Who Coaches the NBA All Star Game?

The NBA All Star Game is one of the most watched events of the year, and the coaches are a big part of that. So who are the coaches that have been chosen to lead this year’s teams?

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Coaches

The National Basketball Association All-Star Game is an annual exhibition basketball game played between the Eastern Conference and the Western Conferences of the National Basketball Association. The All-Star Game was first played at the Boston Garden on March 2, 1951. The game is always played on the last Sunday in February. This year, the All-Star Game will be coached by Tyronn Lue of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Steve Kerr of the Golden State Warriors.

Past All-Star Game coaches

The National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star Game is an annual exhibition basketball game played between the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference All-Stars. The game is usually played on the last Sunday in February and is part of the NBA All-Star Weekend.

The starters for the All-Star Game are chosen by a combination of fans, media, and current players. The reserves are chosen by a vote among the head coaches of each team’s respective conference. Coaches are not allowed to vote for their own players. If a player is unable to participate due to injury, the commissioner will select a replacement.

Since its inception in 1951, there have been 72 different head coaches for the Eastern Conference and 72 different head coaches for the Western Conference in the All-Star Game. Twenty-six different coaches have coached in two All-Star Games, eleven have coached three times, four have coached four times,and two (Red Auerbach and Gregg Popovich) have coached five times. Popovich is also the only coach to have won five consecutive games (from 2000 to 2004). Lenny Wilkens holds both records for most appearances as an All-Star head coach (nine) and most victories (six). He was also named co-MVP of the 1971 game after coaching both teams due to injuries within each squad.

Current All-Star Game coaches

Doc Rivers – Los Angeles Clippers

Gregg Popovich – San Antonio Spurs

Steve Kerr – Golden State Warriors

Selection Process

There are typically two coaches in the NBA All-Star game, one from each conference. These coaches are the head coaches from the team with the best record in each conference through games played on February 2nd. In the event that a head coach is unable to participate, the commissioner will select a replacement from that same team.

How coaches are chosen

Two coaches are selected for the NBA All-Star Game. They are the head coaches of the team with the best record in each conference through games played on Martin Luther King Day. If a head coach is unable to participate, a replacement will be selected from his staff.

What criteria is considered

The All-Star Game head coaches are the head coaches of the two teams that compete in the annual NBA All-Star Game. The head coaches are selected by a combination of fans, media, and current NBA players. Fans may vote online for their preferred head coach, while players and media each contribute 25% of the vote. The league’s commissioner then selects any remaining head coaches.

In recent years, the process to choose Head Coaches for the All-Star game has become more transparent. Prior to 2016, only three criteria were considered when choosing All-Star Head Coaches:
-The Coach must have coached his team to a top record in his conference prior to the All-Star break
-The Coach must have coached his team in the previous year’s playoffs
-The Coach cannot have previously coached in two straight All-Star games

In an effort to make the selection process more fair and balanced, Commissioner Silver decided to weigh all three factors equally. As a result, since 2016 all three factors have been given equal weight when it comes time to choose Head Coaches for the All-Star game.

Benefits

The head coach of the team with the best record in each conference is given the honor of coaching the All-Star Game. This gives the coaches of the best teams a chance to show off their skills and strategies. Furthermore, it gives them a chance to connect with other coaches and players around the league.

What benefits come with coaching the All-Star Game

The primary benefit that comes with coaching the All-Star Game is the increased visibility that the coach receives. This can lead to increased exposure for the coach, which can lead to more opportunities down the road. Additionally, coaching the All-Star Game can be a great way to build relationships with other coaches and executives around the league.

How this impacts coaching careers

In the past, the head coach of the team with the best record in each conference – regardless of division – earned the honors of coaching the All-Star Game. That changed starting in 2017, when the honor instead went to the coaches of the two teams that reached the NBA Finals in the prior season.

The new rule has caused some controversy, as there are coaches who have led their teams to outstanding regular-season records but missed out on coaching in the All-Star Game because they didn’t make it to the NBA Finals. One notable example is former Houston Rockets coach Kevin McHale, who coached his team to a 56-26 record in 2014 but was not selected to coach in the All-Star Game because he didn’t reach the NBA Finals.