Milwaukee's Mike Budenholzer earns spot as head coach of Team Giannis in 2019 NBA All-Star Game

NEW YORK — Milwaukee Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer and his staff will coach Team Giannis in the 2019 NBA All-Star Game on Sunday, Feb. 17 at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, N.C.

The 68th NBA All-Star Game, which pits Team LeBron against Team Giannis, will be broadcast live at 8 p.m. ET on TNT and ESPN Radio within the United States. The NBA All-Star 2019 event will be accessible to fans in over 200 countries and territories, and in more than 40 languages.

With Thursday’s 105-92 victory over the Toronto Raptors, the Bucks (37-13, .740) clinched the best record in the Eastern Conference through games played on Sunday, Feb. 3. As a result, Budenholzer earned the spot to coach Team Giannis over the 13 other eligible Eastern Conference head coaches. The Detroit Pistons’ Dwane Casey was ineligible because he coached Team LeBron in the 2018 NBA All-Star Game as head coach of the Raptors.

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

The head coach of the team with the best record in the Western Conference as of Feb. 3 will take charge of the All-Star team led by LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers. Mike D’Antoni, the head coach of the Houston Rockets, however, is disqualified because he coached Team Stephen in the previous year’s All-Star Game.

This is the second time Budenholzer has been honored as the head coach for the NBA All-Star Game, having previously led the Eastern Conference in 2015 as the Atlanta Hawks’ head coach. He is also the second head coach from the Bucks to coach an All-Star Game, following Larry Costello in 1971 and 1974.

Budenholzer is in his inaugural season with the Bucks, having previously spent five seasons as the head coach for the Hawks. During his tenure in Atlanta, he led the team to a 213-197 (.520) record, four appearances in the playoffs and a spot in the 2015 Eastern Conference Finals. In recognition of his successful 2014-15 season, where he steered the Hawks to an exceptional 60-22 record – the best in the franchise’s history, Budenholzer was awarded the NBA Coach of the Year.