Al Bianchi

Who is Al Bianchi?

Alfred A. “Al” Bianchi was born on March 26, 1932 in Long Island City, New York. He was an NBA professional basketball player, coach, general manager, consultant and scout.

He attended P.S. 4 elementary school, and graduated from Long Island City High School in 1950. A 1954 graduate of Bowling Green State University, 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 Corp from 1954 to 1956. Starting in 1956, he played for the Syracuse Nationals of the NBA. He moved with the team to Philadelphia 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.

On May 1, 1966, Bianchi was selected by the Chicago Bulls 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, compiling a 53-111 record for the new NBA franchise.

He then became coach and general manager of the Washington Caps/Virginia Squires of the American Basketball Association 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. The Squires then lost to the New York Nets in the Eastern Division finals, and the Indiana Pacers defeated the Nets in the ABA finals.