Former Golden State Warriors player and coach, Alvin Attles has the most games coached in Golden State Warriors history.
The Warriors have had 25 head coaches in their 79 collective seasons in the NBA.
The Warriors have had several big-name coaches patrolling the sidelines throughout their 79-year history in the Association, which spans from Philadelphia to San Francisco between 1946 and 2025. We’ve compiled a list of Golden State’s top five bench bosses in terms of games coached, so let’s take a further look at their tenures with the storied franchise.
Al Attles, 1,075 games (1970-83)
Attles enjoyed an 11-year career as a player with the Philadelphia and San Francisco Warriors from 1960 to 1971. ‘The Jersey Jet’ was hired as the head coach in January 1970 in addition to his point guard duties on the hardwood, collecting an 8-22 record over the final 30 contests of the season. He juggled both roles for another year before retiring as a player after the 1971 campaign, then spent 12 more years at the helm of the Golden State Warriors during their inaugural 1971-72 season through 1983.
Attles led the Dubs to their second NBA title in 1975 with a four-game sweep over the Washington Bullets. He amassed a 557-518 career record, with his teams finishing .500 or better in 9 of his 13 seasons there. The 59-23 mark the Warriors posted in 1976 represented the best regular season record for Attles, who was inducted to the Hall of Fame as a Contributor in 2019.
Steve Kerr, 875 games (2015-Present)
Kerr, who’s 152 playoff games coached more than double Attles’ 61 (second-most in GSW history), took over second place on this list from Don Nelson during the 2024-25 season. After winning five rings as a player with the Bulls and Spurs, Kerr added another four titles to his legendary resume as head coach of the Warriors in 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2022. The 2015-16 Coach of the Year helped Golden State earn the best regular season record of all-time that year, finishing an unbelievable 73-9 after setting an NBA record with 24 straight wins to begin the season.
Credited with forming perhaps the first dynasty in professional basketball since the 2000 – 2002 Lakers, Kerr maximized future Hall of Famers in Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Kevin Durant to make five consecutive trips to the Finals from 2015 to 2019. Then, following a couple of campaigns of missing the playoffs, he led the Warriors to their fourth championship in eight years in 2022, just months after receiving an award for being one of the 15 Greatest Coaches in NBA History. Over his 11-year coaching career, Kerr has compiled a 567-308 record and owns the most wins, both regular and postseason (104), along with the highest winning percentage (.648) in franchise history.
Don Nelson, 865 games (1989-95-2006-2010)
Hall of Fame coach Don Nelson holds down the third spot on our list today, spending 11 total years across two separate stints as Golden State’s bench boss between 1988 and 2010. ‘Nellie’, another five-time champ in his pro playing days, put together a 422-443 record throughout his time in the Bay Area while making five postseason appearances. His teams finished better than .500 on six occasions in his tenure there, with his 55-27 record in 1991-92 earning him Coach of the Year honors for the third time in his career.
Nelson, in addition to his 30-plus seasons as a head coach in the NBA, is well-known for leading the eight seed ‘We Believe’ Warriors team to an upset victory over the top-seeded Dallas Mavericks in 2007’s First Round. He was recognized as one of the Top 10 Coaches in NBA History in 1997, then earned a spot as one of the 15 Greatest Coaches in NBA History at the league’s 75th Anniversary celebration in 2021-22.
Eddie Gottlieb, 581 games (1946-55)
Gottlieb held the head coaching gig for the Philadelphia Warriors for nine total seasons, where he accrued a 263-318 record across 581 games. From 1946 to 1949 as members of the BAA, he helped Philly win their first-ever championship by defeating the Chicago Stags in the 1947 Finals. After joining the NBA for the 1949-50 campaign, Gottlieb’s teams finished .500 or better just twice over the course of six years until he retired as a coach following the 1955 season. ‘Gotty’ was inducted to the Hall of Fame as a Contributor in 1972, as he joined the Warriors’ front office from 1952 through 1963, facilitating their second title, and first in the NBA, in 1956.
Johnny Bach, 267 games (1980-86)
Our final entrant on the list, Johnny Bach spent a little more than three full seasons as Golden State’s head coach. He went 6-15 during the 1979-80 campaign after taking over for Al Attles for the final 21 games that year, then resumed his role as an assistant in the Bay from 1980 to 1983. Bach was hired as the head honcho on a full-time basis from 1983 to 1986, with the Warriors’ 37-45 finish in his first year representing the best individual mark of his career. The Brooklyn, New York native collected a 95-172 record throughout his time with the Warriors.
