The Warriors were one win away from pulling off the largest upset within the NBA Finals in basketball history when Mike Riordan attempted to tackle Rick Barry.

Barry, Golden State's star player, couldn't consider the Washington Bullets guard climbed on his back as he dribbled left. He stood on the baseline and was indignant.

But before Barry could defend himself, his coach sprinted off the bench to confront Riordan and his Washington teammate Wes Unseld. Alvin Attles, knowing he couldn’t let his best player be thrown out of the decisive game, took over the confrontation head-on so Barry didn't should.

For years, Attles was referred to as “The Destroyer” for his hard-nosed play on the Warriors, but in point of fact he was something completely different.

“He was really something of a protector,” Barry told this news organization in a telephone interview on Wednesday. “He was a very peaceful guy, a very caring person. But he was also incredibly tough.”

Attles was ejected in Game 4, however the Warriors, as they did so often in that postseason, got here back to win and sweep Washington for the 1975 championship. It was the high point of the Warriors organization on the West Coast to that time, and like so most of the franchise's biggest moments, Attles was right in the course of it – putting his team before himself.

“I think Al had a good personality on and off the field,” said longtime Warriors commentator Jim Barnett, who played for Attles for 3 seasons.

“And I think he lived a respectable life on and off the court. He never cheated anyone, never cheated the fans by not always playing his best. And he never cheated life by taking shortcuts and doing things that are unethical. He was a very ethical man. He did that on the court and off the court in his personal life. He lived an ethical life and I think that rubbed off on a lot of us and taught us a lot.”

Attles died Tuesday on the age of 87 surrounded by his family. He had suffered from dementia for several years, which limited his duties as a Warriors legend and community ambassador. But for 64 years, the Hall of Famer represented the Warriors as a player, coach, general manager, executive director and legend like no other NBA franchise.

“The real warrior: Mr. Warrior,” said Golden States head coach Steve Kerr in a video after Attles' death. “A man who was employed by the same franchise for over 60 years – unprecedented in sports. Al was truly the figurehead of this organization.”

In an Instagram story, Steph Curry echoed Kerr's sentiments, saying Attles was “a pioneer in professionalism, courage and competitiveness, forging his own path every step of the way.”

Attles is certainly one of six Warriors whose jersey number hangs within the rafters of Chase Center. On the night his teammate Wilt Chamberlain made history by scoring 100 points, he added 17 and made 8 of 8 perfect shots. Attles was with the Warriors for six a long time in a league that’s seven a long time old, and his 557 wins as a coach remain a franchise record.

Barry met Attles in 1965 when he was a freshman. They were roommates and, as Barry recalls, they became close, though they didn't at all times share the identical living preferences. Attles liked to show up the thermostat, Barry recalls. He forced Barry to look at his TV shows with him – shows that Barry couldn't stand.

“I always tell everyone that I owe a huge debt to Al Attles for giving me the incentive to play exceptionally well my rookie year so that I would be able to negotiate a single room the next year,” Barry said.

Barry did just that, winning Rookie of the Year by averaging 25.7 points and 10.6 rebounds per game as Attles' roommate. Barry earned a roommate spot and was the league's leading scorer the following 12 months before moving to the ABA.

When Barry returned to the NBA, Attles coached the Warriors. Under the leadership of Barry and Nate Thurmond, Attles became the second black head coach in NBA history to win an NBA championship in 1975. The Bullets had the league's best record, however the Warriors swept them in an upset victory that can be the topic of a 2025 documentary that’s currently in “the final stages,” Barry said.

“I just wish Al was still there to see it,” Barry said.

Attles coached the 1975 team and his other clubs from 1970 to 1983 as a disciplinarian and mentor. He was no-nonsense but in addition had a humorousness. Barnett, the legendary broadcaster, said his head coach had a “huge influence” on him and his profession.

“I definitely learned about teamwork,” Barnett said. “I kicked around a lot because obviously I wasn't a player like Rick Barry or Nate Thurmond. So I had a lot of different coaches and a lot of different teammates. Al had a way of unifying a team that played with six, seven or eight men and making you feel important. If you were the 11th man on the team, he was inclusive. He made everyone feel like they were part of the team and made everyone feel important, no matter what their contribution was, we were a team.”

Attles stayed loyal to the Warriors organization and continued to make everyone feel like a team – at meetings and dinners with team managers, at games and at community appearances. One of the primary things Kerr did when he was hired was to ask Attles to talk to the team. Forty years after the 1975 championship, Attles and his wife, Wilhelmina, rode the 2015 champion Warriors through downtown Oakland.

Attles remained lively within the Bay Area as a Warriors legend and community ambassador, as did his family. Wilhelmina famously taught Juan Toscano-Anderson in elementary school and gifted him an invite to Warriors basketball camp, which launched a successful profession that culminated with the Warriors from 2019-2022.

Barnett called Attles a “great coach and a great person.” In recent years, when Attles was unwell, Barnett occasionally had lunch together with his son, Al Attles III, and visited his former head coach a number of times. Barry also recently spent some quality time with Attles.

“He knew who I was,” Barry said. “And in fact, his first question to me was, 'How's your jump shot?' I started laughing and said, 'Al, I'm too old to jump shot, I can't jump anymore.'”

