Attles was honored for the more than 50 consecutive years of service with the Golden State Warriors as a player, player-coach, coach, general manager, vice-president and consultant. He led the Warriors to West Coast version’s first and only NBA Championship in 1975, in a game where two African American head coaches faced off in the finals for the first time.

He attended North Carolina A&T from 1956-60 and later went on to the NBA’s Philadelphia Warriors from 1960-62. After his short stint in Philadelphia, Attles moved with the team to San Francisco/Golden State where he joined the team at the end of the 1962 season until 1971. During his time as a player with the Warriors, Attles recorded 6,328 points, 2463 rebounds and 2,483 assists in eleven NBA seasons. He is one of only five Warriors players to have his number retired.

The Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award was instituted by the Board of Trustees of the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1973. Outside of Enshrinement, it is the most prestigious award presented by the Hall of Fame. Named in honor of Hall of Famer John W. Bunn (Class of 1964), the first chairman of the Basketball Hall of Fame Committee who served from 1949-1964, the award honors coaches, players and contributors whose outstanding accomplishments have impacted the high school, college, professional or International game.