Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone and his staff will coach Team LeBron in the 2019 NBA All-Star Game in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The 68th NBA All-Star Game will take place on Sunday, Feb. 17 at Spectrum Center, airing live on TNT and ESPN Radio in the United States at 8 p.m. ET. NBA All-Star 2019 will reach fans in more than 200 countries and territories in more than 40 languages.
With tonight’s 107-106 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Nuggets (37-15, .712) clinched a tie with the Golden State Warriors for the best record in the Western Conference through games played on Sunday, Feb. 3.
According to NBA rules, the first tiebreaker to determine an All-Star Game head coach is better head-to-head record. Denver and Golden State are 1-1 against each other this season. The second tiebreaker is better record against teams in own conference. The Nuggets have a 23-10 (.697) record against Western Conference teams and the Warriors have a 22-10 (.688) record against Western Conference teams, giving Malone the spot over Golden State head coach Steve Kerr.
Each All-Star Game head coach will lead the team that includes the captain from the same conference. Malone and his staff will coach the All-Star team that features the Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James as captain. Milwaukee Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer and his staff previously earned the spot to coach Team Giannis, captained by Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Malone will be an NBA All-Star Game head coach for the first time. He is the third Nuggets head coach to earn the honor, joining Larry Brown (1977) and George Karl (2010).
Malone is in his fourth season as the Nuggets’ head coach, guiding them to a 156-142 (.523) record in the regular season. After finishing 33-49 in 2015-16 during Malone’s first season, Denver improved to 40-42 in 2016-17 and 46-36 in 2017-18. Malone previously served as head coach of the Sacramento Kings over two seasons.
