On Friday, the NBA announced that Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson and his coaching staff will serve as coaches representing the Eastern Conference during the 2025 NBA All-Star Game in San Francisco on Feb. 16 at Chase Center.
The coaching honors were secured by clinching the best record in the Eastern Conference through games played on Feb. 2nd.
It is the first time in Atkinson’s career that he and his staff have been honored with coaching the NBA All-Star Game. This also marks the fourth time in franchise history that a Cavs head coach has been selected to coach in the NBA All-Star Game.
In his first season as head coach of the Cavaliers, Atkinson has led Cleveland to an NBA-best 36-7 record this season through the first 43 games, marking the Cavs best start to a season in franchise history and tied for the 13th-best start to a season in NBA history.
For the first time, the NBA All-Star Game will feature a mini-tournament with four teams and three games. Two teams will meet in one semifinal (Game 1), and the remaining two teams will meet in the other semifinal (Game 2). The winning teams from Game 1 and Game 2 will advance to face each other in the championship (Game 3). For each game, the winner will be the first team to reach or surpass 40 points. The 24 NBA All-Star selections will be divided evenly into three teams and the fourth team will be the winning team from the championship game of the Rising Stars game, the annual showcase of top first- and second-year NBA players and NBA G League standouts.
Atkinson and Mark Daigneault from the Oklahoma City Thunder will each coach an NBA All-Star team. An assistant coach from one of those staffs will serve as head coach of the Rising Stars champion, and an assistant coach from the other staff will coach the remaining All-Star team.
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