Head coach Nick Nurse and Raptors coaching staff to be on bench for all-star game

NEW YORK — Raptors head coach Nick Nurse and his staff will coach Team Giannis at the upcoming NBA all-star game thanks to Toronto’s 105-92 win over the Detroit Pistons on Friday night.

The win in Detroit clinched the best record in the Eastern Conference through games played Sunday for the Raptors (35-14)  among the 14 teams with a head coach eligible for the all-star game.

Mike Budenholzer of the Milwaukee Bucks was ineligible because he served as a head coach in last year’s all-star game.

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

Los Angeles Lakers head coach Frank Vogel and his staff previously earned the spot to coach the All-Star team captained by their own player, LeBron James.

The NBA all-star-game will be held on Feb. 16 at Chicago’s United Center.

Nurse is in his second season as the Raptors’ head coach after spending five seasons as an assistant coach with Toronto. As a rookie NBA head coach last season, he led Toronto to a 58-24 record and its first NBA championship.

Before joining the Raptors, Nurse spent six seasons as a head coach in the NBA G League. Nurse guided the Rio Grande Valley Vipers and the Iowa Energy to one NBA G League title each, making him the only head coach to win championships in both the NBA and the NBA G League.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 31, 2020.

The Canadian Press