Truthfully, the Golden State Warriors‘ list of great coaches doesn’t extend very far. Even extending all the way back until their earliest days in Philadelphia, the Warriors have had just 4 coaches last more than 3 full seasons, the 4th of which was Johnny Bach who recorded just a 95-172 regular season record after taking over from Warriors great Al Attles.
Beyond Bach, Bill Sharman and George Senesky had successful, if somewhat short, stints as head coach of the franchise.
Senesky coached one of the Phildelphia Warriors early championship teams, after taking over in 1955. His first season would end up being his most successful, as the team finished 45-27 and took home a championship 4-1 over the Fort Wayne Pistons.
Sharman coached just two seasons with the team, but finished with an impressive 87-76 record, and a franchise best playoff winning percentage with a 13-12 record (.520). Sharman’s time as coach in the late 1960s would result in Finals appearance with a young Rick Barry in 1966 and consecutive winning seasons.
3. Edward Gottlieb
Gottlieb coached nine seasons with the Philadelphia Warriors, from their inaugural season in the BAA (Basketball Association of America) until 1955. The Warriors won the BAA’s first championship under Gottlieb, finishing with a 4-1 victory over the Chicago Stags.
The Warriors reached the post-season in each of Gottlieb’s first six seasons with the team, including a second Finals appearance. The BAA became the NBA in 1949 after expanding to 17 teams from its original 11. While Gottlieb wouldn’t lead his team to the same kind of success in NBA, he did finish with a franchise third-best 263 regular season wins, despite shorter league schedules at the time. His 15 post-season wins still rank second all time in Warriors history.
2. Don Nelson
If there’s one thing that defined Nelson’s time as head coach of the Warriors, it was controversy. Always equal parts innovative, temperamental, and demanding, Nelson rubbed plenty the wrong way during his 11 seasons at the helm. From the departure of a young superstar in Chris Webber after just one season, to the more recent Monta Ellis and Andris Biedrins run-ins, Nelson’s stubborn demeanor soured more than a few attitudes in Oakland.
But Nelson was also responsible for some of the most exciting basketball the league has ever seen. Whether it was Run TMC in the early 1990s or the “We Believe” Warriors in 2007, Nelson was before his time in the implementation of “small ball” and “stretch-fours.” Nelson’s love for a perimeter-oriented game helped bring revolution to a league that had long been dependent on dominant big men.
While Nelson twice left the team under less-than-ceremonious circumstances, he finished second in franchise history with 422 wins, including five trips to the playoffs. Despite lackluster finishes in his final years as coach, Nelson managed to resurrect the Warriors in both of his stints with the team, making the playoffs in the first year of both tenures. While he finished with a sub-.500 record, and minimal playoff success, Nelson will remain one of the franchise’s most memorable characters.
1. Al Attles
Attles’ combined 53 years with the Warriors as a player, coach, general manager, community relations employee, and ambassador make “The Destroyer” one of the most well-loved figures in NBA history. While Attles had many positions with the franchise, his biggest successes came during his time as head coach. With a career record of 557-518 (.518), Attles is the Warriors’ winning-est coach by more than 100 games.
In 14 seasons with the team, Attles led the Warriors into the post-season six times, including the team’s lone championship since moving to the west coast in 1974-75. Golden State’s 59 wins the following season is a mark still yet to be matched, and resulted in the only regular season conference championship in team history. In total, Attles’ teams racked up 31 playoff wins, good for another franchise record.
But Attles should be remembered for more than his success on the court. He also broke racial barriers in the NBA as one of the league’s first African-American head coaches. He was also just the second coach of color to win an NBA championship, after the Boston Celtics‘ Bill Russell. His infamous dust up with Washington Bullet Mike Riordan in defense of star Rick Barry during the clinching Game 4 of the 1975 NBA Finals left him watching his team’s ultimate triumph from the locker room. Attles’ status as a life-long Warrior, in addition to his courtside success, easily make him the greatest head coach in franchise history.
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