The Bay Area sports community has lost Willie Mays, Orlando Cepeda and now Attles this 12 months. As Curry put it in his Instagram story, Attles' DNA is throughout this organization.”

“It's not about me,” Attles said in an old interview included within the Warriors' tribute video for him. “It's about my grandchildren, my children and all of the young individuals who can look up and say, 'You know, perhaps I can do this sooner or later.'”

Originally published: August 21, 2024 at 5:37 pm

SACRAMENTO – Steph Curry, master of focus, sipped a beer and stared from 10,000 yards away.

The loquacious Draymond Green appeared speechless.

The all the time positive Klay Thompson was downright desperate.

The Warriors' season ended Tuesday night by the hands of the Sacramento Kings, and the battle left the once-great champions dazed.

The query was on the faces of all of the greats before the ultimate buzzer sounded and long after:

What just happened?

Let me let you know:

The No. 10 seed within the Western Conference — the worst team within the Western Conference postseason — was jumped from the primary tip on Tuesday. They were pushed around and beaten up and offered little or no resistance Kings' omnipresent force.

The Warriors were punk.

And it made the once-mighty Warriors — with a core that played for every part and won every part — appear to be a team overmatched in a modest play-in tournament game.

Sacramento is hardly a team of destiny – a future champion on the rise. The kings stink too. This team went into this game as underdogs No. 9 vs. No. 10, had poor form and poor spirits.

Still, they defeated the Warriors with ease.

Where does this leave the Dubs within the NBA hierarchy they once stood at the highest of?

The Warriors' dynasty can have ended years ago. Maybe the 2022 title fight was something aside from dynastic. Or perhaps that run of excellence that began in 2014-15 and continued until Tuesday night's game was prolonged.

But regardless of the warriors were, they are not any more.

The 118-94 loss in a made-for-television single-elimination game between two non-contenders is a transparent dividing line.

After watching the Warriors play at the best level — and win — watching them in Tuesday's game felt incongruous with that legacy. This felt amongst the soldiers – the capital W version of this lore.

Seeing them lose so badly only made the purpose more clear.

But the reality is that great champions rarely find yourself at the highest. So a lot of the perfect last long gone the expiration date of their excellence. It's hard to stop. As Warriors coach Steve Kerr said after Tuesday's loss, there's nothing just like the highlights of elite sport – anyone who's experienced them gets hooked.

That's why Muhammad Ali's last fight was a loss to Trevor Berbick. Or why Michael Jordan played for the Wizards. Babe Ruth hit .181 for the Boston Braves at age 40.

Given the sad departures of major stars, perhaps the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento was the suitable place for this ending.

And the loss to the Kings definitely felt like the top.

Reactionary? Perhaps.

But what else would you call Tuesday?

Curry tried to single-handedly lead the Warriors to victory, just as he did in the identical constructing last April when he scored 50 points in Game 7 of those teams' first-round playoff series. Against a gradual food plan of double and triple teams, he didn't come close. Keon Ellis (I'll wait a moment so you possibly can look him up) had the perfect point guard of all time in prison. And with Curry's legs drained from the regular season of dragging this team, he had no likelihood of repeating last yr's heroics. He scored 22 points and had six turnovers.

Green attempted a yeoman push defensively, but was often the one Warrior defending. One against five is a foul ratio. While his early offensive impulses were intended to be a catalyst for the remaining of the team, his teammates never elevated their plays.

And then there's Thompson, who had found his best game in years heading into this postseason. He delivered what might be the worst performance of his profession, going 0 of 10 from the ground on Tuesday last game as a warrior.

You really don't need a comprehensive column on the state of the Warriors — you only need Thompson's box rating line from Tuesday. It says all of it.

Curry, Green and Thompson made the Warriors – of all things – arguably the best skilled basketball team ever assembled.

But Golden State is way from the excellence it once shone. Age has played its part. This also applies to failures within the front office. This pathetic performance can have been shocking, however it was neither surprising nor sudden. This team, the costliest in NBA history, had to provide every part to get into the play-in tournament. This team only had 4 wins against the six Western Conference playoff teams this season.

How could the Warriors front office return to that path of success in an offseason?

How could they get this automotive back on the road with Curry, Green, Thompson and Andrew Wiggins (4 of 11 from the ground on Tuesday) when at the very least two of those tires are completely deflated and the opposite two could explode at any time? Moment?

This team has covered some tough miles through the years. This team has held 4 title banners, but six runs to the NBA Finals will do some damage.

And while the toll was obvious long before Tuesday, it’s now inescapable and undeniable.

There will likely be loads of time – many years, even – to have fun this team's increasingly distant successes. The greatness of this Warriors core is indelible and this ending will eventually be forgotten.

But now, within the long offseason ahead, big, profound changes are needed – from each a financial and basketball perspective.

Is this organization content to sell nostalgia at a premium price and win barely enough to remain relevant for at the very least one game after the regular season? That’s what “Running It Back” would tell us.

Or do the Warriors care about winning titles, rattling it? If that's actually true, the perfect moves is likely to be probably the most extreme – to maneuver forward, this team may need to take a step back and even consider the once unthinkable.

Yes, every part is on the table for the Warriors this offseason.

And that's since the Warriors brought so little in 2023-24.