OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Warriors great Al Attles has been released from the hospital and is much improved, according to his son.
The former coach and player for the franchise and current Golden State ambassador missed last Friday night’s game against Washington during which the Warriors paid tribute to his nearly six decades of contributions to the organization. They also handed out an Attles 1975 champions bobblehead in honor of the season he coached a title team.
“My father got released yesterday. He is feeling so much better,” Alvin Attles III said in a text message to The Associated Press. “He says thank you for the well wishes. You will see him at the next home game.”
While details of his condition weren’t made public, his son said it wasn’t anything serious, an illness or life-threatening, just that “he’s dealing with being 80, it’s just wear and tear of being 80.”
On Friday against Washington, players wore shooting shirts featuring Attles’ likeness. His wife, Wilhelmina, son, and Hall of Famer Rick Barry represented him during an on-court tribute after the first quarter. Coach Steve Kerr rocked a retro-style suit in Attles’ honor, sighing and saying after the game, “Polyester, 100 percent polyester. I’m itching all over. I couldn’t get out of that thing fast enough.”
Attles turns 81 on Nov. 7. He is a longtime staple at games with a regular seat on press row high above the court in Oracle Arena, though Attles missed a stretch of time last season when he was not well. He returned to see Golden State win the franchise’s second championship in three years against Cleveland.
“We are so happy to hear that he’s out of the hospital,” Warriors general manager Bob Myers said in a text message. “He embodies all that we strive to be at our organization.”
Attles is in his 58th year with the Warriors, having played in Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point game on March 2, 1962. He coached the Warriors to the 1975 title, then watched as Stephen Curry and Co. won 40 years later in 2015. Attles scored 17 points on 8-for-8 shooting for the Philadelphia Warriors during Chamberlain’s 100-point performance. Attles coached Rick Barry the day he scored 64 against Portland on March 26, 1974.
A fifth-round draft pick by the Warriors in 1960, Attles was honored during the postseason in June along with Hubie Brown as co-recipients of the 2017 Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Basketball Coaches Association.