San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich will coach the Western Conference All-Stars in the 2016 NBA All-Star Game, to be televised by TNT at 8 p.m. ET on Sunday, Feb. 14 from Air Canada Centre in Toronto.
Head coaches whose teams have the best records in each conference following the games played two weeks prior to the All-Star Game serve as the All-Star Game head coaches, but no head coach is allowed to participate in two consecutive All-Star Games.
Interim head coach Luke Walton led the Golden State Warriors to a 39-4 record in the season’s first 43 games prior to the Jan. 22 return of head coach Steve Kerr. Despite Golden State holding the conference’s best record (41-4, .911), Kerr is ineligible for the coaching honor because he led last year’s West All-Stars. Popovich’s Spurs (38-7, .844) have clinched the next best record in the Western Conference, earning the five-time NBA Champion his fourth nod as the head coach of the West.
The 65th NBA All-Star Game will be the first All-Star Game held outside of the U.S. The game will be seen by fans in more than 200 countries and territories and will be heard in more than 40 languages. TNT will televise the All-Star Game in the U.S. for the 14th consecutive year, marking Turner Sports’ 31st year of NBA All-Star coverage.
