Alfred A. Bianchi (March 26, 1932 – October 28, 2019) was an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player, coach, general manager, consultant, and scout.

Early years

Nicknamed "Blinky", he attended P.S. 4 elementary school and graduated from

Long Island City High School Long Island City High School, commonly abbreviated L.I.C. or LICHS, is a public high school in Long Island City, Queens, New York City. The present building was built in 1995. The school had an enrollment of around 2,500 in 2015. Demographics ...

in 1950. A 1954 graduate of

Bowling Green State University Bowling Green State University (BGSU) is a Public university, public research university in Bowling Green, Ohio, United States. The main academic and residential campus is south of Toledo, Ohio. The university has nationally recognized progr ...

, he was voted to the "All-Ohio Team" and received honorable mention as a basketball All-American. He served in the U.S. Army Medical Corps from 1954 to 1956.

Professional playing career

Starting in 1956, Bianchi played for the

Syracuse Nationals The Philadelphia 76ers are an American basketball team currently playing in the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The 76ers are third in NBA ...

of the

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. He moved with the team to

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when it became the 76ers for the 1963–64 season. He was one of the last proponents in the NBA of the two-handed set shot.

Coaching career

On May 1, 1966, Bianchi was selected by the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded on January 16 ...

in the NBA expansion draft but never played in a game for them and retired as a player. He then became assistant coach under former teammate Johnny "Red" Kerr, head coach of the Bulls. After a year in Chicago, he was hired as head coach of the expansion team

Seattle SuperSonics The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly shortened to Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Division (1967–1970), and ...

, compiling a 53–111 record for the new NBA franchise. He then became coach and general manager of the

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Virginia Squires The Virginia Squires were a basketball team based in Norfolk, Virginia, and playing in several other Virginia cities. They were members of the American Basketball Association from 1970 to 1976. The team originated in 1967 as the Oakland Oaks, a ...

of the

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major professional basketball league that operated for nine seasons from 1967 to 1976. The upstart ABA operated in direct competition with the more established National Basketball Association thr ...

from 1969 through 1975. In 1971, he won ABA Coach of the Year honors for guiding the Squires to the ABA's Eastern Division championship with a record of 55–29 (.655). The Squires then lost to the

New York Nets New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

in the Eastern Division finals, and the

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

defeated the Nets in the ABA Finals. He finished his coaching career with a 283–392 record.

Front office

In 1976, he re-entered the NBA to work for head coach John MacLeod as assistant coach for the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA), We ...

, from 1976 to 1987, a tenure highlighted by the Suns' legendary triple-overtime loss to the

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in Game 5 of the NBA finals, won by the Celtics 4 games to 2. He then moved to the front office as general manager for the

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from 1987 to 1991. Returning to Phoenix in 1991, he scouted college players for the Suns. In 2004, he became a consultant-scout for the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. Founded in 1946 i ...

, where he stayed through the 2008–09 season. In September 2007, he was inducted into the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame as a player, by the New York City Athletic Club. Bianchi lived and worked as a consultant in Phoenix. He was inducted into th
Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame
at the 11th Annual Ceremony on May 21, 2016, in Columbus.

Death

Bianchi died on October 28, 2019, in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

, from

congestive heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome caused by an impairment in the heart's ability to fill with and pump blood. Although symptoms vary based on which side of the heart is affected, HF typically pr ...

at the age of 87.

Career statistics

NBA

Source

Regular season

Playoffs

Coaching record

NBA/ABA

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Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

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Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

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Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

* , style="text-align:left;", 1970–71 , 84, , 55, , 29, , , , style="text-align:center;", 1st in Eastern Division, , 12, , 6, , 6, , , style="text-align:center;", Lost in Div. finals , - , style="text-align:left;",

* , style="text-align:left;", 1971–72 , 84, , 45, , 39, , , , style="text-align:center;", 2nd in Eastern Division, , 11, , 7, , 4, , , style="text-align:center;", Lost in Div. finals , - , style="text-align:left;",

* , style="text-align:left;", 1972–73 , 84, , 42, , 42, , , , style="text-align:center;", 3rd in Eastern Division, , 5, , 1, , 4, , , style="text-align:center;", Lost in Div. semifinals , - , style="text-align:left;",

* , style="text-align:left;", 1973–74 , 84, , 28, , 56, , , , style="text-align:center;", 4th in Eastern Division, , 5, , 1, , 4, , , style="text-align:center;", Lost in Div. semifinals , - , style="text-align:left;",

* , style="text-align:left;", 1974–75 , 84, , 15, , 69, , , , style="text-align:center;", 5th in Eastern Division, , —, , —, , —, , — , style="text-align:center;", Missed playoffs , - , style="text-align:left;",

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References

External links

*
Bianchi coaching record at BasketballReference.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bianchi, Al 1932 births 2019 deaths American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from New York (state) Basketball players from New York City Bowling Green Falcons men's basketball players Chicago Bulls assistant coaches Chicago Bulls expansion draft picks Minneapolis Lakers draft picks Philadelphia 76ers players Phoenix Suns assistant coaches Point guards Seattle SuperSonics head coaches Shooting guards Syracuse Nationals players Virginia Squires coaches Virginia Squires executives Washington Caps coaches