Mike Budenholzer earns spot as 2019 NBA All-Star Game coach

By InsideHoops.com
February 1, 2019
Updated 3:31 p.m. ET

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Giannis Antetokounmpo, one of two All-Star team captains, will have a familiar head coach during the big weekend.

Milwaukee Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer and his staff will coach Team Giannis in the 2019 NBA All-Star Game, which will be played on Sunday, February 17 in Charlotte, North Carolina at Spectrum Center.

Budenholzer earned the honor with yesterday's Bucks win over the Raptors. With the won, the Bucks clinched the best record in the Eastern conference through games of February 3.

There were 13 other East coaches eligible to be named All-Star coach. Detroit Piston head coach Dwane Casey was ineligible because he coached Team LeBron in the 2018 NBA All-Star Game as head coach of the Raptors. Coaches cannot be back-to-back All-Star coaches. The rule, we speculate, exists just to keep things interesting, and to reward multiple coaches for a job well done.

Each NBA All-Star Game head coach will lead the team that includes the captain from their same conference. Budenholzer and his staff will coach the All-Star team captained by their own player, Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo. But Giannis was captain thanks to the voting results. Budenholzer will coach the team thanks to the Bucks record.

The head coach of the team with the Western Conference’s best record through February 3 will earn the honor of coaching the All-Star team captained by the Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James. It cannot be Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni, because he led Team Stephen in last year’s All-Star Game.

This will be the second time NBA Budenholzer coaches an NBA All-Star team. He also did so in 2015 as the Hawks' head coach.