was simply about one mission: winning basketball games. “You have to understand that you have a job and the players have a job. And the players are going to do what they think is right, and you’re going to do what you think is right. And if you don’t do what you think is right as a coach, you’re not going to be there long,” Attles said.[18] To be able to develop merit and meet all the qualifications, receiving an opportunity to be a part of an organization is the first step. From player to coach, Attles showed it is possible for a Black man to make it big in a variety of professional roles. Celtics’ center Bill Russell also followed a similar path as the first Black coach to win an NBA Championship. The bigger question is how can Black men and women obtain a prestigious position if they are not fortunate enough to become a player? A permanent answer remains to be seen.
Whether it was a player, coach, general manager, scout, team ambassador, “The Destroyer” improbably kept going. His peers always believed in him as he strived to make his mark in the basketball community. Attles’ overcame his own self-doubt to make a positive impact for his teammates as a player and those around him once he was promoted to leadership positions. By staying consistently committed to excellence and exceeding expectations throughout his tenure, Attles will go down as a Golden State legend and a true jack-of-all-trades.
Works Cited
"All Al Attles Wants is a Little Respect." 1971. Los Angeles Sentinel (1934-2005), Feb 04, 1971. http://libproxy.lib.unc.edu/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.libproxy.lib.unc.edu/historical-newspapers/all-al-attles-wants-is-little-respect/docview/565028380/se-2?accountid=14244.
Deford, Frank. “Why the '75-'76 Warriors Were a near-Perfect Team - Sports Illustrated Vault.” SI.com. Sports Illustrated Vault | SI.com, February 16, 1976. https://vault.si.com/vault/1976/02/16/everybody-gets-into-the-act.
Dudley, Chris. “Money Lessons Learned from pro Athletes' Financial Fouls.” CNBC. CNBC, May 15, 2018. https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/14/money-lessons-learned-from-pro-athletes-financial-fouls.html.
Koppett, Leonard. “Blacks as Managers: It's Still A Question of 'Qualification'.” The New York Times. The New York Times, October 27, 1973. https://www.nytimes.com/1973/10/27/archives/blacks-as-managers-its-still-a-question-of-qualification-russell.html.
Levi, Ryan. “Warriors Legend Al Attles Selected for Basketball Hall of Fame.” KQED, April 6, 2019. https://www.kqed.org/news/11738317/warriors-legend-al-attles-selected-for-basketball-hall-of-fame.
McDermott, Barry. “Attles Battles No Longer - Sports Illustrated Vault.” SI.com. Sports Illustrated Vault | SI.com, April 21, 1975. https://vault.si.com/vault/1975/04/21/attles-battles-no-longer.
Papanek, John. “AS THE WORLD TURNS, SO DO THE WARRIORS - Sports Illustrated Vault.” SI.com. Sports Illustrated Vault | SI.com, December 15, 1980. https://vault.si.com/vault/1980/12/15/as-the-world-turns-so-do-the-warriors-there-were-once-a-lot-of-doubters-but-golden-states-lloyd-free-now-seems-to-have-convinced-almost-everyone-that-his-nickname-isnt-the-biggest-joke-under-the-sun.
Pfischer. “Alvin Attles.” Golden State Warriors. NBA.com/warriors, February 11, 2016. https://www.nba.com/warriors/staff/alvin-attles.
Rhoden, William C. “Al Attles, a Warrior for Life, Is a Bridge to a Lone Bay Area Title.” The New York Times. The New York Times, May 27, 2015. https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/27/sports/basketball/al-attles-part-of-warriors-past-is-still-a-presence.html.
Spears, Marc J. “Al Attles Reflects on His Illustrious Career Ahead of Hall of Fame Induction.” The Undefeated. The Undefeated, September 9, 2019. https://theundefeated.com/features/al-attles-reflects-on-his-illustrious-career-ahead-of-hall-of-fame-induction/.
Spears, Marc J. “Al Attles, an NBA Pioneer.” The Undefeated. The Undefeated, June 8, 2016. https://theundefeated.com/features/al-attles-an-nba-pioneer/.
“Woody Sauldsberry Stats.” Basketball Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Accessed April 25, 2021. https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/s/sauldwo01.html.
[1] Los Angeles Sentinel, 4 Feb 1971. [2] “Al Attles reflects on his illustrious career,” last modified on September 6th, 2019, https://theundefeated.com/features/al-attles-reflects-on-his-illustrious-career-ahead-of-hall-of-fame-induction/ [3] “Alvin Attles,” last modified February 11th, 2016, https://www.nba.com/warriors/staff/alvin-attles. [4] “All Al Attles wants is a little respect,” last modified February 4th, 1971, https://www-proquest-com.libproxy.lib.unc.edu/docview/565028380?accountid=14244 [5] “Al Attles reflects on his illustrious career ahead of Hall of Fame induction,” last modified September 6th, 2019, https://theundefeated.com/features/al-attles-reflects-on-his-illustrious-career-ahead-of-hall-of-fame-induction/ [6] “Money Lessons Learned from pro Athletes' Financial Fouls,” Last modified May 15th, 2018, https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/14/money-lessons-learned-from-pro-athletes-financial-fouls.html. [7] “Al Attles: An NBA Pioneer,” last accessed June 8th, 2016, https://theundefeated.com/features/al-attles-an-nba-pioneer/ [8] “Woody Sauldsberry Stats,” Accessed April 25, 2021. https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/s/sauldwo01.html. [9] “Why the '75-'76 Warriors Were a near-Perfect Team,” Last modified February 16th, 1976, https://vault.si.com/vault/1976/02/16/everybody-gets-into-the-act. [10] Ibid [11] “Attles Battles No Longer, Last modified April 21st, 1975, https://vault.si.com/vault/1975/04/21/attles-battles-no-longer. [12] “Why the '75-'76 Warriors Were a near-Perfect Team,” Last modified February 16th, 1976, https://vault.si.com/vault/1976/02/16/everybody-gets-into-the-act. [13] Ibid [14] “Alvin Attles,” last modified February 11th, 2016, https://www.nba.com/warriors/staff/alvin-attles. [15] “Warriors Legend Al Attles Selected for Basketball Hall of Fame,” last modified April 6th, 2019, https://www.kqed.org/news/11738317/warriors-legend-al-attles-selected-for-basketball-hall-of-fame. [16] “Al Attles reflects on his illustrious career ahead of Hall of Fame induction,” last modified September 6th, 2019, https://theundefeated.com/features/al-attles-reflects-on-his-illustrious-career-ahead-of-hall-of-fame-induction/ [17] “Blacks as Managers: It's Still A Question of 'Qualification',” last modified Oct. 27th, 1973, https://www.nytimes.com/1973/10/27/archives/blacks-as-managers-its-still-a-question-of-qualification-russell.html. [18] “Al Attles reflects on his illustrious career ahead of Hall of Fame induction,” last modified September 6th, 2019, https://theundefeated.com/features/al-attles-reflects-on-his-illustrious-career-ahead-of-hall-of-fame-induction/
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